Tuesday Talent: The Brothers Crabb

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Taylor (top) and Trevor (setting) in action during the Swatch Major Series last season. Photocredit: Mihai Stetcu.

We’re continuing our countdown towards the Fort Lauderdale Major – which, by the way, is now less than two months away (and yes you might also want to check this out) – and with the excitement growing by the day what better way than to introduce more stars to you?

In the light of the recent news that three new American teams are forming ahead of the brand-spanking new season, we thought an insight into the two brothers who bounced onto the scene last summer was just the right thing to do on a Tuesday.

So step forward beach volleyball siblings Taylor and Trevor Crabb.

Now when the hot topic of which coast – East or West – is best when it comes to beach volleyball in the US, these two tend to keep themselves quiet – hide themselves away and keep schtum. Okay, so they both went to college in California but forget that, these two bros were born in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The birthplace of Barack Obama, Bruno Mars and Nicole Kidman (yes really) has given the game of beach volleyball two rising stars who really made a mighty impression on the sand during the Swatch Major Series in 2016.

Both made their debuts on the sand together in 2011 at the Wide Open Beach Volleyball tournament. They finished 49th. Trevor went onto play with various partners as he took to the sand on the AVP’s Pro Beach Tour before he made his international debut on the FIVB Tour in 2014 – finishing ninth with Adam Roberts in the Paraná Open in Brazil.

As younger brother Taylor began make his own name, the duo joined forces on a more regular basis in 2015. They won two bronze medals on the AVP Tour before going onto record another ninth place finish on the international scene in Xiamen.

But last year the brothers really began to flex their muscles at home and abroad. On the AVP Tour the medals kept coming and coming. Yes – in fact, the duo recorded seven successive top-three finishes on home sand, earning them a tidy US 30,500 in prize money and 2,040 precious points, making them the most successful partnership on the AVP Tour in 2016.

That sparkling form was transmitted to three fine performances on the world stage as the duo showed flashes of their brilliance in ninth place finishes at the Cincinnati Open and, most importantly, the Gstaad Major and the A1 Major Klagenfurt.

In Cincinnati they recorded a straight sets win over Saxton/Schalk (yes those Olympians who won bronze in Klagenfurt and came fourth at the Swatch World Tour Finals), while in Klagenfurt they not only beat countrymen Hyden/Bourne (yes, those bronze medalists in Canada), but also Austrian Doppler/Horst – silencing the army of home fans in the process – and that’s no mean feat.

So after such a successful breakthrough year the time has come for the brothers to go their separate ways…Taylor will team up with Jake Gibb while Trevor partners Sean Rosenthal.

It promises to be a fantastic new chapter in these beach volleyball-devoted brothers - just watch this space!

Bring on Fort Lauderdale!