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Jaden Whitmarsh honors father’s beach volleyball legacy on and off the court

(Biona Hui/Daily Bruin)

By Jay Fenn

April 21, 2021 3:37 p.m.

Jaden Whitmarsh always knew she wanted to follow in her dad’s footsteps.

A redshirt freshman for No. 1 UCLA beach volleyball, Jaden is the daughter of the late Mike Whitmarsh.

Mike played professional beach volleyball for 15 years, accumulating 28 wins on the AVP tour en route to being inducted into the CBVA Beach Volleyball Hall of Fame in 2010. He is best known for winning the silver medal in the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta, which happened to be the first year beach volleyball was included in the games as an official sport.

Mike retired from beach volleyball in 2004 and died in 2009 when Jaden was 8 years old.

Despite her father’s Olympic success, beach volleyball was not always Jaden’s first-choice sport growing up in San Diego. She began her life playing soccer and transitioned full time to indoor and beach volleyball in high school, eventually committing to play beach volleyball at the collegiate level.

Mike also faced a decision over which sport to pursue. He grew up playing basketball, suiting up at the University of San Diego before he was drafted by the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers in 1984.

Mike eventually had a shot at playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves but missed out on making the roster. After the NBA, Mike played basketball overseas in Germany for three years.

After his basketball career did not work out, Mike decided to make the transition to beach volleyball in 1986. Listed at 6 feet, 7 inches, Mike’s talent on the sand was instantly evident. He joined the AVP tour just four years after learning the sport.

Jaden’s mom, Cindy Whitmarsh-Sweeney, said she always knew her daughter would succeed whether she played soccer or another sport. However, when she saw her daughter step on the sand for the first time, she knew right away Jaden was just like her dad.

“When she had to make the decision to either do volleyball or soccer, even though it was a tough decision because she loved her team, it was an easy decision because of her passion (for volleyball),” Cindy said. “You could just see it in her eyes when she was on the court or on the beach – that was going to be where she was going to be. I knew it in my heart.”

(Courtesy of Whitmarsh family)
(Courtesy of Whitmarsh family)

When it came time to choose between indoor and beach volleyball in high school, Jaden said the most important factor in her choice of beach volleyball was seeing how much it meant to her family to see her love the same sport as her father, and with his same passion.

“I can tell (playing beach volleyball) just brings so much joy to me and my family,” Jaden said. “I think my dad definitely had a big influence over why I chose beach volleyball.”

The Whitmarsh family is full of athletes, including Mike, Jaden and Jaden’s sister, Kendall, who is set to play beach volleyball at Arizona State in a couple of years. Cindy herself is a widely respected fitness trainer and nutritionist. Cindy’s husband, ex-professional baseball player Mark Sweeney, is an athlete in his own right, having spent 14 years in the MLB.

For Jaden, having an athletic family has been fun but also very dysfunctional.

“It actually really shined through during quarantine because we were all dying to do something competitive because everything got shut down,” Jaden said. “So we would like to have our own little whiffle ball games in our driveway. And yeah, even my 9-year-old brother plays every single sport, which is really cute to watch.”

But even with the tremendous relationship Cindy has with Jaden today, it was not always this way.

Before Mike died, Cindy was in Los Angeles for a majority of the days in a week, managing the two businesses she owned while Mike stayed home with the girls. After Mike died, Cindy dropped everything and completely committed herself to her daughters and was there for them during those difficult times.

“Jaden and my relationship just flourished,” Cindy said. “I mean, that’s when we really bonded and became so close. We talk about him all the time. Our relationship has 100% blossomed. I’m her mom first, but I’m also one of her best friends.”

Jaden’s whole family has always been extremely supportive of her, but when it comes to beach volleyball, she said nobody has been more supportive than Mike’s parents.

Even after Mike’s death, Jaden said she has stayed extremely close to her grandparents Sharon and Jim Hill. They have remained some of her biggest supporters, traveling to almost all of her tournaments.

“I talk to (Sharon and Jim) more than I talk to my own parents, we’re just very, very close,” Cindy said. “I think that’s really been a huge benefit to Jaden and her sister in both of their volleyball careers because (they feel) supported and loved by not only our family but Mike’s family too.”

With familial support secured, Jaden eventually decided she would pursue collegiate beach volleyball and then faced another dilemma: where to go.

Coach Stein Metzger sold Cindy and Jaden not just on what the UCLA program offered with its athletics but also what Metzger’s coaching offered Jaden personally.

“We had a meeting with Stein Metzger who again, played with Mike, and he made her an offer which she couldn’t refuse,” Cindy said. “He said, ‘Jaden, I want to take care of you for your dad.’ And our hearts just melted and it was like she was going to go home and be taken care of. It was a no-brainer.”

(Jefferson Alade/Daily Bruin)
(Jefferson Alade/Daily Bruin)

Metzger, a successful volleyball player in his own right, won three national championships as a Bruin under coach Al Scates from 1993-1996. After his time in Westwood, Metzger went on to compete on the AVP tour, during which he notched 16 wins and qualified for the 2004 Olympics.

Metzger played on the AVP tour at a similar time as Mike did, and although he said he was never really a part of his inner circle, he did consider Mike a really good friend and enjoyed watching him play.

“Ever since I took this job and knew Jaden was playing beach volleyball, I just thought it would be special to have an opportunity to be a mentor and guide her and be her coach,” Metzger said, remembering recruiting Jaden. “I was thrilled when she decided to become a Bruin, knowing that I would get the chance to spend time with her and get to know her better and stay connected to the family.”

Today, Metzger still sees some of Mike’s playing style in Jaden, whether that be her speed or touch on the court. The biggest similarity Metzger sees between Jaden and her dad is their attitudes, saying Jaden maintains a positive mentality through every match.

Cindy said Jaden’s and Mike’s attitudes set them apart from others on the court.

“Mike was so good, but he was so humble and that’s exactly how Jaden is,” Cindy said. “(Mike) would block the ball and run all the way back to the end of the court and be able to get it. It was like he was fearless, and that’s what I see in Jaden as well – fearless.”

Even though Mike never got to really see Jaden play the sport he loved, she and her whole family know Mike would be incredibly proud of his daughter and everything she has accomplished – not just in the sport of beach volleyball but in life as well.

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Jay Fenn | Sports staff
Fenn is currently a Sports staffer on the baseball beat. He was previously a reporter on the women's soccer beat and a contributor on the beach volleyball and men's and women's golf beats.
Fenn is currently a Sports staffer on the baseball beat. He was previously a reporter on the women's soccer beat and a contributor on the beach volleyball and men's and women's golf beats.
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