Post by Nutter on Jul 6, 2005 22:58:56 GMT -5
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Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Indoor stars find new place in sun
Volleyball players head for the beach, and like it
By Colleen Kane
Enquirer staff writer
Jeff Nygaard hated beach volleyball.
The Madison, Wis., native had a very successful indoor volleyball career. He was named the national player of the year twice. He led UCLA to two national championships. He was a two-time indoor Olympian with the U.S. team.
So why switch? He couldn't move in the sand and the wind. His skin was going to get fried in the sun. And two-on-two? What's that about?
Then, one late night after the 2000 Olympics, Nygaard's friend invited him to a midnight game at Santa Monica Pier. And he actually enjoyed himself. In a couple months, there was no turning back.
"I'll never play the indoor game again," Nygaard said.
He is now second with partner Dax Holdren in the standings for the AVP Tour, which comes to town Thursday through Sunday for the Cincinnati Open. He is one of several players who have successfully, and now happily, made the switch from indoor to beach volleyball.
Other former top indoor players include: Kerri Walsh, a four-time All-American at Stanford; Misty May, a two-time national player of the year at Long Beach State; Stein Metzger, half of the top-ranked AVP duo who was a three-time national champion at UCLA; and Mike Lambert, an indoor Olympian in 1996 and 2000. Many of the current AVP players won NCAA championships.
The reasons for choosing one game over the other can be as varied as the players themselves.
There is talent in both indoor and outdoor. Players said that although it's hard to compare the two sets of athletes because of their different skills, many of the current indoor players would do well on the beach, and vice versa.
"The really, really good indoor players would do really well on the beach, but they never will play on the beach because they're so locked into what they do indoors," Lambert said.
There is opportunity and money to play both indoor and beach volleyball professionally.
Most indoor opportunities are abroad. Lambert played in a pro indoor league for four years in Italy, where he said there is more support for the indoor game than for the beach game. The U.S. national teams also play in world tournaments and tours.
Within the United States, the indoor game is obviously tops at the high school and collegiate levels, but the AVP is the top pro volleyball tour in the country.
And with the popularity of beach volleyball at the Olympics and a more secure AVP under current commissioner Leonard Armato, the beach game is gaining ground in the United States, players said.
"The indoor game is more set in stone. There's more funding, more sponsors, more tours," Nygaard said. "But the beach game is catching on like wildfire. There are a lot of good, talented, quality beach players."
Said Lambert: "(The beach game) is alive and thriving in the U.S. It's becoming how it was in its heyday."
For Lambert, a native of Hawaii, the choice to move to beach was easier than Nygaard's move.
"It was like a coming-home party," Lambert said. "It was a transition I always thought I was going to make, and when I did, it was like, 'OK, I'm home.' "
UC graduate Denise Johns, a player on the Tour, picked the beach game for its lifestyle: getting to be outside all day.
"I love the outdoors and being by the beach," said Johns, who grew up in Copley, Ohio. "There also are too many people on the court indoor. I was always worrying about if the girl next to me was going to get the ball. I like it being more individual."
Many of the older players find the sand easier on the body. Nygaard said he knew indoor players to spend hours in the training room and take Advil just to get through their days.
"Everything about your body in indoor hurts," he said.
"Sand is a much more forgiving surface. It's easier on the ankles, knees and back on landings," 44-year-old Karch Kiraly said.
But that doesn't mean it's easy. The hardest part about making the switch to beach is dealing with "the elements" - the sand, sun and wind that can take a lot out of a player.
"When you come out to the beach, it's a whole new set of skills," Lambert said. "You find yourself losing to guys and you think, 'God, I should never lose to that guy.' "
Nygaard said he walked away from his first time playing on the beach completely frustrated. Four years, seven tournament wins and an Olympics on the sand later, that feeling is a memory.
"I've come around to see the light," he said.
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Indoor stars find new place in sun
Volleyball players head for the beach, and like it
By Colleen Kane
Enquirer staff writer
Jeff Nygaard hated beach volleyball.
The Madison, Wis., native had a very successful indoor volleyball career. He was named the national player of the year twice. He led UCLA to two national championships. He was a two-time indoor Olympian with the U.S. team.
So why switch? He couldn't move in the sand and the wind. His skin was going to get fried in the sun. And two-on-two? What's that about?
Then, one late night after the 2000 Olympics, Nygaard's friend invited him to a midnight game at Santa Monica Pier. And he actually enjoyed himself. In a couple months, there was no turning back.
"I'll never play the indoor game again," Nygaard said.
He is now second with partner Dax Holdren in the standings for the AVP Tour, which comes to town Thursday through Sunday for the Cincinnati Open. He is one of several players who have successfully, and now happily, made the switch from indoor to beach volleyball.
Other former top indoor players include: Kerri Walsh, a four-time All-American at Stanford; Misty May, a two-time national player of the year at Long Beach State; Stein Metzger, half of the top-ranked AVP duo who was a three-time national champion at UCLA; and Mike Lambert, an indoor Olympian in 1996 and 2000. Many of the current AVP players won NCAA championships.
The reasons for choosing one game over the other can be as varied as the players themselves.
There is talent in both indoor and outdoor. Players said that although it's hard to compare the two sets of athletes because of their different skills, many of the current indoor players would do well on the beach, and vice versa.
"The really, really good indoor players would do really well on the beach, but they never will play on the beach because they're so locked into what they do indoors," Lambert said.
There is opportunity and money to play both indoor and beach volleyball professionally.
Most indoor opportunities are abroad. Lambert played in a pro indoor league for four years in Italy, where he said there is more support for the indoor game than for the beach game. The U.S. national teams also play in world tournaments and tours.
Within the United States, the indoor game is obviously tops at the high school and collegiate levels, but the AVP is the top pro volleyball tour in the country.
And with the popularity of beach volleyball at the Olympics and a more secure AVP under current commissioner Leonard Armato, the beach game is gaining ground in the United States, players said.
"The indoor game is more set in stone. There's more funding, more sponsors, more tours," Nygaard said. "But the beach game is catching on like wildfire. There are a lot of good, talented, quality beach players."
Said Lambert: "(The beach game) is alive and thriving in the U.S. It's becoming how it was in its heyday."
For Lambert, a native of Hawaii, the choice to move to beach was easier than Nygaard's move.
"It was like a coming-home party," Lambert said. "It was a transition I always thought I was going to make, and when I did, it was like, 'OK, I'm home.' "
UC graduate Denise Johns, a player on the Tour, picked the beach game for its lifestyle: getting to be outside all day.
"I love the outdoors and being by the beach," said Johns, who grew up in Copley, Ohio. "There also are too many people on the court indoor. I was always worrying about if the girl next to me was going to get the ball. I like it being more individual."
Many of the older players find the sand easier on the body. Nygaard said he knew indoor players to spend hours in the training room and take Advil just to get through their days.
"Everything about your body in indoor hurts," he said.
"Sand is a much more forgiving surface. It's easier on the ankles, knees and back on landings," 44-year-old Karch Kiraly said.
But that doesn't mean it's easy. The hardest part about making the switch to beach is dealing with "the elements" - the sand, sun and wind that can take a lot out of a player.
"When you come out to the beach, it's a whole new set of skills," Lambert said. "You find yourself losing to guys and you think, 'God, I should never lose to that guy.' "
Nygaard said he walked away from his first time playing on the beach completely frustrated. Four years, seven tournament wins and an Olympics on the sand later, that feeling is a memory.
"I've come around to see the light," he said.