Post by bigfan on Jul 22, 2010 11:51:11 GMT -5
www.presstelegram.com/sports/ci_15573194
Throwback: Reece gets back to the beach
BEACH VOLLEYBALL: Reece, 40, tries to advance the idea of playing fours again.
By Bob Keisser, Staff Writer
Gabrielle Reece made her return to competitive beach volleyball last weekend at the Hermosa Beach Open. (Photo courtesy gabbydaily.com)There were moments last weekend when Gabrielle Reece felt every bit like a 40-year-old making a comeback to her sport.
But it was for a good reason, so any aches and pains the volleyball and multimedia icon suffered in her return to beach volleyball were worthwhile. There was plenty of ice and aspirin to take the edge off.
"It was humbling and fun at the same time," Reece said as she prepares to play in the four-person event as part of the AVP Long Beach Open on Saturday and Sunday. "Part of it felt very natural, but my rhythm and timing wasn't as acute as you'd like it to be. I felt relieved, actually. It was nice to get on with it and have some fun."
She is getting on with trying to revive interest in the four-person team version of beach volleyball, where she played and starred from 1993-97 when it had its own tour and attracted a lot of volleyball names familiar to the public.
Reece was named Offensive Player of the Year twice and her team in 1997 - with Annett Davis (from St. Anthony High), Jenny Johnson (now Jordan) and Stephanie Cox - won the FIVB World Championships. Other notables on the four-person tour included Kim Oden, Antoinette White, Diane Shoemaker, Christine Romero, Annette Buckner, and former Long Beach State players Danielle Scott, Joe McKieznie and Brita Schwerm.
The men's side included former Long Beach Wilson High, Long Beach City College and Long Beach State star Bob Ctvrtlik (1988 Olympic gold medalist),
The four-person group folded after 1997 because of the same financial issues that caused the AVP to file for bankruptcy in 1998. Reece received the support of Nike to hold limited events at three AVP stops this season and see if there's any possibility of the AVP extending its menu.
"I wouldn't put the cart before the horse and say this is a revival yet," she said, "but it's an attempt to see if there's a way to put it in the AVP fold.
"I always loved fours because of the game's pace and it suited my style, so there's some selfishness there. It's a great version of the game that is user and fan friendly."
Reece knows beach volleyball isn't big enough to compete with itself, which was an issue years ago when the four-person format had its own tour and the men and women separate tours.
"The NFL isn't big enough to compete with itself," she said.
There are 12 AVP events and a similar number of FIVB events overseas. There's no pro U.S. league for indoor volleyball, meaning the only options for indoor players are contending for one of the scarce spots on the national teams or play in Europe and Asia.
A four-person AVP slate would open the opportunities for a lot of quality players who leave volleyball behind after college or struggle to stay active. The success of beach volleyball at the Olympic Games certainly makes expansion of the sport a feasible idea.
"There are a lot of talented indoor players who would take to the (four) beach game," Reece said. "Separate four-person events would create additional entertainment at events and serve as a feeder system for the twos, and bring men and women together.
"That's really my goal. Volleyball has been very good to me, and four-person especially, and it would be great if I can at all be involved in helping the sport. Fours doesn't have the history that the AVP has. Fours didn't have a Karch Kiraly, or a Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor."
It did have Reece, the first person to transcend the sport. She already was modeling when she was playing at Florida State and quickly racked up multiple careers in modeling, acting, TV commentary and fitness awareness.
She was the first woman to have her own Nike shoe, and she's now part of a sports power duo with husband and big surf icon Laird Hamilton.
But her participation now is just to leverage attention.
"I can only do this a little longer," she said, noting a chronic knee injury. "If I can play at a competitive level, then I will, and if not, I won't. I'm more interested in how insanely talented a four-person tour would be with all the young talent that exists in the sport."
She will be one of four team captains Saturday for the four teams that will play semifinals with the winners advancing to a final, joining Walsh, just back after giving birth, and veterans Leanne McSorley and Nancy Mason (Reynolds).
They will draft teams from a pool of other current and former players.
"Not everyone is in love with this idea," she said. "I appreciate that the current (AVP regime) was open to it and encouraging. I know it's a dance with the sport that is still considered a niche.
"I was around when Randy Stoklos and Sinjin Smith launched the sport, and when it became part of the Olympics, and when Kerri and Misty came along. We all thought those were the humps that would put us over. It's probably going to be an ongoing thing, and anything we can do to grow the sport can only help."
bob.keisser@presstelegram.com
Throwback: Reece gets back to the beach
BEACH VOLLEYBALL: Reece, 40, tries to advance the idea of playing fours again.
