To cowering opponents 麻豆精品 S� and most of the sports-loving world for that matter 麻豆精品 S� Phil Dalhausser is one of the most intimidating players ever to stomp the sand. At 6-foot-9 inches, with the build of a well toned ball point pen, he 麻豆精品 S檚 known as the Thin Beast. A freak of nature. The bald-headed bullet.
To those closest to him, like teammate Todd 麻豆精品 S淭he Professor 麻豆精品 S� Rogers, he is quite the opposite. Laid back. Rarely serious. And kind of dorky.
Guess he 麻豆精品 S檚 not so eminent when he 麻豆精品 S檚 standing on your side of the net.
It 麻豆精品 S檚 the perfect partnership 麻豆精品 S� offensive juggernaut and skillful teacher 麻豆精品 S攖hat catapulted the dynamic pair to Olympic victory this summer in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In case you weren 麻豆精品 S檛 part of the wild, 12,000-person crowd (think Brazilians in green and yellow wigs mixed with American flags and a guy sporting an Evel Knievel jumpsuit) or the 4 million fans cheering from their couches, here 麻豆精品 S檚 a quick replay.
It 麻豆精品 S檚 a sticky, sunny morning at Chaoyang Park. More than 10,000 tons of silky gold and white sand surround Dalhausser 麻豆精品 S檚 monster-size feet.
The battle begins.
Pitted against Brazilians Marcio Araujo and Fabio 麻豆精品 S淛aws 麻豆精品 S� Magalhaes the Olympic rookies win the first set 23-21. The second set goes to the Brazilians at 17-21. A nail-bitter, indeed. The sportscasters keep the mood light, however, with their nonchalant banter: 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 Snfortunately, the Thin Beast isn 麻豆精品 S檛 getting many serves 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 Saws is just getting harpooned by the Thin Beast 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 Shat do we think the Professor just said to Jaws up at the net? 麻豆精品 S� And possibly the best comment of the game: 麻豆精品 S淛aws is upset. 麻豆精品 S�
As he should be. In the final set Jaws is shut down repeatedly by Dalhausser 麻豆精品 S檚 power blocks. By point 14 麻豆精品 S� game point 麻豆精品 S� the sun is beating down, and Dalhausser is hotter than a twice-baked potato. Rogers serves the ball. The Brazilians return it. Dalhausser leaps near the net, pounds the sweat-drenched ball hitting Jaws on the way down. It 麻豆精品 S檚 over. The Brazilians are left with clenched fists and utter indignation.
Long-limbed Dalhausser barrels toward Rogers. The perfectly golden tanned duo crashes to the ground in an enthusiastic man-hug as Dalhausser lets loose a beastly yell. The jarring cheers that rocked the stands, he will never forget. The years of painstaking work have paid off.
Time to relax. Time to soak it in. Time to chow down a giant hamburger.
Or not.
Whisked away, Dalhausser and Rogers star in a smattering of interviews before they don their patriotic podium gear, flash their pearlies and show off the six grams of gold they worked so hard for.
Shuffled into a special room, the two are immediately yanked from cloud nine. Momentarily. They are drug tested. Scrutinized by anti-doping agents. All clear.
Whirlwind of Attention
Soon after, they are back at their hotel for a quick bite to eat before cameos on the Today Show and MTV News. Suddenly in the spotlight and hearing reporters dub him the world 麻豆精品 S檚 best player, you 麻豆精品 S檇 think Dalhausser would have an ego of epic proportions. Not the case.
麻豆精品 S淚 just kind of chuckle, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淚 麻豆精品 S檓 not really one to pat myself on the back. It 麻豆精品 S檚 pretty cool I guess. It 麻豆精品 S檚 always nice to get respect from your colleagues. 麻豆精品 S�
As the guy with the killer 55 mph serve explains the biggest day of his life he is true to his style 麻豆精品 S� easygoing. That 麻豆精品 S檚 part of what makes him so appealing. No sports snobbery here. He 麻豆精品 S檚 still the regular, fun-loving Phil he was back on the UCF sand courts.
Just busier.
The day after winning gold, he zips back to his home in Santa Barbara for a few days to decompress before an AVP (Association of Volleyball Professionals) tournament in Cincinnati. For Dalhausser that 麻豆精品 S檚 plenty of time to master his favorite video game du jour, Call of Duty 4, and time for a Fantasy Football draft, which he plays while sporting his new golden luck charm.
Here 麻豆精品 S檚 the zinger though: after the draft, he tucks the medal away in his closet. 麻豆精品 S淚 don 麻豆精品 S檛 know what to do with it, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淚 麻豆精品 S檓 supposed to take it with me to all the events, but I 麻豆精品 S檓 too scared I 麻豆精品 S檒l lose it. 麻豆精品 S�
After much debate, he takes the medal to the Oprah Show season premiere taping later that week and to a Santa Barbara elementary school. But, as he finishes up the stellar year with tournaments in Manhattan Beach, San Francisco, Dubai and China, the gold medal 麻豆精品 S� the symbol that sums up his electrifying career thus far 麻豆精品 S� will likely remain on the shelf, in the closet, among other international trophies and medals, including the 2007 AVP 麻豆精品 S檚 Most Valuable Player award and the 2007 FIVB (Federation of International Volleyball) World Championships award.
