14 minute read
SPORTS
Volley Village
Former professional beach volleyball player Gina Kirstein shares her love of the sport at Wilmington Beach Academy, her new training facility in Leland.
BY ANNESOPHIA RICHARDS
GPHOTO BY MEGAN DEITZ Gina Kirstein believes that in the world of beach volleyball, it school in Southern California before moving on to play for takes a village to help athletes reach their goals. As the both the University of Illinois and Colorado Christian founder of Wilmington Beach Academy at Volley Village, the University. It was in Colorado where she first gave beach former Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) volleyball a try in the late 1990s, but initially she wasn’t a fan competitor offers private lessons and group classes at her new of the dissimilar version of her favorite sport. training facility in Leland. Kirstein’s mission is to use her “I didn’t like it when I first started because it’s such a expertise and deep love of the game to make beach volleyball different game, and that frustrated me,” she says. “But I was more accessible to the Brunswick County community. determined to be good at it, so I just kept on playing and Kirstein grew up playing indoor volleyball in her high ended up playing professionally.”
Kirstein says even though indoor volleyball and beach “After playing professionally I took a few years off, and volleyball share a few skill sets, they are truly unique sports. when I came back to the sport, I still enjoyed it but my Aside from the differing court locations and surfaces, beach perspective had changed,” she says. “I realized winning just courts are smaller, measuring 8x8 meters as opposed to the wasn’t as important to me anymore. It was more about 9x9 meters of indoor courts. In addition to the smaller sharing my knowledge of the game with other players and playing area, it’s the smaller team size that Kirstein finds helping them achieve their goals.” most appealing. From 2011 on Kirstein competed in the occasional pro-am
“The reason I enjoy beach volleyball tournament for fun while continuing to more is because you have to be a well- coach indoor volleyball at a local club. rounded athlete and good at all the Knowing, however, that beach volleyball skills, because you’re involved in every was her true passion, in 2018 she started play and don’t have a specialized Wilmington Beach Academy. Using the position,” Kirstein says. “When you’re sand courts at Dig & Dive Bar and Grill playing doubles, there’s no substitutions as her location, Kirstein began offering and you’re involved in every play, private lessons to middle and high whereas in indoor volleyball, there are school students. six players who’re only responsible for It wasn’t until the restaurant one sixth of the court. If you’re playing permanently closed in the beginning of beach volleyball and you’re tanking, it’s 2020 that she decided to take a leap of brutal, but that’s just a part of the game.” faith and open her own training facility.
Kirstein believes another benefit of Situated just off Village Road at 9892 beach volleyball is the forgiving nature Wayne Street, Volley Village includes of the surroundings on your body. two beach volleyball courts, a Diving in sand doesn’t tend to hurt 450-square-foot lounge building and nearly as much as on an indoor court. restroom and unlimited potential. Also, since beach volleyball is more of a “It’s truly been a labor of love,” finesse game than a power game, there Kirstein says. “Aside from the actual are fewer instances of shoulder or back courts being installed, my husband and I injuries and less likelihood of physical have done all the work. We built the contact with fellow teammates. Plus, the seven-foot fences around the property outdoor environment is just plain fun. ourselves, and we remodeled and
“You’re playing outside in the sun, refurbished the little building, which usually with music playing, and it’s a was in rough shape.” more laid-back scene,” Kirstein says. “With indoor volleyball, it’s inside, it’s loud, and it’s just a different feeling.” Having found her true calling to be in CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS The bulk of Kirstein’s clients are juniors ranging in age from middle grades all the way up through high school seniors. She also coaches adults and plans to offer more the sand, Kirstein competed in the AVP Gina Kirstein competed in the AVP clinics, leagues and tournaments as she Tour from 2002 to 2007, but in her down Tour from 2002 to 2007. expands. Many of the players she trains time coached indoor volleyball and have no prior beach volleyball experience, worked as a mortgage lender. She and her husband, Erik, while others come having played indoor volleyball and wanting moved to Wilmington in 2004, the same year she and her to transition to beach. Kirstein also coaches athletes looking to teammate won the Motherlode Tournament, one of the most play at the collegiate level and she enjoys helping these young popular pro-am volleyball tournaments in the country. After athletes develop their skills and achieve their goals. several years traveling back and forth to California, training “I love coaching, so my hope is that I can introduce people and competing on the AVP Tour, Kirstein decided to turn her to the game and have them fall in love with it,” she says. “I focus to coaching a younger generation of beach volleyball want to help my players with whatever their goals are, enthusiasts. whether it’s playing recreationally and having a good time or
I realized winning just wasn’t as important to me anymore. It was more about sharing my knowledge of the game with other players and helping them achieve their goals.
never sell alcohol or allow tobacco products on my campus,” Kirstein says. “I really want to promote a healthy lifestyle and a safe environment.” Although Kirstein’s focus has now turned from playing to coaching, she still enjoys occasionally getting out on the sand and competing. Just last year she and her teammate finished second in an AVPNext event held at Dig & Dive, proving she can still hold her own with the best of the best. Wilmington Beach Academy is a true testament to
Above, the lounge building at Volley Village; below, players on one of the two sand courts. CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS Kirstein’s dedication and passion for this lifelong sport. “I’m really excited to bring this facility to the town of Leland,” Kirstein says. “I want to share my love of the game training to make their middle school, high school or college and help grow it here in Brunswick County. I guess you could team.” say I’m just obsessed with volleyball!”
