During the beach volleyball gold medal match this summer, I remember getting into an argument with a fellow fan over whether or not he could hold his own against Phil Dalhausser's mean jump serve. Looking back, it was a waste of my breath, because he also thought he could score a kill with the Beijing Beast at the net... until he saw how Brazil couldn't even sneak one past him.

If you've ever found yourself wondering what it would be like to pepper with Kerri Walsh, or serve to Casey Jennings, or try and block Sean Rosenthal, then you should look into volleyballvacations.com.

Two days ago, while writing about what players are looking forward to once the off-season comes around, I learned that several of them would be taking a trip with Volleyball Vacations.

14 years ago, AVP pro, Albert Hannemann, decided to take over a then struggling company and transform it into what Volleyball Vacations has become today: a wildly popular all-inclusive vacation where volleyball fans can be coached by and then socialize with the pros that they idolize, for an entire week.

This year, Vacations is putting on two trips. From October 5-12, 2008 Olympian, Sean Rosenthal will be heading up the extravaganza in Cancun, Mexico along with fellow AVP pros, Jason Ring, Anthony Medel, and Angela Lewis.

The next trip will be to the beautiful islands of Turks and Caicos (southeast of the Bahamas) on November 8-15 and will feature gold medalists Kerri Walsh and Phil Dalhausser along with Casey Jennings and Matt Olson.

A typical day on this unique vacation goes something like this: from 8 am-1 pm is tournament play, 2:30-3:30 sharpen your skills in a clinic put on by the pros. From 4-6 it's open play followed by happy hour from 6-7. 8-10 is dinner time and afterwards, hit up the bars and clubs in the area.

If you love volleyball, it's the perfect mix of learning, playing, and relaxing with those that you look up to. "It's kind of like a fantasy camp," explained Hannemann. "Beach volleyball is a lifestyle and it's what we [the AVP players] love. This trip is about us giving others the chance to experience it all for a whole week."

The players that headline the vacation are given a free trip in exchange for sharing their expertise with the people. But it's not all just fun and games, the pros that come must be able to work for half of the day playing and coaching.

"Everyone wants a free vacation so a lot of the players approached me asking to be a part of it," said Hannemann. "I had to choose who would best fill the job description as a good athlete and coach but that could also have fun and party afterwards."

Matt Olson is going on his first Volleyball Vacation and said he's really looking forward to the volleyball aspect, "but Mai Tais never taste as good as they do in a warm tropical setting," he said with a smile.

"I like teaching people how to play the sport I love," said Casey Jennings, who's going on his second trip. "It's really fun to see how far everyone has progressed by the end of the week."

Not only do the vacationers come out with newly acquired volleyball skills, some leave having met the person their future husband or wife. It seems that Volleyball Vacations has had the inadvertent knack for putting the right people together at the right time.

"It's really interesting, we're almost like a match.com or something!" said Hannemann. "We've actually had 12 marriages come out of people meeting their mate on Vacation. [AVP player] Aaron Wachtfogel even got engaged on one of the trips."

Whether your goal is to relax in an exotic location, to schmooze with beach pros, to step up your volleyball game or to meet the man/woman of your dreams, Volleyball Vacations seems to have figured out a way to cater to all of those needs.

But, as Albert Hannemann says, what the company really wants to do is give back to the sport and to the fans because, without the fans, beach volleyball wouldn't be what it has become today.