Post by JB Southpaw on Jan 27, 2006 13:05:00 GMT -5
..... from Men's National Team
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Jan. 26, 2006) – Two-time Olympian Kevin Barnett (Naperville, Ill.), a member of the USA Men's National Volleyball Team since the summer of 1997, has retired from the sport, USA Volleyball announced Thursday.
"It has nothing to do with my desire to play," he said of his decision to retire. "If it were up to me I would play forever. I really got to a point where I so enjoyed playing – and that wasn't always the case. I didn't always enjoy it. Actually, a couple of years were a nightmare for me, and for a lot of different reasons. But I got to a point where I really enjoyed playing and it was so easy to play well…I am sad to leave the team, that's for sure."
A series of knee injuries (five in all) from 2002 to 2005 led Barnett to leave the squad following nearly nine years of service. In his career, Barnett competed in 187 international matches, including 13 Olympic matches and 12 World Championship contests.
"It became more and more apparent as I tried to recover from having a patella realignment done (last year) that I just wasn't going to be the same," Barnett added. "If I had one healthy knee I would be in good shape. Unfortunately, now I have two knees that are both a little beat up, one more so than the other. With that being the case it was time for me to walk away while I can still walk. As I look ahead to the future I would like to remain active and not just end up crippled as I leave volleyball.
"I would love to play for a long, long time, but I won't go away with any bitterness."
Barnett, a member of the 2000 and 2004 Olympic teams, was twice selected as his team's Most Valuable Player – in 1998 and in 2004.
Team USA posted its best Olympic finish in 12 years by taking fourth place at the 2004 Summer Games in Athens, Greece, and Barnett proved to be one of the biggest reasons why the Americans exceeded expectations after dismal performances in 1996 (ninth place) and 2000 (11th place).
He overcame two serious knee injuries that kept him out of action for all of 2002 and most of 2003, not to mention a position change (from opposite to outside hitter), to emerge as one of the most consistent and emotional players on the USA squad. Barnett finished third on the team and 20th overall in scoring at the Olympics with 72 points on 54 kills, 14 blocks and four service aces.
"To me one of the most significant things about Kevin is how much he grew both as a player and as an individual," said USA Volleyball CEO Doug Beal, Barnett's coach from 1997-2004. "The maturity level that he demonstrated on the court and the performance level that he displayed in Athens were really the high point of his career.
"Over the nine years that he played Kevin evolved from a very erratic, emotional volleyball player into a really efficient, consistent, high-level performer who reached his peak in Athens," he added. "A great deal of the success we had in Greece can be attributed to his growth as a player."
Barnett was one of the key players as the USA pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in Olympic volleyball history. The Americans, trailing two sets to one in the Olympic quarterfinals against Greece, overcame a 20-12 deficit in the fourth set to tie the match and a 12-9 deficit and one match point in the fifth set to secure the win. In the victory, Barnett led the team in scoring with 20 points on 16 kills and four blocks.
Not surprisingly, he cites his experience in Athens as one of the fondest memories from his career.
"My favorite memory would have to definitely be the 2004 Olympic Games…just the way we finished there," Barnett explained. "It was really a vindicating experience for me having gone through 2000 where there were all those expectations and everyone thought we were going to do well – and we just failed so miserably. I was bitter about that for a long time…
"I thought 2004 was more what I had envisioned as an Olympic experience," he added. "Despite the fact we didn't medal, I felt that we sort of embodied what the Olympics ought to be. We achieved a lot and gave it everything we had. Unfortunately that was fourth. But medals are hard to come by."
Barnett, who played just one year of high school volleyball at Naperville North High School, was a two-time American Volleyball Coaches Association All-American at Pepperdine University (1996 and 1997) following two honor-filled years at Pierce Community College in Los Angeles (1994 and 1995).
"Maybe the best thing for me is seeing that growth as an individual in the non-volleyball parts of Kevin's personality – in his maturity level, his commitment to the team and his thoughtfulness," Beal added. "He has a wonderful future ahead of him in the new career he has chosen. And he has already made a great contribution to being an athlete representative on our Board of Directors and on our Executive Committee. I expect that will continue for quite a long time."
Barnett, who has a wife and two young sons, recently embarked on his new career as a real estate agent for Prudential Professional Realtors in Colorado Springs.
"It's a little daunting and exciting at the same time," he said of his new professional endeavor. "I am looking forward to climbing the mountain again. It is fun to have a new focus and to have something else to really try and achieve the same level as I did when I was playing. We'll see; it's not going to be easy, at least not in the beginning."
