NOTEBOOK The conversation
Former UC Irvine star now in the middle of the U.S. Men’s National Team mix at setter
Brian Thornton B
rian Thornton, 26, is one of four setters on the U.S. Men’s National T
eam vying
for a starting spot in 2012. Thornton, who won an NCAA championship while play- ing at UC Irvine, talked with VolleyballUSA about the recent FIVB World Cup and next summer’s Olympic Games in London.
VolleyballUSA: Was there much disappoint- ment among the team members after failing to qualify for London in the fi rst 2012 Olympic Games qualifi cation event, or was it case of im- mediately focusing on the next opportunity?
Thornton: Well, obviously nobody was happy about fi nishing in sixth place at World Cup. The goal was to qualify and we didn’t reach that. That being said, once we were basically mathematically eliminated from qualifying for the Olym- pics, the tournament became a platform for us to just get bet- ter every day and I think we did that in some places. But there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done to fi nish where we want to next summer.
Coach Alan Knipe said the team did not get a signifi cant train- ing block prior to the
2011 FIVB World Cup with players spread out throughout the world. How challenging is that?
It’s very challenging, but it’s challeng- ing for every team. It makes it tough to fi nd rhythm at certain points and you have to quickly adapt to the USA system from what- ever system your particular club team has go- ing on. But like I said, it’s that way for most all the teams playing in the World Cup.
Personally, you have really entered the discussion as a potential starter next year in London (should the team qualify), challenging both Kevin Hansen and Donald Suxho for critical playing time at some of the big international competitions. What will be your focus in 2012?
My focus in 2012 is to help this team qualify and perform at a high level in the Olympics. When you start playing for the national team the goal is to medal at the Olympics, and that’s what we want to do. I think Kevin, Donnie, (Jonathan) Winder and I are all good setters that bring something a little dif- ferent to the table. Whether I am the starter or one of the backups, I honestly want to just do what I can to help this team achieve its goals next summer.
When you watched the 2008 Olym- pics, did you let yourself visualize a role in 2012 for yourself?
I want to say that I did because that would be very cinematic, but the honest answer is I didn’t. It was just after my senior year of college and I was at a point in my life where I wasn’t sure if I wanted to still play vol- leyball or not. I remember being proud watch- ing that team. It was amaz- ing what they did and I started training again. I’ve never really thought about it, but it’s possible that team had an effect on my decision to start playing volley- ball again.
What is your mindset under-
standing that Coach Knipe will likely only keep two setters on his 12-man Olympic roster? How fi ne is the line for four guys who could either be starting or watching the Olympics on TV?
As I said before, all the setters are good. I think it’s a very fi ne line because each setter brings something different and is pretty close in skill level. I look at that 2008 team and that was a good team. Maybe it wasn’t the best 12 guys in the gym at the time, but it was certainly the best team, and I think we are trying to accomplish that four years later as well. My mindset is to not let things like making rosters really come into my mindset while actually playing the game. I feel like it can add a lot of unneeded stress and anxiety. I’ll go into practice and play my game. If my game fi ts then making rosters will be a byproduct.
How much perspective can the veterans (Clay Stanley, Reid Priddy, Ryan Millar, etc.) who captured Olympic gold in Beijing add as the pressure of the Olympics near?
A lot. They’ve been there before and we
haven’t. There’s always a learning curve, and a little help from guys that have been there before and succeeded can be very benefi - cial. We sat down and talked about it before World Cup –– experiences, etc. It was good to hear and take in. It’s going to take all of us together, all on the same page next year to get where we want and learning from those guys listed above is how we can get there faster.
What would you consider your biggest asset as a setter?
Matt Anderson. Honestly.
The last three Olympic Games starters for the United States’ men’s teams have been 6-2 (Dusty Dvorak, 1984) ), 6-4 (Jeff Stork, 1988, 1992) and 6-9 (Lloy Ball, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008). It seems like 6-3 will work even though you have been labeled undersized. How do you combat that size factor?
I have been labeled something pretty much all of my life. Most of the time undersized, but there have been a few others. It never stopped me. Not in high school, not in college and not now. I had a terrible blocking and defensive tournament at World Cup and was actually a lot better during World League. I’m never going to block a ton of balls, but I need to get a lot of touches. One thing I’m really working hard on right now is my defense and getting more balls up into the air. If I can do those two things while setting a consistent offense, 6-3 will be just fi ne. And in the long run it will always be easier to fi nd a nice fi t- ting pair of jeans.
PHOTO: FIVB
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