SAN DIEGO — Chase Budinger spent many weekends meandering down to Moonlight Beach.
But one of the nation’s best young volleyball players didn’t go for the surf or the scenery.
The Encinitas native and La Costa Canyon High School star went there to get thumped.
“Moonlight definitely was the staple of my weekends,” Budinger said. “Jumping in some games and getting my butt kicked by some of these other players that knew the game really well. I’ll always that back in my high school days, no matter how athletic I was or how hard I could hit the ball, playing against some of these old guys who almost bageled me in some games because they had the vision and knew where to place the ball. They taught me a good lesson about the beach game.”
Now based in Hermosa Beach, the 37-year-old Budinger has spent the week in San Diego. He will be one of 16 stars of professional volleyball at Viejas Arena this weekend for AVP League play.
Gates open Friday at 5 p.m., with a meet and greet with Budinger and 2024 Olympic teammate Miles Evans scheduled for 5:30 p.m. The duo, part of the San Diego Smash, play the Austin Aces at 9 p.m. Saturday’s event begins at 5 p.m., with the last match starting at approximately 8. The Smash’s women’s team matches up Saturday night against the L.A. Launch, which features Terese Cannon and former Torrey Pines star Megan Kraft.
Growing up in Del Mar, Kraft learned the game while bouncing between Dog Beach and the sand courts at Wave Volleyball Club.
She began her indoor career at Coast Volleyball Club and was a dominant indoor player at Torrey Pines. At age 15, she discovered her ion for the beach game.
Kraft and Cannon spent time this week at Wave, where they worked with former Torrey Pines tennis and volleyball star Mike Placek.
“We’re both pretty analytical and tough on ourselves,” Kraft said. “(Cannon) pushes me every day because she’s always striving for perfection, not in a bad way. Part work ethic, but part the way she attacks challenges, asks questions and solves problems is something I have taken from her and try to continue to take from her every day.”
Cannon will turn 30 this year; Kraft is learning from her. The USC graduates will soon ramp up their attempt to qualify for the L.A. Games in 2028.
Cannon said it was an easy decision to make the journey with the 22-year-old Kraft, who first earned a spot in the main AVP draw as a 16-year-old.
“Meg works harder than anyone I’ve ever met,” Cannon said. “It’s really cool for me to follow her lead on that. But also the way that she approaches every situation so positively and never backs down from a challenge. I feel she finds a lot of joy in volleyball and facing challenges. Her energy is contagious, and so that’s really fun for me to be around.
“She’s one of the most positive people I’ve ever met, and I think that goes a long way when you’re grinding through wins and losses and long tournaments and short tournaments you wish were longer. It’s fun to be around her.”
Like Kraft, Budinger will have at least a couple dozen friends, family and former teammates on hand at Viejas, which will house one volleyball court with approximately 300 tons of sand.
There’s no extra pressure this weekend for Budinger, who played seven years in the NBA, won the Hermosa Beach Open in 2019 and represented Team USA in the Paris Olympics last summer. He learned the sport and how to deal with athlete stress from watching his brother Duncan and sister Brittanie play.
Duncan Budinger earned All-America honors at Long Beach State before playing professionally. Brittanie Budinger starred at La Costa Canyon High School and the University of San Francisco.
“I was the little brother that was dragged to all their games, so I was around the sport at a young age,” said Budinger, whose wife Jessica and soon-to-be 3-year-old son Beckham will be this weekend. “I always had a volleyball or basketball in my hands when I went to their tournaments (and was) just always messing around watching them. I really just tried to aspire to grow up to be like them. They gave me a lot of confidence and a lot of beatings in the backyard when we’d play against each other. I think that really motivated me to try to be a competitor and to grow as a player, because one of my ultimate goals was to be better than my brother.”
Budinger and Evans will also soon make the decision to commit to the qualification process for L.A. ’28.
For now, the former LCC star is content to represent San Diego as a pro.
“That’s something that I couldn’t ever do playing basketball,” he said. “To finally be able to do it at a professional level — to represent my city, my hometown, it’s pretty special to me personally, and I’m glad that we have that team we have. We all love San Diego and all the parts about it.”
