A day at the Beach: New beach volleyball training facility opening in Pleasant Grove
-
- An artist’s rendering of Beach Box, a new indoor sand volleyball facility opening in Pleasant Grove in June of 2025.
-
- Beach Box is a new indoor sand volleyball facility in Pleasant Grove. It is expected to open in June of 2025.
-
- Melissa Fuchs Powell, a professional beach volleyball player, is opening a new training facility in Pleasant Grove in June.
-
- An artist’s rendering of Beach Box, a new indoor sand volleyball facility opening in Pleasant Grove in June of 2025.
-
- An artist’s rendering of Beach Box, a new indoor sand volleyball facility opening in Pleasant Grove in June of 2025.
-
- An artist’s rendering of Beach Box, a new indoor sand volleyball facility opening in Pleasant Grove in June of 2025.
-
- An artist’s rendering of Beach Box, a new indoor sand volleyball facility opening in Pleasant Grove in June of 2025.
Courtesy Melissa Fuchs Powell
An artist's rendering of Beach Box, a new indoor sand volleyball facility opening in Pleasant Grove in June of 2025.
Beach volleyball is growing steadily in the NCAA ranks and is one of the fastest-growing sports in the world.
That sport will soon have a significant presence in Utah County.
A “beach head,” so to speak.
Melissa Fuchs Powell is a former college volleyball player and has competed in professional beach volleyball all over the world. She started “Project Beach Utah” several years ago to build up interest and provide training in the state.
On June 1, a big dream will be realized as Powell opens “Beach Box” in Pleasant Grove.
Courtesy Melissa Fuchs Powell
Beach Box is a new indoor sand volleyball facility in Pleasant Grove. It is expected to open in June of 2025.
“We’re hoping to create the ultimate beach hangout spot,” Powell said. “We want to be able to the only place in Utah that offers this kind of high-level training.”
To provide that training, Powell has hired former Olympic and Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) coach Pompilo Mercadante. Powell’s brother, former BYU volleyball player Phillip Fuchs, is an advisor and coach on the project.
“We’ll have three indoor sand courts,” Powell said. “For the training, we have a pro level development group. We’ll assist with travel support and sponsorships. We’ll have a mental strength coach on staff for aspiring pro and NCAA athletes. Our training is for all levels starting at age 3.”
Powell said Beach Box will be much more than just a training facility.
“We’ll also offer luxury services like massage, nail care and child care,” she said. “It will be just like a spa. You can drop your kid off, play volleyball and get a massage. We’ll have a member’s lounge and a recovery room, yoga and fitness classes and eventually a pre-school.”
Courtesy Melissa Fuchs Powell
Melissa Fuchs Powell, a professional beach volleyball player, is opening a new training facility in Pleasant Grove in June.
Beach Box will host elite training groups and club programs while also offering leagues, tournaments, camps, clinics, youth programs and special events for all age groups.
Powell said the location, just off the I-15 Freeway in Pleasant Grove, is close to restaurants as well.
Powell played high school volleyball at Pleasant Grove, helping the Vikings to a state title in 2012. She competed at Central Michigan and Houston Baptist before heading to the University of Utah and its fledgling beach program. Powell played on the World Tour circuit and the Brazil Pro Tour before joining forces with former BYU player Tambre Nobles on the AVP Tour.
Two years ago, Powell took a break and had a baby girl. She worked the Project Beach Utah program out of the Sand Bar in North Salt Lake, moved to California then back to Utah to coach and train on a sand court in her backyard in Highland.
She plans on continuing to cultivate her pro beach volleyball career while being a mother and running things at Beach Box. Powell has funded the Beach Box project with business lines of credit and is in talks with a local investor as well.
Courtesy Melissa Fuchs Powell
An artist's rendering of Beach Box, a new indoor sand volleyball facility opening in Pleasant Grove in June of 2025.
Currently, Powell is heading something called, “Volleyball + Mom Life = VolleyMammas,” a two-hour beach volleyball activity with childcare included.
She said Beach Box is a unique idea that should be very popular in Utah County.
“There’s nothing else like it here,” Powell said. “We’re excited to bring high-level beach volleyball to Utah County and we can create some of the best players in Utah. More than 100 colleges offers scholarships for beach volleyball now. The demand is there, for sure. We know from our research there was going to be a boom. Someone was going to do it first and we wanted to be that someone.”
More information on Beach Box is available at www.projectbeachutah.com/beachbox.
An artist's rendering of Beach Box, a new indoor sand volleyball facility opening in Pleasant Grove in June of 2025.
An artist's rendering of Beach Box, a new indoor sand volleyball facility opening in Pleasant Grove in June of 2025.
An artist's rendering of Beach Box, a new indoor sand volleyball facility opening in Pleasant Grove in June of 2025.
