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Mike Stormin' Normand - Part 3
17 Nov 2023
00:33:53
Mike discusses: His coaching career, including time at Santa Monica Community College and an epic comeback against Orange Coast Community College and how instrumental all -time LEGEND Randy Stoklos was, some of the heaviest hitters he ever saw, how he developed indoors as a player at places like John Adams Middle School, Pierce College, etc... Playing with Dave Schaeffer indoors, and classic story of "breaking in" filling in for '64 Olympian and Stockton Club player, Chuck Nelson in a tournament with fellow Olympians Rudy Suwara and Butch "4-F" May.
Stormin' Normand discusses: The brilliance of UCLA Coach Al Scates, the infamous "CIRCLE DRILL", "The Blue Curtain", CURL OFF in UCLA weight room against Trevor Schirman... His beach volleyball career, including epic 3rd place finish with the only guy with a mustache better than him, the LATE Rick "Bear Dog"" at the '77 State Beach World Championships, and mentoring a young Sinjin Smith to his first win at the '77 Marine Street Open... Plus the LEGENDARY story of when a just out of Santa Barbara HS Karch Kiraly and Marco Ortega competed against him and Sinjin in first round. Karch mouthed off " Choke city", after winning first game, and had the living daylights scared out of him once he got a "load" of STORMIN' NORMAND..... Lesson LEARNED....
- Growing up as a kid in the 50's in South Mission Beach, San Diego, and becoming a part of the surf and volleyball culture there, including hanging out with surfers like Mike Hynson (from the Bruce Brown film "The Endless Summer", and Skip Frye), the Mission Beach volleyball crew consisting of Nate Parrish, George Stepanof, Jack Henn, Chester and Stevie Goss, Bob Mendoza, Jean Ready Froning, and Jeanne Lenhart, the infamous Corona Del Mar party where things got "out of hand", including Nate Parrish putting his head through the glass window and throwing a couch from the second story onto a Porsche below, playing against legends Mike O'Hara & Mike Bright in the first round, and then Ron Lang & Gene Selznick in the tournament that weekend, and a classic story of competing against Steno Brunicardi and Kent Dorwin where he and his partner made the mistake of listening to Nate Parrish's advice...
- Some of the better known women's players on the beach from years passed, including Connie Keller, Jean Brunicardi, Patti Steere, Johnette Latreille, Edie Conrad, Eileen Clancy, Kathy Gregory, Nina Gruenwinkel-Matthies, and Nancy Cohen to name a few, what made the mixed game so amazing, including some of the best men's mixed players over the decades, and some fun stories competing against them, the impact Mike Cook had at Marine Street, how far the beach game has come with the players today all over the WORLD, and the two USA women's beach players, Sarah Spocil, and Kristen Nuss, that he feels have infinite potential on the beach...
- Mike O'Hara and his memories of him from the Hollywood YMCA and what made him an impressive indoor player, the time O'Hara asked Butch to play with him at Corona Del Mar in Butch's FIRST open tournament, including some memorable moments from that weekend in '65, Mike Bright and his memories of him, including Mike's paddle boarding prowess, and the impact paddle boarder and surfer Tommy Zahn had on a young Mike Bright, some epic stories of Bright competing in the Catalina to Manhattan Beach Paddle Board contest, and another in Hawaii against surfing legend George Downing, some epic stories about making the '68 Men's Indoor Olympic Volleyball team and punching Mike Bright in the face during the try outs in Lake Tahoe and the drama that ensued through out the Olympics, Butch's "interactions" with Coach Jim Coleman, including hanging Coleman off the 3rd story balcony of the hotel when Butch disagreed with Coleman's questionable coaching decisions, and how Butch rode a bicycle up to Bright's house in the canyon now once, but three times when fires threatened to burn down Bright's house....
- His two men's Open Wins with Rudy Suwara, and Dane Holtzman in Santa Cruz, and his recollection of both of them and what made them great players, his recollection of the '68 Manhattan Beach Open he played in with Mike Bright where they finished 3rd , and how amazing Rundle and Bergmann & Lang & Von Hagen played that weekend, including the legendary story of Steno Brunicardi getting hit in the head with a beer bottle by a fan and what transpired after, and how talented Gene Selznicjk was ....
