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Stanley and his teammates warming up for the first game in Chicago. Photo: Joel Masci

“I wish we could get more people to watch volleyball”: Clayton Stanley

The man who destroyed the Brazilian dream of winning the gold medal in the last Olympics after dominating the sport during the decade talks about how intense volleyball can be, the dream of seeing the rising popularity of that sport in North America, and shows concern about the training of the American squad towards the World Championship in September. But he is confident about his way to the next Olympics, to be held in London, 2012. One gold medal is not enough to Clayton Stanley, the MVP of the men’s volleyball tournament at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. PanTV interviewed him in Chicago, during the World League.

By Sidronio Henrique

Every Brazilian volleyball fan knows him very well; it’s a household name – Clayton Stanley, an American opposite hitter, the most valuable player of the 2008 Olympic Games. Italians, Bulgarians, Serbians and Russians had felt the power of his kills, when he and his mates finally faced Brazil in the final match at Beijing Olympics. A sequence of serves by Stanley put the Americans 6-0 ahead in the second set, after Brazil won the first. Stanley’s destroying serves was only the beginning of a comeback. The match ended 3-1 to the US team – 20 years later they got the gold again, led by Stanley, who was also the best scorer and the best server of the tournament. To Brazil, the silver medal had a bitter taste, a disappointment for a group who had won every major title in that decade until then. Clayton Stanley, a 6’8’’ tall athlete, 32 years old, doesn’t bring back good memories to the Brazilian volleyball fans.

On the last weekend of June, in Chicago, PanTV talked with the top American volleyball player — the US team hosted Finland for two matches at the 21^st edition of the World League. A star in Russia, where he has been playing in the last four years, after two seasons in Greece, Stanley can walk anonymously in any American city. “I wish we could get more people to watch volleyball”, he said, after helping his squad to beat the Finnish on the second match. Being recognized, according to him, is not relevant, but making volleyball big in the land of baseball is a goal. The Sears Arena, with 12,000 seats, had only 3,500 people on the first night, and 4,000 on the second — a small audience to the Olympic champions, a modest number if we think about the packed gymnasiums in Brazil with 20,000 people to watch Giba, Dante or Murilo playing for the national team.

Attracting people to watch volleyball in North America is a tough task, agrees the MVP of the Beijing Olympics. Without support from the media, almost none TV coverage, the sport has been seen only by a few fans. A local newspaper in Chicago covered the first match, but focused on Sean Rooney, an outside hitter for the US team who was born in the city, saying almost nothing about the game. A local blogger informed that two years ago, also during the World League, he had to explain to a photographer of another Chicago newspaper what kind of pictures could be interesting for volleyball coverage — the photographer had no clue.

Two teenagers were waiting to take pictures with Stanley as he was coming to talk to PanTV – a contrast in comparison to the legion of fans in Brazil that go frenzy every time a Brazilian player walks by near the crowd. “People here don’t understand how intense volleyball can be. It is a tough sport, very demanding”, he stresses.

In three months the World Championship starts, the most important competition of the year, and the second most relevant for volleyball, after the Olympics. Both are held every four years — the World League is annual. The World Championship will be held in Italy, in late September. Brazil, the defending champion, and Russia are, in Stanley’s opinion, the main obstacles on the way of his team to a title the US only won 24 years ago — when a legend called Karch Kiraly was the lead and helped to put the pieces together in order to beat the former USSR, another powerhouse in the eighties. “Brazil has so many talented players, and they keep coming”, says Stanley, showing respect to the number one team on the FIVB (International Federation of Volleyball) rank — the US comes right after, as number two. The new Cuban generation, who beat the Americans last year in the continental tournament, is also a source of concern.

If two years ago the American squad was running smoothly, today things go different. Some veteran players are injured, new faces joined the team representing new blood but lacking in experience. “We are trying to keep the team together, but there are many problems”, Stanley affirms, referring to the injuries — that weekend the captain William Priddy, an outside hitter and one of the best American players, had to be subbed in due to some pain. “It is a young team, but we have a long journey until London 2012”, says Clayton Stanley, looking ahead to another gold medal. The Brazilians surely don’t want him to be as inspired as he was in 2008.

Stanley’s father, Jon, played on the 1968 American men’s Olympic volleyball team and he is a member of the Volleyball Hall of Fame. Clay’s step-grandfather, Tom Haine, was also on 1968 men’s Olympic volleyball team. Clay’s mother, Sandra Haine, played professionally for the Denver Comets as well as for Canada’s national team. With Stanley’s first Olympic appearance in 2004 he and his father became the first father-son Olympians in USA Volleyball history.

Stanley hits in the second match in Chicago. Photo: Courtesy FIVB

The matches

The Finnish team started the weekend surprising the host, but on the second match the Americans downed the visitors.

A short outside hitter for professional volleyball, only 6’5’’ tall, the Finn Urpo Sivula, a 22 year old player, was the name of the first game with 31 points on 28 kills, two blocks and one ace. The Finns stun the US squad with a 3-2. The Finnish coach, the Italian Mauro Berruto, was proud that night in Chicago. “I have been forced to congratulate our opponent the last four times. This was a victory against one of the best teams in the world. Passing was key. We showed a real improvement”, said Berruto.

Back on track, the Americans were more consistent on the second night in Chicago, and led by the veteran Clayton Stanley they showed a more appropriate game to their position as the second ranked team in the world. Stanley scored 19 points on 15 kills, one block and three aces. Still, the top scorer that night was the Finnish Urpo Sivula with 22 points on 22 kills. “I thought it was important that we improve in transition and we did that”, remarked Alan Knipe, the American coach.

The US and Finland are on pool C of the World League – there are four groups. Russia leads with nine victories and one defeat, followed by the Americans with a 7-3 record – Egypt completes the group. Brazil leads pool A. The finals will be held from July 21 to 25, in Cordoba, Argentina. Brazil and Italy are the biggest winners of the World League, with eight titles each.

Canada

The last time Canada participated of the World League was in 2007. Canada team was supposed to participate in the 2008 edition, but dropped due to lack of funds. The Canadian men’s team is now ranked 20^th by FIVB. Canada doesn’t qualify to the men’s volleyball tournament at the Olympic Games since Barcelona, in 1992, when they finished in 10^th place. Their best participation was in the 1984 Olympics, held in Los Angeles, with a 4^th place – Canada had one of the best teams in the world in the first half of the eighties, but the sport never took off in the country.