<img src="https://assets.podomatic.net/ts/d6/65/d9/mewhirtert/3000x3000-422x422+120+0_12191460.jpg" alt="itunes pic" /><br />I made a bet with Ben Vaught, my de facto West Coast little brother, prior to the season. After every podcast I put up, he asked when he could be on it. So I told him, not thinking he would actually accomplish this until perhaps Manhattan, that he could be on the podcast when he qualified.<br><br>Well, it took him one event to do so. Ben, also known as Uncle Ben or Benny Boo Boo or Crack Shack, rolled through the Huntington Beach qualifier, stunning four-time Olympian Reid Priddy and Canadian Olympian Chaim Schalk in the final round. He cried a little. Hell, I was damn near tears, too.<br><br>So here is our conversation. We'll cover:<br><br>- His experience qualifying on the AVP as a 20-year-old.<br>- What it's like being in the players' tent for the first time.<br>- The number of training opportunities it has since opened up.<br>- Ben's progression through the years, and how he got so damn good so fast.<br>- Beating Olympians<br>- Playing Jake Gibb and Taylor Crabb<br><br>Enjoy, and welcome back to the Paper Courts Podcast!