Q&A
Rolling with Rooney
U.S. Men’s National Volleyball Team outside hitter Sean Rooney plans to turn his attention to the beach game in 2013 with an eye on making a run at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro
S
ean Rooney, 30, has already played in two Olympic Games as part of the U.S. Men’s National Volleyball Team and has elected to make a run for a third Olympics in the beach discipline. Rooney saw extended action at the 2012 London Olympics as an outside hitter, including signifi cant time in an attempt to spark a comeback in the team’s quarterfi - nal loss to Italy. After helping Pepperdine win an NCAA Men’s Collegiate Volleyball Championship in 2005, Rooney spent a couple seasons playing on the AVP Tour with partners like Brian Lewis, Nick Lucena and Dain Blanton. Rooney revealed in Janu- ary he would be focusing on the sand game in 2013. VolleyballUSA caught up with him for a quick interview.
68 | VOLLEYBALLUSA
Are you just taking a break from indoors or are you making a permanent switch to the beach?
For the moment I will say that I am going to be out on the beach this summer to get a feel for where I stand in the beach volleyball world. Every day I am training from now through this summer I will be thinking about the best way to get myself on the sand in Rio.
What infl uenced your decision the most? I loved my brief stint on the beach some years back, but I know that there is still some meat left on the bone of my beach vol- leyball career.
Are you giving up some pretty healthy pay- checks that you were getting playing indoors overseas?
To put it simply, yes. I am very fortunate to have played indoor during a very nice
time for the sport in Europe and Asia and I am sure I could probably continue to make more money overseas. Paychecks and money? A jedi craves not these things.
You haven’t played in a beach event since 2006. How much time have you spent in the sand recently?
Not enough. I have always missed playing in the sand, but my free time from indoor volleyball has been spent resting my bones. The last time I kept score was in the fi nal of the 2010 Six-Man where my team gracious- ly let Magnum win because it meant a lot more to them.
You are still only 30, right in your beach prime, what is the immediate goal?
Getting as many reps on the beach while
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