Michael Sylvara has full confidence in the beach volleyball players on his courts. “We will have professionals and Olympians come out of here without a doubt,” said Sylvara.
It’s a bold prophecy byt the owner of Volleyball Beach Ozark. But the kids who play here are working to bring it to life. Like 17-year-old Malachi Brewington. “I’m planning to win the gold medal in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles,” said Malachi.
The Ozark native has already won multiple national championships and most recently became one of just six players to make the U-S Under 19 squad. The 17-year-old is the youngest to do so. “He looks comparable to like a Lebron James or Kobe Bryant when they were coming out,” Sylvara said.
Malachi’s cousin Reagan Miller is also a bit of a prodigy. “She does everything right now as a thirteen-year-old on a Division I level,” Sylvara added.
Reagan recently took second place in the Under 12 national tournament. And as the youngest player in the Under 14 tournament she still finished in the top five. “Every day I get a thousand touches in and I do plyometrics every day and I lift,” said Reagan. “My goal is to play in the next Olympics.”
Then there’s Mylah and Caleigh Hogan. They were inspired by watching a set of twins just like them. Audrey and Nicole Nourse dominated at the collegiate level for USC. Now these Reeds Spring juniors want to do something similar. “I believe if they stay focused and they keep progressing they could be Division I one national champions,” Sylvara said.
After all, they naturally have something that’s very important in this sport. “We know each other better,” said Mylah.
“I feel like we have chemistry,” added Caleigh.
One thing is for certain: When they’re not playing the sport they love they look forward to watching the Olympics. “Just to watch it to see how we can get better as a team together,” Mylah said.
“I’m excited to watch our USA team,” Malachi added.
“I’m so excited to watch all of it,” said Reagan.
Hopefully they’ll all be too busy to watch around this time four years from now.