The Pre-Beast Years
Just five years ago, those impressive titles were merely a pipe dream. Dalhausser was playing club volleyball at UCF on the sand courts (next to where the now stands). 麻豆精品 S淰olleyball was my hobby, 麻豆精品 S� he says. In fact he didn 麻豆精品 S檛 start playing until his senior year at Mainland High School in Daytona Beach. Compared to his 34-year-old teammate Rogers, who began competing at 14, it was a late start.
He was hooked and by 2002, fresh out of college with a UCF business administration degree, he was staging his next move. Would this volleyball thing pan out? His parents weren 麻豆精品 S檛 convinced. As luck would have it though a recently befriended pal 麻豆精品 S� a pro player from Myrtle Beach, S.C. 麻豆精品 S� asked him to live and train there for the summer. 麻豆精品 S淚 didn 麻豆精品 S檛 really have much going on, 麻豆精品 S� he admits. 麻豆精品 S淚 was working on construction in Daytona and I was like sure I 麻豆精品 S檒l move up there. 麻豆精品 S�
For the next two years he learned the ropes. After that it was on to Santa Barbara, Calif., when he realized 麻豆精品 S淚 couldn 麻豆精品 S檛 get much better living in Myrtle, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淵ou practice against the best players in the country in California so your game automatically becomes better. 麻豆精品 S�
Dynamic Duo
The move proved prosperous. He was playing nearly every day, soaking up the vibrant California volleyball scene. And in a 2004 tournament, Dalhausser played against his future partner, Rogers. 麻豆精品 S淗e was super tall, obviously, and somewhat of an offensive juggernaut, 麻豆精品 S� Rogers remembers. 麻豆精品 S淢y first impression of him was 麻豆精品 S榞osh this guy 麻豆精品 S檚 kind of a dorky guy, 麻豆精品 S� but then as I saw him play I was like, 麻豆精品 S榳ow, he 麻豆精品 S檚 actually pretty talented. 麻豆精品 S� He can move well and do all those things he needs to do to be successful in this sport. 麻豆精品 S�
From there the two trained against each other often. Rogers saw on a daily basis the rookie mistakes Dalhausser made and, more importantly, the tremendous potential of this sleeping giant. 麻豆精品 S淚 said, 麻豆精品 S楬ey I think you can be the best player in the world, 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S� says Rogers. 麻豆精品 S淎re you interested in playing with me? 麻豆精品 S� In his typical laid-back style, Dalhausser said 麻豆精品 S測eah, you know, I don 麻豆精品 S檛 have a lot of other things on my plate. 麻豆精品 S�
As simple as that, the partnership began. And so did the grueling weight lifting regimen and beach workouts that included Dalhausser 麻豆精品 S檚 most-dreaded exercise 麻豆精品 S� the drag pull where he dragged two sets of 25-pound weights about 40 yards down the soft sand and back.
It didn 麻豆精品 S檛 end there. Four-hundred yard sprints. Hitting the ball three times a week for two-hour increments. Six hours a week in the weight room and cardio routines on the off days. Two-hour plyometrics workouts (intended to increase reactive strength and jumping skill) so tough they occasionally made Dalhausser toss his cookies.
麻豆精品 S淚 told him, 麻豆精品 S榠f I 麻豆精品 S檓 going to play with you, you have to commit yourself, 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S� says Rogers.
Done deal. Dalhausser was game and the scales were tipping in the direction of flat-out good times. After he and Rogers won the 2007 FIVB World Championships, he knew they had a shot at Beijing gold. 麻豆精品 S淗e 麻豆精品 S檚 just absorbed everything I 麻豆精品 S檝e had to give him, 麻豆精品 S� says Rogers.
Typical Day
Now in the off-season, the training load has lightened up. Dalhausser starts each morning by slathering on some Banana Boat sunscreen, throwing on his Speedo trunks and noshing on a light breakfast 麻豆精品 S� usually a banana and cereal. When asked to compare his eating habits with Michael Phelps, he says, 麻豆精品 S淚 guess I eat more than the average person, maybe around 4,000 calories. I heard the whole 12,000 calories thing from Michael Phelps. I kind of find that hard to believe because that 麻豆精品 S檚 actually about six times the average diet. 麻豆精品 S�
Next, he treks about a half-hour over to the University of California, Santa Barbara, to meet up with Rogers around 9 a.m. 麻豆精品 S淲e 麻豆精品 S檙e not even picking up the ball during practice, 麻豆精品 S� says Rogers. 麻豆精品 S淲e 麻豆精品 S檝e played so much in the past five months we force ourselves not to play. That way, when you get to the actual tournament you get fired up for it because you are really stoked. 麻豆精品 S�
By noon he 麻豆精品 S檚 off to the gym for an hour or so in the weight room. Then maybe a burrito for lunch. From there, it 麻豆精品 S檚 smooth sailing. His day is virtually done. The afternoon is wide open for video gaming and TV watching. Not bad.
The cushy lifestyle won 麻豆精品 S檛 last for long. He 麻豆精品 S檒l be training full-time again soon. London (where the 2012 Olympics will be held) is calling.