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Questions With Matt Gage


6/23/2008
 
by Christine Phillips
 
20 Questions with AVP Tournament Director/
 

•    When did you start playing volleyball?
 
I started playing when I was about 19. My sister was a player and she got me involved in the sport. I grew up in Hermosa Beach, but ironically never played when I was a kid.

•    Did you have a volleyball star that you looked up to?
 
Larry Rundle….He was probably the greatest combination indoor/outdoor player of the late 60s and early 70s and his game was similar in style to that of Todd Rogers.

 
•    Where did you attend HS? Where did you play club?
 
Redondo Beach and Palos Verdes High Schools….neither had a volleyball program at the time. No club either as my generation was pre-club.

•    Where did you attend college? Did you play at the college?
 
I attended and played at Long Beach State.                                  

•    After college what were your options? Europe? AVP?
 
No, at the time neither was an option when I graduated. I did later play one season in Italy.

•    What are your thoughts on the evolution of the indoor game?
 
It’s ironic that at one time the game was radically changed so you could not take the serve with your hands and now it has fallen back to its origins with everybody taking the serve with their hands.  Unfortunately, it is not particularly attractive nor does it require a high skill level.

•    What are your thoughts on the growth of the Collegiate Beach Championships?
 
I think it is a great concept/platform that holds tremendous promise for the continued development of the athletes and ultimately the sport of beach volleyball. 
      
•    What are your thoughts on the evolution of the Beach volleyball game?
 
I think with the institution of the smaller court and rally scoring, the game has changed dramatically. The smaller court has certainly re-balanced the offense-defense equation to the benefit of the defense.  To counteract this, players on offense have had to become more precise and have had to attempt to take chance out of play by paying much more attention to defensive strategies and particularly defensive positioning prior to their attack.
 
Rally scoring has taken players out of the comfort level they had with rally scoring. No longer is there the feeling that in the end, with side out scoring the superior team will inexorably prevail. With rally scoring the innate difference in talent and execution between teams becomes less decided over the course of a match and this puts heavy pressure on players to execute from the first serve of each match.
The smaller court and rally scoring have forced the players to play at a higher, more consistent level. The beach volleyball game is better for these changes.

 
•    What year did you start your professional career?
 
When I started playing Open volleyball (1970), it was not as yet a professional sport. In fact, only late in my playing career did I play in events that included prize money. I won a few of those events, but the check, though most welcome, was not too substantial when compared to today’s prize money.

 
•    Why do you think you have accomplished so much as a player?
 
I was always a jock at heart. Playing a sport I loved, and competing in that sport, was always important to me. I took it seriously and practiced and trained diligently. I also am inherently very competitive and hated to lose.

 
•    Have you had the opportunity to coach people?
 
I have trained/coached some individuals for short periods of time as a favor to a friend. Coaching is a challenging and rewarding commitment. I could see myself coaching at some point, but I am not there yet.
•    How did you get your start on the AVP?
 
I started playing beach volleyball tournaments (pre AVP) with my college fraternity brother and best friend, Bill Imwalle. We had played together at Long Beach State and continued our love for the sport on the beach. In two years we were the third rated team on the Open Tour.
 
•    Who are some of your former teammates?
 
I have been fortunate to play with the following top beach players for extended periods of time: Bill Imwalle, Buzz Swarts, Ron Von Hagen, Fred Zuelich, Dane Selznick and Jim Menges.
•    What are some of your favorite memories from your playing days the AVP?
 
In my day it wasn’t the AVP, but there are many fond memories of  traveling with my partner by car to various tournaments and often    sleeping on another player’s floor once we got there. We were all playing on a shoestring as there was not any prize money at the time. The whole experience of playing on a tour where everybody knows each other and mutually supports one another creates a unique bond and many lasting friendships.
 
We played because we loved the sport and we loved to compete. To give you an idea of what it was like even later in my playing career, one year Jim Menges and I won the Hermosa Beach open and we each won a pitcher of beer and a frozen yogurt. How times have changed.
•    You are the AVP Tournament Director. How did you get involved in running tournaments?
 
After I had finished my career as a player, it was coincidentally just about the time beach volleyball was evolving into a national tour. The Tour was looking for an individual to act as a traveling Tournament Director in order to provide consistency and I guess I looked like a good candidate. I was offered the job and I never looked back. So I did become the first Tour Tournament Director and in the early years I also did most of the refereeing on center court and I went on to start the AVP refereeing program.

 
•    What are some of your favorite memories over the recent years on the AVP?
 
Certainly two of Karch’s more recent wins were great memories. Specifically, his win with Brent Doble at his hometown, Santa Barbara, and what I consider a miraculous victory that he and Mike Lambert had at San Diego over Sean Rosenthal and Larry Witt were very uplifting, memorable experiences on tour. 

•    You and Jim Menges won the AVP “Battle of the Sexes” in 2002, where you played Holly McPeak & Elaine Youngs. How was that experience?
 
That was a great experience, all the more so since we won. Seriously, both Jim and I felt a lot of pressure to play well and not embarrass ourselves. It is a bit tough to play under those conditions when you have not played in a real doubles tournament for years. We were fortunate to win and I credit Jim with making a series of awesome digs at the end of the match to make it happen. I think Jim and I were both ecstatic and relieved that we had won.

 
•    What is some advise that you were given in the past?
 
I don’t recall any specific advice, but I received a tremendous amount of knowledge from playing with great players like Ron Von Hagen. There is a reason specific individuals are successful and there are a great many things you can pick up from those who have succeeded before you…if you are observant and listen and learn.

•    What advise would you give college volleyball players looking to get into the professional beach volleyball world?
 
Give yourself a timeline to be successful, train diligently, compete against the best players possible and play as often as you can. AVP Tour beach volleyball demands tremendous consistency and also an intimate feel for the nuances of the game. You will only get this from disciplined training, competing and from the benefit of learning from experience.


•    What are some of your core values as an athlete and a person?
 
I am pretty old school. I always believed in training hard and playing hard. I wanted to feel like I earned anything I achieved and I never wanted the element of fatigue to compromise me physically or lead to any self-doubt. I wanted a fair game on the court and was not always appreciative of those players that made a habit of “working” the officials. Off the court, I try to treat everybody respectfully and I hope for reciprocation.


Links to Check Out


 

Questions With Archive

2008
   November
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   July
   June
       - Matt Gage
       - Ali Wood-Lamberson
       - Mark Pavlik
       - Danny Kinda (Kinda Good)
   May
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   March


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