If one squints their eyes just right, they can see Los Angeles in 2028 from Del Mar in 2025.
“That’s the goal,” Megan Kraft said. “And it would be amazing.”
Kraft is working her way north by playing in the AVP beach volleyball event at San Diego State this weekend. The competition features four teams playing each other in two-player formats on both the men’s and women’s sides.
Appropriately, Kraft, a Del Mar resident, toils for the Los Angeles Launch, and perhaps this format will serve as a springboard to the L.A. Olympics in ’28.
That had Kraft and her partner, Terese Cannon, in the Czech Republic recently as they continue to earn their stripes on the international circuit to ready themselves for what’s to come.
“The qualifying really starts two years before the Olympics, but this is how you get qualified,” Kraft said.
Kraft’s resume on the sand is pristine, which isn’t surprising for those who have been tracking her since she was a standout at Torrey Pines High School.
She was basically All-Everything during her four prep seasons, and she led the Falcons to 2019 national and state titles.
However, that version of volleyball was played on the hardwood, not the soft sand.
“Beach volleyball was basically just a club sport back then,” Kraft, 22, said.
But the sands of time produced a dramatic change in beach volleyball’s popularity. It has blossomed into a certified sport in high school, college, and at the last Olympics in Paris, drawing among the top TV ratings of any sport.
“It’s super fun and it’s more of a speed game,” Kraft said. “And with games going to just 15 points (instead of 21) in this league, there’s no time to work into a game. You have to start off hot, and that definitely changes your mindset. It’s more fast-paced and intense.”
Kraft’s focus at USC, after being the nation’s top prep beach volleyball recruit, was laser-like. How else to explain her leading the Trojans to four national titles as a perennial All-Pac-12 selection, which included being named the conference’s top player.
“Being at USC, it was really fun to be able to play with a really, really good team and to have a good coaching staff with a great culture,” Kraft said. “I was happy to be a part of something.”
To shine on the sand, one must excel in everything. With just one other person to rely on, all facets of a player’s game are on display.
“I really like the aspect of beach volleyball in that you have to be good at every skill,” Kraft said. “It’s just you and your partner out there. With indoor, there are a few more players and you have a coach with you the whole time.
“So the beach game was just exciting to me in that it challenged you in new ways and you have to solve problems in your mind quickly. I’ve been playing since I was 8 years old, but I still like to learn to keep being challenged. That is what drove me to beach volleyball — the physical and mental challenges.”
The 6-foot Kraft was a blocker in college but refers to herself as a defender on the AVP beach circuit. It’s been a long road for Kraft, who played and coached at the decorated Wave Volleyball Club in Del Mar.
Wonder what advice an accomplished Kraft would give the younger version of herself when she was deciphering a game that was foreign to so many.
“Oh man, I would just tell myself to keep working hard and training hard,” she said. “And to remember the great relationships you get to make in the sport. While you remember certain games, it’s really about enjoying the moment.”
Contact Jay Paris at [email protected] and follow him @jparis_sports