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Jan. 26, 2006) – Two-time Olympian Kevin Barnett (Naperville, Ill.), a member of the USA Men's National Volleyball Team since the summer of 1997, has retired from the sport, USA Volleyball announced Thursday.
"It has nothing to do with my desire to play," he said of his decision to retire. "If it were up to me I would play forever. I really got to a point where I so enjoyed playing – and that wasn't always the case. I didn't always enjoy it. Actually, a couple of years were a nightmare for me, and for a lot of different reasons. But I got to a point where I really enjoyed playing and it was so easy to play well…I am sad to leave the team, that's for sure."
A series of knee injuries (five in all) from 2002 to 2005 led Barnett to leave the squad following nearly nine years of service. In his career, Barnett competed in 187 international matches, including 13 Olympic matches and 12 World Championship contests.
"It became more and more apparent as I tried to recover from having a patella realignment done (last year) that I just wasn't going to be the same," Barnett added. "If I had one healthy knee I would be in good shape. Unfortunately, now I have two knees that are both a little beat up, one more so than the other. With that being the case it was time for me to walk away while I can still walk. As I look ahead to the future I would like to remain active and not just end up crippled as I leave volleyball.
"I would love to play for a long, long time, but I won't go away with any bitterness."
Barnett, a member of the 2000 and 2004 Olympic teams, was twice selected as his team's Most Valuable Player – in 1998 and in 2004.
Team USA posted its best Olympic finish in 12 years by taking fourth place at the 2004 Summer Games in Athens, Greece, and Barnett proved to be one of the biggest reasons why the Americans exceeded expectations after dismal performances in 1996 (ninth place) and 2000 (11th place).
He overcame two serious knee injuries that kept him out of action for all of 2002 and most of 2003, not to mention a position change (from opposite to outside hitter), to emerge as one of the most consistent and emotional players on the USA squad. Barnett finished third on the team and 20th overall in scoring at the Olympics with 72 points on 54 kills, 14 blocks and four service aces.
"To me one of the most significant things about Kevin is how much he grew both as a player and as an individual," said USA Volleyball CEO Doug Beal, Barnett's coach from 1997-2004. "The maturity level that he demonstrated on the court and the performance level that he displayed in Athens were really the high point of his career.
"Over the nine years that he played Kevin evolved from a very erratic, emotional volleyball player into a really efficient, consistent, high-level performer who reached his peak in Athens," he added. "A great deal of the success we had in Greece can be attributed to his growth as a player."
Barnett was one of the key players as the USA pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in Olympic volleyball history. The Americans, trailing two sets to one in the Olympic quarterfinals against Greece, overcame a 20-12 deficit in the fourth set to tie the match and a 12-9 deficit and one match point in the fifth set to secure the win. In the victory, Barnett led the team in scoring with 20 points on 16 kills and four blocks.
Not surprisingly, he cites his experience in Athens as one of the fondest memories from his career.
"My favorite memory would have to definitely be the 2004 Olympic Games…just the way we finished there," Barnett explained. "It was really a vindicating experience for me having gone through 2000 where there were all those expectations and everyone thought we were going to do well – and we just failed so miserably. I was bitter about that for a long time…
"I thought 2004 was more what I had envisioned as an Olympic experience," he added. "Despite the fact we didn't medal, I felt that we sort of embodied what the Olympics ought to be. We achieved a lot and gave it everything we had. Unfortunately that was fourth. But medals are hard to come by."
Barnett, who played just one year of high school volleyball at Naperville North High School, was a two-time American Volleyball Coaches Association All-American at Pepperdine University (1996 and 1997) following two honor-filled years at Pierce Community College in Los Angeles (1994 and 1995).
"Maybe the best thing for me is seeing that growth as an individual in the non-volleyball parts of Kevin's personality – in his maturity level, his commitment to the team and his thoughtfulness," Beal added. "He has a wonderful future ahead of him in the new career he has chosen. And he has already made a great contribution to being an athlete representative on our Board of Directors and on our Executive Committee. I expect that will continue for quite a long time."
Barnett, who has a wife and two young sons, recently embarked on his new career as a real estate agent for Prudential Professional Realtors in Colorado Springs.
"It's a little daunting and exciting at the same time," he said of his new professional endeavor. "I am looking forward to climbing the mountain again. It is fun to have a new focus and to have something else to really try and achieve the same level as I did when I was playing. We'll see; it's not going to be easy, at least not in the beginning."