- The Mixed game, Eileen Clancy and seeing how talented she was as a young 10 year old kid playing with Jack Jensen, and the fact that she could drink a beer like no one's business, and asked her to play, a classic Butch and Barbara May Marine street mixed open story when they decided to forfeit when they weren't getting along, much to the chagrin of tournament director -Mike Cook, some of the talented mixed players he competed against, including Matt Gage, Nina Gruenwinkel (Matthies), Rose Duncan, Captain Buzz Swarts, Ron Lang, Mike O'Hara, Edie Conrad, Johnette Latreille, Gene Selznick, Jim Savage, and Sandy Malpee, to name a few, riding motorcycles in his spare time with Al Wurtzel, surfing with Mike Bright, and working with him at Rick's Surfboards (later Becker Surfboards) and getting paid with a surfboard!, a classic story of playing rugby with the owner of Mattel Toys!, and how grateful he is to have met the amazing people he has thanks to the sport of volleyball....
- The 2020 Olympics, including his take on the USA women's indoor team thus far, the USA men's indoor team and where they need to improve moving forward, and which indoor teams he thinks are the favorites to medal. He then touches on the beach volleyball games, what went wrong from Sponcil & Claes, and Dalhausser & Lucena, and who the favorites are to medal.
- MUSCLE BEACH. The players that played there over the years he was there, the eclectic group of people from ALL walks of life that hung out there ( body builders, gymnasts, mobsters, pro sport athletes, war heroes, successful business owners, you name it), the CHARACTERS like Steven "TheMatsa" Cahn, the infamous card games played there with Wilt Chamberlin, Bob Vogelsang, etc... Hot Dog on a Stick, the beach clubs located close by, including how Doug Badt's Sand & Sea Club had the BEST food on the beach :), the legendary Barber family that was an integral part of the scene, and how bonded the Muscle Beach (Sewer of Volleyball) crew from that golden era is to this day......
- More details on the '64 Olympic Team, including the FLAWED selection process, how talented Gene Selznick and Keith Erickson were, his recollection as a young beach player trying to "break in" at Muscle, Sorrento, and State Beach, and some CLASSIC stories of "who was who" at each beach, and the HOOPS he had to jump through to make a name for himself at each, and a classic story ( from this day forward to be remembered as "Shabba Habbitz") in the history of the sport, when he played in a Winston Volleyball tournament alongside Gene Selznick later in their careers against a young Don Shaw and his partner....
- The patriotic story of how he got his nick name "BUTCH" while still in the womb, his start in the sport as a high school kid growing up in Hawaii, and seeing the talented players at the Outrigger, and Hawaiian Village, including an epic story of sneaking in the Outrigger and taking a hit to the face from future '68 Olympic teammate, Tommy Haine, his infamous "4-F packet" story when he was drafted in '66!, his background before volleyball working in a lumber mill in a small town, his amateur bull riding career where he rode a bull on his first attempt EVER for 8 seconds, and earned a 4th place finish, and how he spent his $ winnings by buying a round of drinks for everyone in the BAR, how he met Colonel Burt DeGroot, and ended up playing for him at Santa Monica Comm. College alongside teammates like Bill Clemo and Ernie Suwara in '63/'64, sharing an apartment with Ernie Suwara when they were teammates at SMCC, how big of an influence Coach - Colonel Burt DeGroot had on him as young player, his recollection of the debacle that was '64 USA Olympic team, how the team was chosen, and how some of the best players were left off the team by Coach Harry Wilson, and some classic stories of how amazing Ernie Suwara was as a hitter!
Ron Von Hagen on the INFAMOUS 1968 Manhattan Beach Open
01 Jun 2021
00:26:13
Ron Von Hagen shares his recollection of the infamous 1968 Manhattan Beach Open where he and Ron Lang BATTLED Larry Rundle & Henry Bergmann for 7 plus hours between the Winners bracket finals, and FINALS, where they were dead even until it got dark and Lang couldn't see the ball. Amazing....
Stormin' Normand discusses: His youth as a kid, his time as a Green Beret in Vietnam, how he became interested in the sport, and his time at UCLA in '73 and '74.
- How he made a living after his volleyball career concluded, running beach volleyball clinics, and selling his amazing art work while living out of his van, how grateful he is for his amazing wife Barbara, and some of his dearest friends: Digger Graybill, and the late George Stepanof and his wife Arlene.