By Bob Keisser, Staff Writer
Gabrielle Reece made her return to competitive beach volleyball last weekend at the Hermosa Beach Open. (Photo courtesy gabbydaily.com)There were moments last weekend when Gabrielle Reece felt every bit like a 40-year-old making a comeback to her sport.
But it was for a good reason, so any aches and pains the volleyball and multimedia icon suffered in her return to beach volleyball were worthwhile. There was plenty of ice and aspirin to take the edge off.
"It was humbling and fun at the same time," Reece said as she prepares to play in the four-person event as part of the AVP Long Beach Open on Saturday and Sunday. "Part of it felt very natural, but my rhythm and timing wasn't as acute as you'd like it to be. I felt relieved, actually. It was nice to get on with it and have some fun."
She is getting on with trying to revive interest in the four-person team version of beach volleyball, where she played and starred from 1993-97 when it had its own tour and attracted a lot of volleyball names familiar to the public.
Reece was named Offensive Player of the Year twice and her team in 1997 - with Annett Davis (from St. Anthony High), Jenny Johnson (now Jordan) and Stephanie Cox - won the FIVB World Championships. Other notables on the four-person tour included Kim Oden, Antoinette White, Diane Shoemaker, Christine Romero, Annette Buckner, and former Long Beach State players Danielle Scott, Joe McKieznie and Brita Schwerm.
The men's side included former Long Beach Wilson High, Long Beach City College and Long Beach State star Bob Ctvrtlik (1988 Olympic gold medalist),
The four-person group folded after 1997 because of the same financial issues that caused the AVP to file for bankruptcy in 1998. Reece received the support of Nike to hold limited events at three AVP stops this season and see if there's any possibility of the AVP extending its menu.
"I wouldn't put the cart before the horse and say this is a revival yet," she said, "but it's an attempt to see if there's a way to put it in the AVP fold.
"I always loved fours because of the game's pace and it suited my style, so there's some selfishness there. It's a great version of the game that is user and fan friendly."
Reece knows beach volleyball isn't big enough to compete with itself, which was an issue years ago when the four-person format had its own tour and the men and women separate tours.
"The NFL isn't big enough to compete with itself," she said.
There are 12 AVP events and a similar number of FIVB events overseas. There's no pro U.S. league for indoor volleyball, meaning the only options for indoor players are contending for one of the scarce spots on the national teams or play in Europe and Asia.
A four-person AVP slate would open the opportunities for a lot of quality players who leave volleyball behind after college or struggle to stay active. The success of beach volleyball at the Olympic Games certainly makes expansion of the sport a feasible idea.
"There are a lot of talented indoor players who would take to the (four) beach game," Reece said. "Separate four-person events would create additional entertainment at events and serve as a feeder system for the twos, and bring men and women together.
"That's really my goal. Volleyball has been very good to me, and four-person especially, and it would be great if I can at all be involved in helping the sport. Fours doesn't have the history that the AVP has. Fours didn't have a Karch Kiraly, or a Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor."
It did have Reece, the first person to transcend the sport. She already was modeling when she was playing at Florida State and quickly racked up multiple careers in modeling, acting, TV commentary and fitness awareness.
She was the first woman to have her own Nike shoe, and she's now part of a sports power duo with husband and big surf icon Laird Hamilton.
But her participation now is just to leverage attention.
"I can only do this a little longer," she said, noting a chronic knee injury. "If I can play at a competitive level, then I will, and if not, I won't. I'm more interested in how insanely talented a four-person tour would be with all the young talent that exists in the sport."
She will be one of four team captains Saturday for the four teams that will play semifinals with the winners advancing to a final, joining Walsh, just back after giving birth, and veterans Leanne McSorley and Nancy Mason (Reynolds).
They will draft teams from a pool of other current and former players.
"Not everyone is in love with this idea," she said. "I appreciate that the current (AVP regime) was open to it and encouraging. I know it's a dance with the sport that is still considered a niche.
"I was around when Randy Stoklos and Sinjin Smith launched the sport, and when it became part of the Olympics, and when Kerri and Misty came along. We all thought those were the humps that would put us over. It's probably going to be an ongoing thing, and anything we can do to grow the sport can only help."
bob.keisser@presstelegram.com
