Staying faithful in the beach volleyball world

How does a Mormon fit in on the "big party" beach volleyball circuit?

Quite well — at least for LDS rising star Casey Patterson, who says that promoters, advertisers and maybe some fans like to sell that party image, but in reality, it's not that way.

"About 40 percent of the players have young babies," says Patterson, "and we get together and talk about our families." He says in actuality the AVP Tour (Association of Volleyball Professionals) is overall "a health-conscious environment." Smoking and drinking are really minimal from what he has observed. "There is a handful, " he said about those who party, but "they are those who really don't care (about the sport)."

And, consequently, those are not the ones who excel.

Patterson began playing on the AVP Tour in 2007 and was ranked 83rd. In his first full year, 2008, he ended up 40th in the rankings. By the end of 2009, he had climbed to 15th.

This year Patterson and his partner, Kevin Wong, took third place at Huntington Beach and fifth place at Virginia Beach. He has moved into the top 10, now ranked 10th. As a team, he and Wong are currently rank sixth. (The AVP only plays team competition, but a points ranking system calculates individual rankings as well as team ranking.)

Of course, the sport of volleyball is not as lucrative as many other sports, and in order to make a living at it one needs to play near the top 10 level. And that is exactly what Patterson plans to do.

As a relative newcomer to the sport, Patterson just turned 30. "Your prime starts between 30-35," he said.

He explained that playing in sand does not take a toll on your body as much as other hard-surface sports. He said Karch Kiraly, the most widely known and best player, played until he was 48.

Patterson said opportunities abound to talk about the church.

He once had a partner who said to him: "I don't drink because of sports. How come you don't drink?"

Responding to these kinds of questions is how he works in discussions about the church.

When playing on the road, Patterson said rooming with his various partners reminds him of missionary companionships. He served a mission to Little Rock, Ark.