- Some great stories after his volleyball career working as a bar tender here in downtown, Milwaukee Wisconsin at The Rock Bottom, and Miller Time Pub including , including meeting SO many of his former teammates, peers, and volleyball people he met over the years!, his transition into Coaching as an Assistant Coach at Ottawa University in Kansas for the men's and women's programs there and some of his memories from that time, his thoughts on the indoor game we see today, how much he loves the changes in the sport we see today, and the amazing caliber of play across the world, and wishes he could have played under the new rules, some great stories about his time playing on the Evanston, Illinois JO team in High School when they beat the Torrance Roof, CA team, his thoughts on the USA Men's Olympic Indoor team led by Coach John Speraw heading into the upcoming Summer Olympics , and how DEEP and TALENTED the teams are now IN EVERY COUNTRY, where ANY TEAM competing could win the GOLD this coming summer Olympics, what he is most proud of from his playing career, how he would like to be remembered, and what he is up to now in life as of April 2021 :)
- His transition after graduating from Pepperdine to trying out and making the USA Men's National team as a Starter, memories from his time playing on the USA Men's National team, including the HIGHS and LOWS over those years from '93 though '00, his recollections of the '96 Olympiad in Atlanta when he competed on the USA Men's Olympic team, including the tough 5 game losses they had, and WHO some of the most impressive players were they competed against, a classic "Coach on One" story he has from his time on the National team when he overslept, and Coach Fred Sturm put him through a Coach on One drill that was epic, how it felt to be one of the LAST guys cut from the national team in '00 prior to the Sydney Olympiad, and how emotional it was as an athlete walking to his car in the parking lot realizing he would never suit up in a USA volleyball jersey again, and the experience of playing overseas at the Professional CLUB volleyball level in Spain, and Italy.
- His youth growing up in Racine, Wisconsin, and his start in the sport playing at Racine Case high school for his cousin/COACH Gary Sorensen, the talented Wisconsin players he looked up to in his youth, the MOMENT he realized he was capable of playing division 1 collegiate volleyball when he attended a "TOP OF YOUR CLASS" volleyball camp at UCSB before his senior year at Racine Case where he competed against the BEST California HS volleyball players, the collegiate recruiting process to follow where he decided there was no other coach he wanted to play for than Marv Dunphy at Pepperdine, some of the BEST players he competed against in college at Pepperdine, and his memories of 1992 when he led the Pepperdine Waves to the NCAA Men's Volleyball title!
- The BEST diggers he faced on the FIVB tour, BEST BLOCKERS, all around BEST PLAYERS he faced, and the MOST SPECTACULAR players he competed against that he loved to watch, his view from an international player's perspective of the GOOD things that came from the FIVB, what he is most proud of from his career as a competitor, and how he would like to be remembered, his take on the young, supremely talented Norwegian team now of Anders Mol, and Christian Sorum, what he is up to now days in Norway, including family, hobbies, and a new business venture with beach partner and lifelong friend, Bjorn Maasiede with their new paddle tennis facilities they have been constructing across Norway.
- Memories from his and partner Bjorn Maaseide's 7 wins on the FIVB tour (including receiving FIVB gold medals from Jane Fonda at an event) :), his memories from both the '96 Atlanta, and '00 Sydney Beach Volleyball Olympics, including some insightful and visceral Olympic stories of his regrets, and what he would have done differently in hindsight, and the best 6 hitters he competed against over his career.
- His start on the FIVB tour alongside partner Bjorn Maaseide, what the experience was like, including the challenges they faced early on as young upstarts, the established players they faced and were inspired by, and the importance of "believing in yourself and your partner", a great story about his and Bjorn's first trip to California in '92 to train at Capo Beach, and how they didn't even have a ball to train with on the first day at the beach, and were shot down by an AVP star when they asked to borrow one of the 20 balls he brought to the beach :) and how that trip to CA ( despite some humbling moments) and training with AAA players and AVP Pros at Capo, State, and Hermosa Beach inspired them to stick with the beach game and made them both better players!
- His thoughts on the beach volleyball game we see today compared to when he played, how his book The Art of Beach Volleyball came about, what he's most proud of from his career, what he's up to now days in 2021, including how GRATEFUL he is for his wife Barbara, his amazing parents who supported him every step of his life, and the amazing friends he made along the way :), and the 4 most memorable wins he had over his beach volleyball career,
- The MEMORABLE moments from his time as the MC of the AVP during its HEY DAY, both on and off the court, his recollection of how the sport crashed in the late 90's due to the EGOS, power struggle between the AVP vs FIVB, the mismanagement, & certain sponsors not following through with the $, his thoughts on the beach game today compared to what it was back then, what he did career - wise after he moved on from pro beach volleyball, what he misses the most about his time as the MC of the sport in the 80's and 90's, what he is most proud of during his time MC'ing, and how he would like to be remembered from his time on tour, what he is up to now days living in Pacific Palisades with his amazing family, where he is working now, his hobbies, and how excited he is about his upcoming new role in July 2021 at Notre Dame High School as their new President, and a final story about Matt Gage and how AMAZING he was and STILL is!
