Luca Bolognese's WebLog : Sport

Lucabol and Kiraly ...

lucabol — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 03:42:00 GMT

My wife took this in Manhattan Beach this week end. Karch is the one on the right.

Huntington Beach and Kiraly

lucabol — Sun, 06 May 2007 05:24:00 GMT

Today I'm watching the AVP tour, especially (as always) Karch. This year is his last and I'm trying to go and see him as much as I can. Karch is an idol for my generation of beach volley players. Well, it is an idol for all generations really ...

He loses one, he wins one. The day is about to end but he still has to play against Lambo. The sun is going down, it is the last match of the day. The crowd gathers around the court. As always it is not easy to put him down. He plays with Wong, another veteran of the AVP tour. The other team serves him short to force him to move forward and then backward again to prepare his attack. It is a smart strategy, Karch's legs and not what they used to be 20 years ago ...

But he goes on, finds new and interesting ways to overcome a block that is way higher than his maximum one hand reach. Sometimes it feels as if the block is his friend and Lambo starts to lower his hands not to give him that tool to play with. But the short serves are wearing him down and the match is going in the wrong direction.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, he produces an amazing strong hit. Something Rosy could have done. The crowd goes ballistic. Everybody laughs and cheers. Even the other team is laughing. Karch raises his hands smiling as to say: "I have no idea where that one came from". But maybe he does, because it happens again the very next side out. It looks like something good might still happen. But then he misses the last shot. He tries to hit the line, but the ball is far from the net and his jump is what it is.

We give him a two minutes standing ovation. This is the last time Huntington beach has seen him play. He waives his proverbial pink hat to salute the crowd. He sits down ...

... and he takes the head in his hands. After three Olympic medals, uncounted championships, thousand of beach volley wins and a two minutes standing ovation he is not happy. He missed the last ball.

I'm really an old, almost fat, beach volley player...

lucabol — Thu, 05 Aug 2004 15:37:00 GMT

I used to play a lot, back in Italy. We would come out from work, go to the beach, play two or three hours, swim a bit and then go out for the night. This would happen about every day. We took it awfully seriously. We would go to the Italian national championships and all. It was quite a big deal.

Seattle, on the other hand, is not too conductive to beach volley. Not too many real beaches and all of them quite far (commute wise) from where I live. So I don't play anymore, but I still like the game. One weekend or two each year, my wife and I go down to Los Angeles to watch AVP tournaments. And man, it is a lot of fun!!

And, by the way, beach volley has a lot going for it. For the players it is a low impact sport (the sand is soft). Plus you play the ball a lot, much more than in normal volleyball (or even soccer). Your are always in to the game, no place for hiding. It happens under the sun, so you don't get all the nasty problem of not warming up correctly. And the environment... oh man!! You are on the beach, not in some crazy smelling gym somewhere. All in all, you got to love it....

Anyway, down memory lane...