GODS to GHOSTS Volleyball

Mike discusses:  His coaching career, including time at Santa Monica Community College and an epic comeback against Orange Coast Community College and how instrumental all -time LEGEND  Randy Stoklos was,  some of the heaviest hitters he ever saw,  how he developed indoors as a player at places like John Adams Middle School, Pierce College, etc...  Playing with Dave Schaeffer indoors, and classic story of "breaking in" filling in for '64  Olympian and Stockton Club player,  Chuck Nelson in a tournament with fellow Olympians Rudy Suwara and Butch "4-F" May.   

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Stormin' Normand discusses:   The brilliance of   UCLA Coach Al Scates,   the infamous "CIRCLE DRILL",  "The Blue Curtain",    CURL OFF in UCLA weight room against Trevor Schirman...   His beach volleyball career, including epic 3rd place finish with the only guy with a mustache better than him, the LATE Rick "Bear Dog""  at the '77 State Beach World Championships,  and mentoring a young Sinjin Smith to his first win at the '77 Marine Street Open...   Plus the LEGENDARY story of when a just out of Santa Barbara HS Karch Kiraly and Marco Ortega competed against him and Sinjin in first round.  Karch mouthed off " Choke city",  after winning first game, and had the living daylights scared out of him once he got a "load" of STORMIN' NORMAND.....  Lesson LEARNED....

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Stormin' Normand discusses:    His youth as a kid,  his time as a Green Beret in Vietnam,  how he became interested in the sport, and his time at UCLA in '73 and '74.   

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Digger Discusses: 

-  Some additional memories from his time as a player at San Diego State, including his recollection of how talented Duncan McFarland was, not to mention his other talented teammates he is honored to have played alongside with,  how he transitioned from his playing career to the real world as a High School Teacher and Coach , including coaching volleyball for the girls program at Hoover HS in San Diego, and recruiting Tod Mattox to help coach, and the LIFELONG friendship he's had with him since,  his time coaching the women's team  at Grossmont College,  and how grateful he was to be a part of the collegiate sport during the implementation of Title IX, and  when women's volleyball became a NCAA sport in  '81, his next coaching  endeavor at UCSD for the Tritons men's program, and getting to compete against storied programs like UCLA, USC, and Pepperdine, to name a few,  the "real life" moment he came to as a husband and father living in Cardiff teaching and coaching, working 18 hours a day and commuting a hour all over the place, (even though he loved every minute of it), and making the  decision to relocate to Walla Walla, Washington to become an English Teacher and high school girls volleyball coach so his family could have a better quality of life,  what he is doing now career wise with his Socratic Seminars across the country, his amazing family - wife April, daughter Erin, and son Kevin,  who the best hitters, diggers, and setters were from his era, and what he is most proud of from his career as a player, coach, and educator..... 

Digger's Company:     https://www.socraticseminars.com/

Daughter Erin's Company:      https://www.luxeengland.com/

Digger's  musician son's  Kevin Graybill's page:      https://graybillmusic.com/

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Jay Discusses:

-  The '84 player strike at the Jose Cuervo World Championships in Redondo Beach when he and Andy Fishburn crossed the picket line to win the tournament,  WHY they did so, the repercussions they faced on multiple levels for years to follow,  how he and Andy could have handled it better in hindsight,  getting back in the good graces of their peers later on,  the talent level of young lions Scott Ayakatubby  & Brent Frohoff and the influence Karch had on each of them when he partnered up with both  later in their careers and helped them learn what it takes to win,  the other young guys that came along during his career that impressed him:  Kent Steffes, Mike Whitmarsh, Leif Hanson, and Brian Lewis, and what set them apart from the rest of the young guns when it came to winning,  how Selznick, Lang, & Von Hagen were the first TRUE professionals of the sport with their tireless dedication to the sport practicing and playing non-stop, and how they set the precedent on what it takes to win....

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Digger discusses:

-  Reflections on relationships and friends from Manhattan Beach (Mike Cook, John Gonzalez, Mitch Malpee to name a few), competing indoors in the USVBA  for Players Liquor and a fun "trip" competing in Mexico , relocating to San Diego  and living on Mission Blvd, competing on the men's indoor volleyball team for San Diego State in '71 & '72,  starting and running the Mission Beach Volleyball clinics in '73 alongside friends and teammates,  being the catalyst for the Winston Open at S. Mission Beach,  some of the memorable people and friends from the San Diego area (George Stepanof,  John & Fred Featherstone, Bob Mendoza, to name a few), and a classic story of competing against Bob Vogelsang and Wilt Chamberlin.

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Art Discusses:

-  Being an influence on fellow lefty Al Scates, growing up in Los Angeles and competing in basketball at Los Angeles high school, being a member of the UCLA Bruins basketball team for legendary coach John Wooden from '48-'51, and what it was like playing for him, learning the sport of volleyball at Sorrento Beach, competing for the prestigious Hollywood YMCA Stars team from '56-'59, where the team won 4 Open Championships, and Art was named a 3 X All-American outside hitter, his memories of his teammates (including Gene Selznick, Mike O'Hara, Ron Lang, Rolf Engen, Walt Schiller, and Bill Olsson), competing on the USA Men's Indoor National team during those same years, including a 4th place finish at the World Championships in Paris, France in '56,  what he accomplished in the career world after his athletic career concluded, and his family life, including his 2 wonderful wives, and sons....

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Digger discusses:

- Growing up in Manhattan Beach in the 60's,  some of his fellow volleyball players he got his start with in the sport, the humbling and exhilarating road of playing in his first  tournament at Muscle Beach in '68, to ascending the ranking system from his B to AAA ranking over the coming summers, some of the highlights of his beach playing career, including a 2nd place finish at the State Beach Open alongside partner Marshall Savage in '71,  a  4th place finish at the Marine Street Open alongside Dennis Hare in '71, as well as winning the Manhattan Beach 6 man tournament as a member of the Sky King & the Astro Flashes, also in '71.

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Art Alper:

- Art discuses being an influence on fellow lefty Al Scates, growing up in Los Angeles and competing in basketball at Los Angeles high school, being a member of the UCLA Bruins basketball team for legendary coach John Wooden from '48-'51, and what it was like playing for him, learning the sport of volleyball at Sorrento Beach, competing for the prestigious Hollywood YMCA Stars team from '56-'59, where the team won 4 Open Championships, and Art was named a 3 X All-American outside hitter, his memories of his teammates (including Gene Selznick, Mike O'Hara, Ron Lang, Rolf Engen, Walt Schiller, and Bill Olsson), competing on the USA Men's Indoor National team during those same years, including a 4th place finish at the World Championships in Paris, France in '56,  what he accomplished in the career world after his athletic career concluded, and his family life, including his 2 wonderful wives, and sons....

Jay Discusses:

-  His time at Pacific Palisades High School competing in volleyball and basketball  as a Dolphin -  '68-'70, and the amazing athletes that were there at the time,  going to Sorrento Beach and seeing legends like Ron Von Hagen & Ron Lang play beach volleyball, and how BIG of an influence they had on him and the other young volleyball players coming up at the time,  his time at UCSB playing volleyball and finishing runner up to UCLA in '74 and '75, and the high of winning the '75 USVBA  Open tournament with his USCSB teammates in '74 in Knoxville, Tennessee,  the process of earning your A, AA, and AAA rating as young player coming up through the ranks with Greg Lee, how talented the Pali high Dolphin's basketball team was in '69 and '70, winning the LA School's city championship in '69, and finishing runner up in '70, and how talented Tom Chamales was as a player.

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