- His youth growing up in the North Bay, how amazing it was as a kid to ride his bike or skateboard down to State Beach, Sorrento Beach, & Muscle Beach to watch the legends of the sport play at that time, the amazing volleyball and basketball players that he got to know over the years at Pacific Palisades High School as a Dolphin, how he got his first experience as an announcer there in high school, his time working on the AVP Tour during the HEY DAY of the sport in public relations, marketing, and MC'ing the sport, how amazing Matt Gage was as tournament director, his profound respect for everyone that was a part of the AVP tour from week to week, including Rudy Papaco, David Leighton, and many other amazing "behind the scenes" crew members that got the tour from city to city each week that deserve a TON OF CREDIT for their contributions and hard work, his time on the Jose Cuervo tour, and all those who made it such an incredible event 3 x a year, including some amazing stories about the infamous Cuervo parties!
- Some additional memories from his time as a player at San Diego State, including his recollection of how talented Duncan McFarland was, not to mention his other talented teammates he is honored to have played alongside with, how he transitioned from his playing career to the real world as a High School Teacher and Coach , including coaching volleyball for the girls program at Hoover HS in San Diego, and recruiting Tod Mattox to help coach, and the LIFELONG friendship he's had with him since, his time coaching the women's team at Grossmont College, and how grateful he was to be a part of the collegiate sport during the implementation of Title IX, and when women's volleyball became a NCAA sport in '81, his next coaching endeavor at UCSD for the Tritons men's program, and getting to compete against storied programs like UCLA, USC, and Pepperdine, to name a few, the "real life" moment he came to as a husband and father living in Cardiff teaching and coaching, working 18 hours a day and commuting a hour all over the place, (even though he loved every minute of it), and making the decision to relocate to Walla Walla, Washington to become an English Teacher and high school girls volleyball coach so his family could have a better quality of life, what he is doing now career wise with his Socratic Seminars across the country, his amazing family - wife April, daughter Erin, and son Kevin, who the best hitters, diggers, and setters were from his era, and what he is most proud of from his career as a player, coach, and educator.....
- The BEST hitters he ever saw ( Including an amazing story about Mike Stormin' Normand!), best diggers, best team he ever saw on the beach, the MOMENT when he made the decision to become an ARTIST after he and Mike Carey got knocked out of the Laguna Beach Open during the weekend of the Laguna Beach Art Festival, and he visited the Museum there and first saw a Van Gogh painting that was on exhibition , and knew right then and there he was going to be an artist!, and who some of his favorite bands are to this day :)
- More of his FOND memories of the players from his era, including Bill "Blowfish" Imwalle, Amy Baldus, Butch May & Eileen Clancy, Buzz Swarts, Dane Selznick, Fred Zuelich, Gary Hooper & Steve Obradovich, his good friend George Stepanof and his AMAZING family ( wife Arlene and son Rick) and all they have done for the sport!, Bob Mendoza, Ron Von Hagen, Ron Lang, Henry Bergmann, & Larry "RAGS" Rundle, some of the legendary photographers of the game like Bob "Crank" Van Wagner, Robi Hutas, Kevin Goff, Doug Avery, & Artie Couvillon, and how their priceless photos play an instrumental part in capturing the history of the sport from that era for the rest of TIME...
Some of the players he saw, played with, and against, or heard about, including John Vallely, Jim Menges, Greg Lee, Bill Leeka, Fred Zuelich, Mike Carey, and Matt Gage, a funny story of playing in the Manhattan Beach Open with Ron Von Hagen and how nervous he was, winning the '77 Capitola Northern California Beach Championship with Fred Zuelich in a tightly contested match against Jeff Jordan & Bob PAPE, how amazed he was by the young guys on tour like OB, who could party all night on Saturday, and then still play the next day, and how much fun he had later on playing in the Chris Marlowe organized LEGENDS tournaments with Captain Buzz Swarts.
- The music he and the players were listening to back in the 70's, how he used to live at his parent's house in Yucaipa over the summer and drive to the beach and back home EVERY day, seeing John Vallely play at the beach and how amazing he was, meeting Wink Davenport and the influence he had on him, being in the armed forces, and his role with them, the time he worked at SIZZLER restaurant for a DAY as a cook, and resigning the very same day, his time living with Fred Zuelich in Mission Beach as roommates and how they were like the ODD COUPLE!, his infamous "waterfall dink" and how he learned it from Larry Rundle, how talented Jim Menges was as a player, and his recollections of some of the instrumental players he recalls from his time playing on the beach, like Stu Waite, and Ron Von Hagen & Ron Lang.