Wilmington Beach Academy is open to players of all ages, genders and skill levels. Kirstein’s facility isn’t affiliated with any particular travel clubs, a decision she hopes will keep her Want to check it out? offerings affordable and accessible for players and their
Wilmington Beach Academy, aka Volley Village
families. Her goal is to make sure Volley Village is a safe, 9892 Wayne Street, just off Village Road, Leland welcoming training institution for all. (910) 200-1822
“My facility doesn’t have a restaurant or a bar, and I’ll wilmingtonbeachacademy.com
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RISING
Leland resident Happy Stalnaker, aka Hillbilly Wayne, has released a new album that reflects his experiences in West Virginia and southeastern North Carolina.
BY JO ANN MATHEWS
HAVILAH WAYNE STALNAKER’S nickname is Happy, appropriate for someone who sprinkles laughter throughout a conversation and appreciates the sunshine in his life. He chose to include Hillbilly in his professional name at the suggestion of Tim Calhoun, owner of Mallory Records II, Inc.
“The hillbilly pretty much takes care of West Virginia,” Stalnaker says, explaining that he grew up in Philippi, West Virginia.
The songs he wrote for Hillbilly Wayne, his self-named country music album released on September 25, 2020, recount experiences he’s had as a “hillbilly.” He wrote four of the 12 songs on the digital download album, and they reveal his heartfelt love for his family, his wayward side and his way of relaxing. His twangy voice adds to his sincerity, and listeners understand the adversity as well as the joys in his life.
The song “Hacker’s Creek,” which is the name of the 40-acre farm in Philippi, praises his parents. According to the lyrics, “Now they never did have money, But we always had love.”
The lyrics of “She’s a Slow Dance” recount the reasons he loves his wife, Kim, while “In the Green Swamp” tells of how he used to relax at the natural landmark of nearly 16,000 acres of
swamp in Brunswick and Columbus counties. “Insane” tells of how as a young man he lived on the edge. “I was just a wild kid who was enjoying life a little too much at times,” he says. “From 16 to 22, it was a pretty wild ride. Meeting my wife is what really settled me down.”
Stalnaker wants to keep some secrets, though, including his age. He says he’s “old enough to know better and too young to resist,” but he’s willing to talk about how he embraced his family’s love of music.
“My family sang in church and anywhere they thought they could make a positive difference in the community or the world with their music,” he says.
When he was around 11 years old, Stalnaker told his father he wanted to play the drums. Since the family didn’t own drums, his father offered to teach him to play the guitar.
“He taught me chords, and then it started,” Stalnaker says. He laughs as if remembering those early years. “Once I got a hold of the guitar and found out I could do something with it, I stuck with it.” The drums were history, and he chose acoustic guitar as his favorite instrument.
His family moved from Philippi to Leland, his mother’s hometown, when Stalnaker was a teen. He’s been called Happy from the time he was born. “That’s the happiest baby that I’ve ever seen in my life,” his father said when his eighth, and youngest, child was born. “I’ll just call him Happy.” The nickname stuck so that his friends, teachers and all relatives called him Happy — with one exception. “My great aunt,” Stalnaker says. Aunt Pauline’s father’s name was Havilah too (pronounced hay vil’ uh).
After graduating from North Brunswick High School, Stalnaker chose to work construction jobs and travel the United States while he pursued his musical career.
“I always carried my guitar and worked on my music doing local gigs,” he says. He came back to Leland, though, and married Kim, who supported his musical career. The couple’s daughter, Anna, is a nurse in Leland. Easton, her son, is three.
Stalnaker’s career escalated when he met Calhoun at a construction convention in Shreveport, Louisiana. Calhoun suggested changes to “In the Green Swamp,” and when the men met at another convention in Houston six months later, Calhoun was pleased with the changes and asked Stalnaker if he’d like to go to Nashville to record some songs.
“I didn’t know what to expect,” Stalnaker says. “I went there with an open mind. I wasn’t going to let the opportunity pass by. I thought, ‘If it turns out to be a flop, I’ll see
Want to hear it?
The album is available at hillbillywayne.com and other musical digital download sites, including Spotify, iTunes, Amazon music and YouTube Music. For more information, email malloryrecords@gmail.com.
my sister Dottie, who lives in Nashville, for a weekend and then come back home and everything’s good.’”
But it turned out better than he thought. “I went out there, and it was a real deal,” he says. “I thank the good Lord for it every day.”
“When we got to Nashville and Happy stepped up to the mike, I knew he had the gift,” Calhoun says. “His vocal was so distinct.”
Tom Harding of H2 Productions worked on the album with Stalnaker. “Hillbilly Wayne is always prepared,” Harding wrote in an email. “Each song is a part of him whether he has written it or someone else has.”
Stalnaker says other musicians have influenced him, but he doesn’t imitate any of them. “You get Hillbilly Wayne every time,” he says. “You don’t get an impostor. I’m not going to try to pretend to be like somebody else.”
He says he loves to sing and never really learned to write music.
“With me [the lyrics] just come, the story pops in my head,” he says.
““Usually, I’ll write a song in 15 minutes. If I don’t have it written When we got within 30 minutes, it usually to Nashville doesn’t get finished. Very seldom and Happy have I ever sat down with a guitar and written a song.” After he gets stepped up the lyrics down, he goes back and to the mike, I adds the chords on his guitar. knew he had What he likes most about music is the serenity it brings. the gift. “When you’re playing guitar and singing songs or writing songs, that song is in your head, and it puts you at peace,” he says. “You’re not thinking of anything else.”
When he wants this serenity, Stalnaker goes to The Camp. It’s an area in Columbus County on the property of his sister, Becky Rogers, and her husband, Glenn.
“That’s where I go when I want to try out a new song, see if it flows right,” he says. “They have been a huge support team.”
Stalnaker looks forward to performing in 2021 when COVID passes and venues open.
“I’ve always had music in the back of my mind, and really, truly wanted to be as good a person as I could be in the eyes of my Mom and Dad,” he says. “I want people to enjoy the album. It wouldn’t have been possible without some folks, and they are mentioned on the album.”
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