ONE ON ONE Riley & Jake
Riley Mallon, a 17-year-old high school indoor standout from California who’s been working hard on his sand game, got advice during a recent lunch interview with Jake Gibb, a two-time beach Olympian. By Connor Hastings • Photos: Peter Brouillet
pursue a beach volleyball career, he decided to give himself two years to make a living. That meant his wife, Jane, juggled two jobs while Gibb went to the beach to hone his sideout game.
W “When you think about
that, it’s pretty insane of my wife to support me in that, because I didn’t make any money that fi rst year,” Gibb says. “It was scary.”
Whatever fear there was, Gibb stuck with his decision, and by the end of that second year in 2003, he and partner Adam Jewell were a top- 10 team on the AVP Tour. Gibb, who has now won over a million dollars playing beach volleyball and represented the United
hen Jake Gibb left Utah for California to
BEACH BOYS: California high school standout Riley Mallon, left, chats with two-time beach volleyball Olympian Jake Gibb at a Huntington Beach restaurant.
States in the last two Olympics, never looked back.
Now 36 with 10 years of professional beach volleyball to his name, Gibb shared experienc- es on a recent afternoon in Huntington Beach, Calif., with Riley Mallon, an aspiring beach and indoor player. While Gibb didn’t start playing volleyball until the age of 20, Mallon, at 17, has al- ready won two USA Volleyball Boy’s Junior National Championships playing for Southern California Volleyball Club, and has been a member of USA Volleyball’s Under-19 Beach Training Team for three years. Last July, Mal- lon competed in the U19 Beach Volleyball World Championships in Larnaca, Cyprus, with partner Bennett Bird.
Currently a senior outside hitter at Mira Costa High in Manhattan Beach, Calif., Mal- lon will attend the University of Southern Cali- fornia in 2013, where he’ll join their indoor volleyball program.
Growing up in Southern California has certainly lent Mallon a different level of access
34 | VOLLEYBALLUSA • Digital Issue at
usavolleyball.org/mag
to volleyball opportunities than Gibb had in Utah, particularly with regards to unplanned pickup games with Olympians.
Gibb: Before we start, I think I know you. Mallon: Yeah, we played. I played you with your nephew, Chandler. I think it was two years ago maybe. I was down in Huntington with one of my good friends, Sara Hughes, who’s going to USC also. I had met Chandler from going to the beach down there, and he comes up to me and says, ‘Hey, you want to play against me and my uncle?’ And I say, ‘Sure, who’s your uncle?’ And he says, ‘Jake Gibb.’ I think we ended up losing by three or four. Gibb: I remember it was close. I remember I started having to hit balls. Mallon: I remember one play in particular. I go up to block, and you just crush it over me. I turn around, and Sara’s right there, digging the ball perfect. Gibb: I remember that. I remember that girl dug me a few times.
Mallon: How did you get into beach volleyball?
Gibb: I grew up playing basketball. I always thought of volleyball as a girls’ sport. Once I realized I wasn’t going to be able to play DI basketball, I started playing volleyball and fell in love with it. I started playing in my backyard on the grass, and went from there. When I fi rst moved out to California (in 2002), I didn’t know a soul; I just wanted to play beach volleyball. My wife and I went down to Huntington Beach on a Saturday, and I went up to guys, trying to get a game. I literally left the beach that day without getting a game. Guys were giving me the “Oh, there’s like a seven game wait.” And I was like, “Dude, I can play.” But I didn’t get in. And it’s funny, you remember the guys that gave you that seven game wait later on in life. That next week I met Ryan Mariano, and he kind of got me wired in. By the end of that year, I got to train with Karch (Kiraly).
Mallon: What was your favorite moment as a professional volleyball player? Gibb: Probably the fi rst time I walked out onto the sand at the Olympics in Beijing. It
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72