- His youth growing up in Yacaipa, CA, how his dad started a little league baseball team there, how supportive his parents and sister were to him as a youth, and how Dennis went on to achieve some incredible high school accolades as a baseball and basketball player (All - CIF, and Honorable mention All-American), his first exposure to volleyball in high school, his time at San Diego State playing baseball, and how he got caught by the baseball coach playing volleyball in the gym at SDSU with Duncan McFarland!, his first exposure to beach volleyball at Ocean Beach when the established players there wouldn't let him play!, how he first got his AAA rating playing with Mike Carey, beating Larry Rundle and Mike Bright in the losers finals, and getting to compete in a final against Ron Lang & Ron Von Hagen!, how he idolized Larry Rundle and copied his dink, his fond memories of Laguna Beach local- Pete Ott, and what a character Bob Vogelsang was back then, how he would like to someday make a beach volleyball documentary to capture the essence of the sport from that era, and how the sport lost its soul when it got away from being played on the beach, and went to being played in parking lots and stadium courts across the word....
- The best diggers he competed against in his era, best teams he competed against, what it takes to be a good overhand digger, a classic story from Lake Tahoe when he was playing against Jim Menges and Greg Lee and he hit a ball straight down that bounced into Greg's "Lee family jewels", his time competing collegiately in volleyball at Yale University and how they won the Eastern Collegiate Volleyball league conference championship and earned a berth to the '75 NCAA Men's Volleyball championship finals at Pauley Pavilion at UCLA!, his career after volleyball working in Commercial Real Estate for 30 years, how he would like to be remembered in the history of the game, as well as what he MISSES most about that time, what he is up to NOW in retirement in 2021, and a classic story of going to Japan with Dusty Dvorak, Jim Menges, and Gary Hooper in the mid 80' to play in a beach volleyball exhibition, and the ROCKSTAR treatment they received from the Japanese female fans in the airport when they landed!
- His partnership with Dane Selznick and what made them such a great team over their partnership together, his recollection of the '79 Beach World Championships when he and Dane lost in the first round to Rocky Ciarelli & Tom Wade and battled back to reach the finals, where they lost 16-18 in an EPIC double final to Sinjin Smith and Karch Kiraly and how the crowd noise was deafening, his 3 most memorable wins, the controversial '84 Beach World Championships where he and partner Jay Hanseth crossed the player picket line to play as the tournament sponsor was also Andy's personal sponsor and he was a spokesman for, the complicated dynamics of moving on from a partner you love and respect to play with someone else, a CLASSIC Gladstones Restaurant story involving Andy, Dane Selznick, Sinjin Smith, Randy Stoklos, and Long Island Ice Teas which led to a "drunk" game of TAG at the Santa Monica Beach Club!, the evolution of the infamous Fishburn Flipper, and the 5 most impressive hitters Andy played against in his career.
- His youth and unique family history growing up in LA, learning the sport of volleyball as an "overactive youth" at the Santa Monica Beach Club, being invited by established Beach Club volleyball member John Meek to play in the Laguna Beach Open at the age of 22 where they defeated the 4th seeded team of Gary Hooper & Fred Zuelich early in the tournament, earning his AAA ranking with Eric Macias in Mission Beach, moving on to playing with Fred Sturm and the success they had as a team in '77 &'78 winning several tournaments together, the joy of earning a clothing sponsorship from Burmy's clothing line and picking out the material for his classic Burmy's trunks, how amazing the State Beach volleyball scene was and how much he loved it when he ventured up from the Beach Club to become a part of it, moving on from Fred Sturm to Dane Selznick as his partner on the beach, and the importance of the mental game when it came to playing the sport in all kinds of conditions...
- The 'infamous" '67 Manhattan Beach Open when he and Vogie lost in the first round, and then drank beer the rest of the weekend and made it to the finals against Ron Lang & Ron Van Hagen ( including the antics Leeka and Vogie pulled in the final that led to it being interrupted on multiple occasions when the crowd threw beer bottles & cans on the court countless times, & the infamous Steno Brunicardi story when a drunk fan cracked a bottle of beer over Steno's head, and how Butch May saved the poor fan from being annihilated by Steno), how great of a team Mike O'Hara & Mike Bright were, a classic fishing story from the time Vogie came to visit Leeka and his wife Georgia in North Carolina when they were retired ( including a brief interjection featuring an interview with Vogie to hear his recollection of the CLASSIC story) , and what LEEKA is up to now days in 2021!
