CHESTERFIELD, Mo. — Beach volleyball is one of the most popular sports of the summer Olympics. Since it was recognized as a medal sport in 1996, American men and women have led the medal count.
Each of the men's and women's teams has won gold three times. In St. Louis, we may be far from an ocean, but people in the Midwest do play in the sand. And a couple in west county plays to win.
“It’s just a passion,” Colleen Laure said. “Some people have that and some people don’t.”
Colleen and Dan Laure are from Chesterfield. You can typically find them in the sand at the STL Sandbar in Ballwin. But their careers expand farther than the Bi-state.
“We started traveling around, playing in these tournaments,” Dan Laure said. “We go to Louisville and Cincinnati and Chicago and even Florida and California.”
While they have fun competing, don’t let their time spent in the sand fool you. They’re out there to win.
“We want to beat everybody that we can,” Colleen said.
“I don’t say ‘good luck’ to somebody,” Dan said. “I say ‘play well’ because I want them to give their best and I want to beat them at their best.”
As a two-person team, it requires stamina and communication to be successful. Any flaws or weaknesses won’t go unnoticed.
“You have to be good at everything out here,” Dan said. “You have to be able to set the ball, you have to be able to hit. You really have to work on jumping straight up. So not only jumping but moving. It makes it a lot more difficult being out here.”
Dan and Colleen may not play on an actual beach, but anyone from St. Louis knows the humidity can sometimes feel like the tropics.
“The sun’s beating down on us, we’re sweating, we’re a sweaty mess,” Dan said. “Think about playing all day long. That makes it a lot tougher than being in the gym.”
“It’s exhausting,” Colleen said.
Aside from the physical aspect of the sport, it’s also a mind game. The couple says strategy is just as important as skill.
“It’s like a chess match out here,” Dan said.
“When it’s just you and one other person, you’re relying a lot on your partner for all things,” Colleen said. “For motivation, for support when you’re struggling. It’s a lot. You rely on each other for everything.”
As Dan and Colleen improve their volleyball game every day, what they learn on the court pays off outside of the game.
“We’ve done most of our volleyball journey together,” Colleen said. “We share so much of the same passion. I would say it’s grown, our love, more than anything.”