ONE ON ONE Russell & Cole
Two big guys — 16-year-old Cole Paullin from Loyola High School and U.S. Men’s National Volleyball Team’s Russell Holmes — fi nd some common ground in the middle. By Connor Hastings • Photos: Don Liebig
the ornate halls of Loyola High School in Los Angeles. Russell Holmes hones his skills at the vol- leyball emporium known as the American Sports Centers in Anaheim. Paul- lin, 16, is a 6-6 middle blocker for a Loyola team that won the Southern California regional state championship in May of 2012. Holmes, 29, is a 6-8 signifi cant con- tributor to the U.S. Men’s National Volleyball Team who has a good chance compete in the London Olympic Games later this summer. In 2011, Paullin was named to the USA Volleyball Boys’ Select A1 Team. In 2007, Holmes led the NCAA in solo blocks while playing collegiately for Brigham Young University. “Even great athletes and great
C
ole Paullin works on chemistry and quick sets within
CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO: Cole Paullin talks with U.S. Men’s National Volleyball Team member Russell Holmes.
volleyball players, even though they’re great at it and can play at the next level, they don’t,” Holmes says. “Those are the guys that like to play and it’s a fun thing for them. The guys that you see on the National Team, those are the guys who have a passion.” The conviction Holmes has when speaking about volleyball is unmistakable, but his dedication to the sport was not preordained. Paullin, 13 years his ju- nior, was listening. His story has a similar start — beginning as something just fun to do that evolved into an opportunity to pursue a pas- sion. To give the two players a chance to meet only required the crossing of a few freeway interchanges. The conversation that followed allowed Paullin and Holmes to bridge the gap between where they stood in their respective volleyball journeys.
Paullin: When did you realize you could play for the U.S. Men’s National Volleyball Team?
Holmes: Originally I had no plans of play- ing after college. I didn’t think there was
much of a career for it past that. I just thought I was going to go on and get any other job. It was during my junior year of college that I realized I could be good enough to compete at the next level, and from there I started talk- ing to friends and people on the BYU team. Ryan Millar was another middle from BYU. He was a resource I had to talk to about life as a volleyball player after college, and he was really helpful in answering questions and letting me know what it would be like, what my opportunities were. And then I kind of made a decision that I’m going to really try this. The chance to compete at the highest level on the world stage like the Olympics would be a dream and I just thought, “Let’s do it. Let’s go for it.’”
Was that a big change, from college ball to the national team?
It was, it was a huge change. When you come on the National Team, you go from being “The Guy” in college to having to pay your dues: wiping the sweat off the ground
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for guys, calling lines. You don’t get a lot of looks. You just have to plug away, be patient and be better in your spots.
Was it hard to deal with the jet lag? At fi rst it was really tough. I’ve never experienced so much rigorous travel. Some- times we’d go to different cities every week around the world. It was tough to get used to at fi rst, but now it’s like second nature. I know how my body adjusts to different time zones, and a big part is staying healthy so you don’t get sick. I try to make sure I’m getting the right vitamins to help my immune system, especially before rigorous traveling, so my body can fi ght off any lack of sleep.
Do you have any down time with all this vol- leyball?
Uh...yeah, unfortunately not a lot of down time. It’s crazy because you go from playing overseas for seven or eight months, then you come train with the National Team and you’re right back into the groove of things. We
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