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Taylor Averill

Taylor Averill in a volleyball game

Taylor Averill is a professional volleyball player for the U.S. Men’s National Team. He played 4 years at UH Manoa, earning two time first team all-American honors and graduating with a Sociology degree. He went to play professionally afterwards, moving to Italy to play for three years and will be playing this upcoming season in France.

Someone who believes heavily in taking care of his body, he wasn’t “naturally gifted” in his sport., but rather earned his way there with well he has trained and treated his body. Strength and fitness has played a huge role in getting him to the National Team level, and being conscious of what he puts in his body is a key element to his success.

Taylor loves to surf and is continually pushing himself to do things he never thought he could. He has become an avid photographer, dabbles in ceramics and constantly focuses on his growth as a well-rounded human being.

The combination of putting in hard work on the court and fueling myself with whole foods off the court has gotten me to where I am.

Accomplishments

  • Won a gold medal with the 2017 NORCECA Continental Championship team.
  • Made the travel team for the 2017 FIVB World League
  • Member of the 2015 Men’s Indoor Team for the Pan Am Games in Toronto, Canada
  • Won a silver medal with the 2014 Men’s Pan American Cup team in Tijuana, Mexico
  • Two-time AVCA All-American First Team

Get To Know Me

What motivated you to pursue a healthy/balanced lifestyle?

I’m an athlete who made it to the top level without being the most naturally gifted and talented in my sport. I had to rely a lot of putting in extra time and work into my craft. I found that one way to have a huge advantage over the other athletes in my sport was to be disciplined in the things I could really control. So focusing on a healthy eating, putting extra time in the weight room and giving maximum effort all the time were things that were always up to me and necessary to my survival in the sport.

What’s your favorite guilty pleasure food?

Dark Chocolate and “Nice Cream”

How do you like to start each day?

I like to start every day with some “Wim Hof” breathing (flooding my body with Oxygen) followed by a bowl of oats and nuts using Sprout Living “drinkable oats” instead of milk. After I have a nice cup of Joe which normally leads me to 5 minutes of very important alone time ;]

How do you like to end each day?

I like to end each day messing around on the ukulele or guitar, free styling with my girlfriend about things of extremely important value ;]

Tell us a bit more about your journey with volleyball? What’s next for you?

So I’ve been with team USA for about 4 years now and played my last three professional seasons in Italy. Next year I will be playing in France, so I’m excited to get back to that fancy wine, bread, and cheese life.

How do you stay motivated? Any tips for our readers?

Balance. Balance is the key to my survival in what I do. It’s important to be present wherever you are. When I show up for volley its 100% what I put my focus into. When I leave the gym, I move on, I don’t obsess over one thing. While volleyball is definitely my obsession, it only takes up roughly 3-4 hrs of my day leaving me with tons of time to pursue other hobbies and learn new crafts. Learn things! Stay curious with your life, get in the sun, learn how to knit with your grandmother, or bird watch with your creepy neighbor. Never stop wanting to grow and learn in other areas that you think may not even be related to your main craft. You’ll be surprised with the lessons you come away with and some may even create a new perspective for you in your given craft.

Why is protein such an important part of your diet?

Recovery. You gotta recover. Protein is definitely not the only component here, but for the sake of this question, protein is the main building block to shortening those recovery times and maintaining and increasing your strength. Feed your body!

What’s your favorite Sprout Living product and Why?

Drinkable oats, hands down. I use it before every game or training session. Now I use it as a substitute for milk. Milk normally throws off my stomach a bit when I mix it with that pregame nut, banana, cereal. This allows me not only to feel great, but gives me that added whole foods nutrients and tastes wayyyyy better. I mean mocha milk in your cereal?! Plus that little caffeine boost?! Game on baby.