Jeff Wayne Nygaard (born August 3, 1972 in Madison, Wisconsin

Madison, Wisconsin

Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....

) is an American beach volleyball

Beach volleyball

Beach volleyball, or sand volleyball, is an Olympic team sport played by two teams of two players on a sand court divided by a net.Like volleyball, the object of the game is to send the ball over the net in order to ground it on the opponent’s court, and to prevent the same effort by the opponent....

 player who participated in the 2004 Summer Olympics

Volleyball at the 2004 Summer Olympics - Men's Beach Volleyball

The men's beach volleyball event at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, was held at the Olympic Beach Volleyball Centre located at the Faliro Coastal Zone Olympic Complex.-Medalists:-Pool play:...

 with partner Dain Blanton

Dain Blanton

Dain Blanton is an American beach volleyball player won the gold medal in Beach Volleyball in the 2000 Olympic Games, with partner Eric Fonoimoana. He returned to the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece with partner Jeff Nygaard, becoming the first and only two-time U.S...

 in Athens, Greece. In 1996 and 2000 he was a member of the Men's Olympic National Indoor Team.

Jeff Nygaard attended Robert M. La Follette

Robert M. La Follette, Sr.

Robert Marion "Fighting Bob" La Follette, Sr. , was an American Republican politician. He served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, was the Governor of Wisconsin, and was also a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin...

 High School

Madison LaFollette High School

La Follette High School is a public school located in Madison, Wisconsin, teaching students grades 9-12. It is a part of the Madison Metropolitan School District. One of five Madison public high schools, it is commonly known as "La Follette". The school is named after former lawmaker and 1924...

 in Madison, Wisconsin where he played volleyball under coach Randy Ramig. Nicknamed "Little Ny" because his older, and then larger, brother Brad also played on the volleyball team, Jeff Nygaard improved quickly to become a key and then a star player. The La Follette High School volleyball team won state championships in 1987 and 1989 and came in second in 1988.

In 1989 and 1990, he played for the Wisconsin Select volleyball club.

Nygaard returned for senior year at UCLA after helping Team USA claim the bronze medal at the '94 World Championship in Athens, Greece. He had four aces in the World Championship bronze medal game against Cuba (10-8-94) and 19 kills, two stuffs and three aces in semifinal loss to Netherlands (10-7-94). He rejoined USA team in June 1994 after his junior campaign at UCLA and made return debut on the so called Banana Boat outdoor tour vs. Canada.

Jeff was an assistant coach for the Whittier College

Whittier College

Whittier College is a private liberal arts college in Whittier, California. As of January 2009, the college has approximately 1540 enrolled students.-Overview:...

 women's volleyball team in 2009.

Currently Jeff is active as a featured professional on the volleyball website Volleyball 1on1

Volleyball 1on1

Volleyball 1on1 is an interactive Volleyball website that was founded by former NCAA volleyball champion and businessman Andor Gyulai and entrepreneur and finance expert Vanessa Summers in March of 2009. The website is a resource for instructional volleyball videos, drills, practice plans as well...

, where he produces instructional volleyball videos featuring himself and other well known volleyball professionals.