- How he met Ron Von Hagen at UCLA when they pledged the BETA THETA PI Fraternity together as freshman, how he learned to play volleyball as a freshman football player on the volleyball court behind the frat house, playing at Sorrento Beach and learning more about the sport from Wally Busby and the other fixtures at the beach, how he was a short runt kid all his life starting in elementary school, yet was designated by his teachers and coaches as a special athletic talent and leader all the way through high school, a classic story when he was at summer camp for the ARMY after her graduated from UCLA, and told his commanding officer he was sick and needed to go home, then drove back in his MG convertible drinking a 6 pack of BEER on the drive down, and won an A tournament with Clyde Grosscup that weekend!, and some other classic stories.
- The '84 player strike at the Jose Cuervo World Championships in Redondo Beach when he and Andy Fishburn crossed the picket line to win the tournament, WHY they did so, the repercussions they faced on multiple levels for years to follow, how he and Andy could have handled it better in hindsight, getting back in the good graces of their peers later on, the talent level of young lions Scott Ayakatubby & Brent Frohoff and the influence Karch had on each of them when he partnered up with both later in their careers and helped them learn what it takes to win, the other young guys that came along during his career that impressed him: Kent Steffes, Mike Whitmarsh, Leif Hanson, and Brian Lewis, and what set them apart from the rest of the young guns when it came to winning, how Selznick, Lang, & Von Hagen were the first TRUE professionals of the sport with their tireless dedication to the sport practicing and playing non-stop, and how they set the precedent on what it takes to win....
- Growing up in Norway, what the country is like, and how he got his start in volleyball as a youth, playing indoors professionally, including his time on 2 French professional teams in the 80's - Arago Sete, & AS Cannes, some of the best international indoor players he competed against and looked up to, how he learned the sport of beach VB playing 3 man volleyball on the beach in the French Riviera, how he learned about the AVP and the players he admired on the AVP tour in his youth, how he earned his nickname - MAP ( Most Arrogant Player) when his partner Bjorn Maaseide advised him he was "too nice" to his fellow countrymen when they competed on the beach so he adopted his new nickname and how it served him well over his career on the beach, and a CLASSIC story of a trip he took a decade ago with Bjorn and their families to Rome, Italy, and how the cab driver thought Jan was the actor Dolph Lundgen ( AKA Ivan Drago)!
- The OFF THE COURT "fun" volleyball players in the 70's had with the volley dolly's ( EPIC stories!), one of his most memorable finishes in the '74 Manhattan Beach Open playing with Leonard Armato, and the teams they beat along the way, and how fun the player parties were after the tournament!
- More insight on Ron "8-0" Lang , the best diggers from that era, the best hitters from that era, several EPIC stories about the most FEARED guy on the beach, Steno Brunicardi, Dave's memories of winning the '62 Laguna Beach Open with partner Gordon Evans, and winning the '65 Corona Del Mar Open alongside partner Ron Von Hagen, and what transpired in his life after his playing career concluded.
- His good friend Keith Erickson and some CLASSIC stories about him and his athletic prowess & some shenanigans' between them ( including the time they threw water balloons at passerby's from their hotel balcony in San Diego), the time Bordwell saw Peter Velasco hit at ball at State Beach that bounced on the restroom roof, his recollection of Ron Von Hagen and what made him so good and an amazing human, the BEST players from his era, his recollection of Gene Selznick, including how dominant Gene was on the beach, his amazing personality that drew crowds and followers, and some epic stories from the USVBA Indoor Nationals in '62 & '65, when Gene was a man amongst boys, including how Jack Jensen threw punches at Bordwell....
- His start in the sport as a 18 year old kid in 1950 thanks to his girlfriend at the time who took him to State Beach and introduced him to Bernie Holtzman, who taught him the game, Bordwell's world class track & field talents ( running the 200 meter dash in 20.6 secs, and long jumping 25 feet 7"), his recollection of the prominent volleyball fixtures at State Beach in the 50's ( Bernie Holtzman, Gene Selznick, Ron Lang, Altie Cohen, Don McMahon, Dick Davis, etc..), a classic story about Pan Am games when he and Mike Bright got into a fight in the bathroom with some Canadian hockey players that tried to skip in front of them in line, and his recollection of legendary players Gene Selznick, Ron Lang, Mike Bright, & Mike O'Hara, including the "bad blood" rivalry between Selznick & O'Hara.
- Mike Maas and what a talented indoor defensive player he was, the West LA Window Shades USVBA team he captained and some FUN stories about the team, his High School indoor coaching career as an assistant coach for two of the most talented programs in the history of California : The Laguna Beach Artists ( under head coach Bill Ashen), and the Mira Costa Mustangs (under head coach Mike Cook), as well as some classic stories about the incredibly talented players he had the privilege of coaching during his time at both high schools.
