Rome, Italy, June 2, 2011 - After placing ninth at the FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Tour Gland Slam in Rome last year, the Ingrosso brothers are looking forward to another big start on their domestic turf. With two bronze medals in hand from the FIVB Swatch Junior World Championships in 2006 and 2008, Paolo and Matteo are confident they will do well at the upcoming FIVB Swatch World Championships powered by smart, which will be held in Rome, Italy from June 13-19.

The brothers, who are Italian beach volleyball champions, and who have been training in the country's capital for several years now, can expect to be cheered on by a strong crowd of followers.

2011 FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Championships Men  l  Women

The only identical twins playing in the FIVB World Tour have been teammates since 2004. As Matteo points out, there are benefits to their close sibling dynamic that get reflected on the court. “Having played together for 7 years, we know how we react during certain situations of a rally. I know when Paolo is struggling with something on the court and he can tell when the same is happening to me. This allows us to help one another and prevent our opponents from taking advantage of these moments.”

At the beginning of the year, the Italian duo started training under American coach Mike Dodd. Dodd, who is a silver Olympic medalist from Atlanta and esteemed winner of many awards in the American AVP circuit, has had a big impact on the players during the short time they have been under his instruction. The Ingrossos see the three months they spent training in California as a crucial step in both their professional and personal advancement. Both have been very excited about the opportunity to improve their English. Picking up the language as they trained alongside America's top players ,including Rogers and Dalhausser and Gibbs and Rosenthal, has been a pleasure for them.

Under Dodd's guidance, the young players have not only improved the technical aspects of their game, but they feel they have benefited from the psychological preparation which now helps them stay focused for each game. “Mike Dodd, is fantastic,” notes Paolo. “Under his guidance we can really learn a lot and improve, and we are strongly motivated to do so.”