Mike O'Hara & Mike Bright Tribute - as Told by Ron Lang.
14 Nov 2020
00:55:53
Ron Lang pays tribute to O'Hara & Bright and Discusses:
- How he first met Mike O'Hara in '56 after O'Hara got out of the service and played in a tournament with him, the Selznick & O'Hara rivalry where he and Mike Bright were just side shows to Selznick & O'Hara when they played one another, how honored Lang was when the O'Hara family asked him to speak at O'Hara's wake, some memorable O'Hara stories, and what he learned from him as a competitor, O'Hara's strengths and weaknesses as a player, and what an amazing father he was, stories about Mike Bright, including one from the '64 Olympics and the back set shoots he set him in Tokyo, Japan, the tragic diving accident in which Bright dove too deep and came up too fast and got the "bends" and became partially paralyzed, what an outstanding athlete Bright was as a basketball player, as well as a paddle boarder, including the fact he won the 32 mile Catalina to Manhattan Beach paddle board race on multiple occasions.
- A mesmerizing story about the most impressive hit he EVER witnessed (courtesy of Henry Bergmann) during an early round Saturday match at the '70 or '71 Manhattan Beach Open, how amazing the crowds were for the Manhattan Beach Open back then with fans packed all around the court, on the stairs, the pier, and the strand, some of the other most impressive hitters he witnessed over the years as a player, and ref, the variety of balls they played with over the decades and the differences between them, the best diggers he saw over the years, some fond memories of the infamous South Bay eating establishments on the beach in the 70's (Taco Bills & Perry's Pizza), and a discussion about the legend/rumor of whether or not Keith Erickson ever bounced a ball up over the railing into the south parking lot at Manhattan Beach?
- Growing up in the South Bay as a talented baseball and basketball player, how he learned the sport of volleyball during a class at UC Irvine in College, playing in the Manhattan 6 man tournament with Ted Dodd, and being recruited by Pepperdine Coach, Harlen Cohen, to play indoors alongside Ted at Pepperdine on a scholarship where he earned ALL-AMERICAN honors in '75 , playing on the work up yellow court at Marine street during the summer and being invited to play on the main Orange Court by Mike Cook, winning his first A tournament on the beach, some classic stories from the Manhattan 6 Man tournament, where he won 3 titles as captain alongside the teams he put together, his reffing career for the 6 man over several decades, and also reffing on the AVP tour for a decade, his time coaching the sport, including 2 stints as an assistant coach for two of the GREATEST high school programs and Coaches in California for Bill Ashen's Laguna Beach Artists, and Mike Cook's Mira Costa Mustangs, the best beach match he ever witnessed on the beach when Mitch Malpee & John Gonzalez took on Kirk Kilgour & Doug Dunlap and dug them countless times even though they ultimately lost, and how amazing Matt Gage and Jim Menges were as a team.
- Why he thinks Gene Selznick is the GREATEST American volleyball player in history, ever!, the strategy he would use playing against the modern day best player, Phil Dalhausser, a classic story of playing a young Jim Menges when he taught him a lesson!, how he didn't play the game to make friends, but rather looked at it as a business, and did his BEST to crush and demoralize the competition so they wouldn't think they had a chance against him, how he moved on from Gene Selznick to Ron Von Hagen as a partner, and why, what he did as a digger that made him so successful, some of the best hitters he faced over his career, and his recollection of the legendary '68 Manhattan Beach Open final played in the dark between him and Von Hagen vs. Larry Rundle & Henry Bergman, and how he handled that devastating loss...
- Reflections on relationships and friends from Manhattan Beach (Mike Cook, John Gonzalez, Mitch Malpee to name a few), competing indoors in the USVBA for Players Liquor and a fun "trip" competing in Mexico , relocating to San Diego and living on Mission Blvd, competing on the men's indoor volleyball team for San Diego State in '71 & '72, starting and running the Mission Beach Volleyball clinics in '73 alongside friends and teammates, being the catalyst for the Winston Open at S. Mission Beach, some of the memorable people and friends from the San Diego area (George Stepanof, John & Fred Featherstone, Bob Mendoza, to name a few), and a classic story of competing against Bob Vogelsang and Wilt Chamberlin.
- His start in the sport when he went to the beach in 1954 to surf as teenager and couldn't surf due to the jelly fish in the ocean, and saw Richie Cooper and Harry Cohen from the Hollywood Y volleyball team playing beach volleyball, and played with them, how they were hard on him while teaching him the nuances of the game (which drove him nuts, but served him well!), playing in his first tournament in '56 with Dick Davis and beating the legendary team of Gene Selznick & Bernie Holtzman in the first round and realizing he could be successful in the sport with the right partner, how magical the sport was during that era when players played for bragging rights, how he developed his mindset to not be friends with his opponents, but rather beat their brains in, how amazing it was to have played alongside Gene Selznick, and Ron Von Hagen as partners, and what made each SO SPECIAL in their own way, the BEST team he ever competed against over his career, his recollection of the legendary '68 Manhattan Beach Open when he and Von Hagen battled Larry Rundle & Henry Bergman for 7 plus hours between the winners finals, and the finals played in the dark, how he became a legendary digger by watching his opponents during warm ups, and then positioning himself during games where he knew they liked to hit, the rivalry between Gene Selznick and Mike O'Hara on the beach, a classic story later on with a young Kent Steffes over dinner, what he's up to now days, what he's most proud of from his career, his thoughts on the new game and rules, and his amazing mind and strategy when it came to playing the game.
- Some of the talented players he competed against when he played, his "foggy" memory of the after party when he won the '73 Manhattan Beach Open, the surreal experience of driving back down to San Diego after he won the MBO, the amazing comradery between the players back then, what it was like seeing his and Bobby Jackson's name on the Manhattan Beach Pier afterward, Captain Jack and his RAIN MAN esque recollection of the sport's history, the 5 best hitters he saw, the 5 best diggers, some classic stories about Gary Hooper, Jim Menges, and Tom Chamales, what he remembers of the infamous '68 Manhattan Beach Open as a spectator when Von Hagen & Lang battled Larry Rundle & Henry Bergman, and how it was the best volleyball he's ever seen, his thoughts on the new rules, and how he would do playing the new school players under the old rules, what he's up to now days after his playing career concluded, and how much he loves working in real estate for Strand Hill Properties in the South Bay where he grew up, and the story behind his infamous Puka Shell Necklace!
- His start in the sport as a surfer surfing at 42nd Street in El Porto and the infamous "Black Ball", which meant you couldn't surf, so he played beach volleyball during the break from surfing, his time at SDSU where he went to college, earning his way up through the ranks on the beach through the ranking system, the EPIC story from 1970 in San Diego when he was a AA player and Ron Von Hagen were both partner less and hooked up. Fred's partner never made it down from Sant Barbara as the bus broke down, and Von Hagen's partner Dane Holtzman turned Hare Krishna the night before, and Dane showed up at the tournament to let him know he couldn't play, much to Von Hagen's dismay! Then how Legendary tournament director George Stepanof played MATCH MAKER, and helped Fred and Von Hagen play together and they earned a 3rd place victory!, Fred shares how amazing that experience was playing with Von Hagen, including how elated he was to earn his AAA rating, and all the invaluable knowledge Von Hagen passed on to him that weekend, the players he looked up to on the beach when he was young and coming up, the '73 Manhattan Beach Open he and Bobby Jackson won, and the gauntlet they went through to finally win it over Matt Gage and Ron Von Hagen a week later after the first final was stopped due to darkness.
- His youth growing up in Newport Beach surfing, working for his dad, playing basketball, and learning the sport of volleyball, his journey as a talented basketball player starting out at Orange Coast Community College where he met his amazing wife, Karen, transferring to UCLA and playing guard for John Wooden at UCLA and winning 2 NCAA Championships in '69 & '70, what he learned at his 2 years at UCLA from Coach Wooden, his career on the beach playing volleyball and the players he played with up to landing Ron Von Hagen as a partner in '69, what it was like winning beach opens alongside the Legendary Von Hagen, including the '69 Manhattan Beach Open against Rundle & Bergmann, plus beating them at the Jonathan Club, what he remembers about Bergmann & Rundle, what made Von Hagen such an incredible player and role model to play with, his recollection of some of the other players he played with: Brian Lewis SR, Pete Ott, and Bobby Garcia, his time playing indoor for Wilt's Big Dippers, his recollection of many of the legends and characters he played with and against ( Larry Rundle, Ron Lang, Keith Erickson, Gene Selznick, Kirk Kilgour, Bob Vogelsang, Ron Coon, and Dave Bordwell), the 3 best hitters he saw, the best diggers he recalls, and the best team he competed against, his favorite win on the the beach, his thoughts on the sport today with the new rules, including what strategy he would use playing against a team like Dalhausser & Lucena under the old rules, what he's most proud of from his career, and what he is up to today!