GODS to GHOSTS Volleyball

Al Scates Part 2.

Al discusses:   What it was like coaching volleyball at UCLA during the early years in the late 60's on a "shoe-string" budget, including using hand me down uniforms from the UCLA basketball team courtesy of Coach Wooden, his time competing on the USA men's indoor National team and Hollywood Y in the early 60's leading up to the '64 Olympics, including the travesty of Harry Wilson's gross incompetence as a coach, and SHADY political choices of players selected for the team done behind closed doors,  which left SEVERAL of our BEST players off team, including Al Scates,  Rolf Engen, Jack Henn, Walt Schiller, and OUR BEST player, Gene Selznick ( who had the foresight to recognize the USA needed to play by the international rules with 3 blockers, while WILSON insisted on playing by the OLD rules with 4 blockers, which would come back to haunt them) , in favor of lesser talented players that Wilson took to appease his fellow political  co-conspirators,  how the experience of being left off that OLYMPIC team he DESERVED to be on in favor of Chuck Nelson, led him to throw his heart and soul into coaching and become the greatest collegiate men's volleyball coach EVER,  his coaching philosophy during his 50 year career at UCLA that led to 2 USVBA Collegiate Championships before volleyball was a NCAA sport, and an additional 19 NCAA Championships thereafter,  his infamous winner/loser Blue Curtain at UCLA, that rewarded the best players playing time on the first team, regardless of their pedigree,  and an awesome story about how Sinjin Smith wasn't performing the way he was capable of on the first team, so Al sent him behind the blue curtain to learn to work harder under the tutelage of Mike Stormin' Normand, which ultimately made Sinjin the HARDEST working player he ever had and how it rubbed off on Karch Kiraly when he arrived a few years later, some great USVBA  Nationals stories he recalls, including a time seeing  Lyle " Spike"  Boarts run through the hotel lobby NAKED :), and how the '64 Olympic Men's Indoor team in Tokyo could have done SO much better had they LISTENED to our best player and visionary Gene Selznick and incorporated the international rules into their game plan....

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Al Scates Part 1 Interview:   The  Beginning.  

 Coach Scates discusses:

- His Early years growing up in his family with a truck driver dad  who was an alcoholic and how it impacted him as a child and for the rest of his life,    his start in the sport of  volleyball, seeing Gene Selznick for the first time at State Beach,  how amazing Gene was as a player and one-of-a kind personality and the entourage he drew,  playing with Sharon Peterson in a mixed indoor tournament at Santa Monica College, playing on the beach with Walt Schiller, and Bob Mendoza to "cut his teeth" as a rookie., the best hitters he saw in that era indoors:  Bill Olsson, Ivans Bugajenkov of Russia, & Ernie Suwara,  his respect for coach  Colonel Burt DeGroot and his SMC teams, some funny stories of Keith Erickson playing for him when he thought Basketball Coach Wooden and the Athletic Director Wilbur were going to fire him for letting Erickson play volleyball for UCLA despite Coach Wooden's strict orders NOT to let basketball stud Erickson play, and how Coach Scates got his job as the official UCLA Volleyball coach ( coaching for free as he was trying out for the '64 Men''s Olympic Volleyball team and couldn't accept a coaching salary ) and how the UCLA Athletic Director at the time  said:  "In that case son, Your're HIRED!"   The rest, as they say, is history!   :)

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Interview with Greg Lee - Part 3


Greg discusses:     Winning the first Beach World Championship at State Beach alongside partner Jim Menges in 1976 over the team of Ron Von Hagen & Tom Chamales, (including a monumental rally in which the ball crossed the net 16 times until Menges collapsed in the sand of exhaustion, the lightning and thunder exploding intermittently in the background while Chamales was crushing balls STRAIGHT down in sync with the weather, and the after party at the Elks Club), playing against Karch Kirlay for the first time when Karch was just a teenager playing with his dad; Laszlo Kiraly, the 5 most impressive hitters he witnessed, the 5 best diggers, and 5 best players he ever saw, what he is most proud of throughout his AMAZING basketball and volleyball career, and his candid answers to several fan questions.   

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Greg Lee Interview - Part 2

Greg discusses:  His first trip in 1970 to Sorrento Beach in the spring as a young kid at UCLA  during a "June Gloom" day and meeting Ron Von Hagen, Tom Chamales, and Jim Menges by the Sorrento wall when the beach was empty except for them on that day, and how those 3 players (aside from his brother Jon)  shaped his volleyball career....,  His classic memories of seeing Bob Vogelsang at the beach doing things only Vogie could do, an invaluable lesson he learned from Coach Wooden on how to put your socks and shoes on right, Von Hagen's stories at Sorrento about Bill Russell, and how the lessons he learned from coach Wooden and Ron Von Hagen about fundamentals shaped his volleyball career,  the 88 game win streak he was a part of playing at UCLA for coach Wooden,  how much he respected the team of Lang and Von Hagen, including the first time he beat Von Hagen alongside Bobby Jones during a practice game on a Monday after a tournament and he dug a Von Hagen hit off his knee to win on a fluke play when it landed in the backcourt for match point, and epic match he and his brother Jon Lee played against young teenagers Mark Eller and Randy Stoklos, the transition he went through from being a talented NCAA champion basketball player at UCLA to becoming a great player on the beach with Jim Menges, his memories of the legendary players he played with and against early on:  Jon Lee, Ron Lang, Ron Von Hagen, Matt Gage, Mike Stormin' Normand, Jim Menges, and  how he and Jim Menges' partnership came to be, and which beaches had the hottest women and WHO pulled the most chicks!!!!  OB!

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Interview with Greg Lee - Part 1

Greg discusses:  His youth growing up as the youngest of 3 brothers in Reseda, California and the pummeling he took from his BIG brothers Chris, and Jon, playing high school basketball for his dad and Coach Lonnie Lee where he became the 2 x LA City high school basketball player of the year, being recruited by legendary UCLA Bruin coach John Wooden, , his recollection of playing for coach Wooden and winning 2 NCAA Championships in '72 & '73 alongside his dear friend Bill Walton, his first trip to Sorrento Beach in Santa Monica and "cutting his teeth" as a beach volleyball player against the legendary team of Ron Von Hagen and Ron Lang, meeting his future beach partner and lifelong friend Jim Menges, and some classic UCLA fraternity stories, including how Jim Menges rented a room in the basement of his frat house for $10 a month :)

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Interview with Jim Menges - Part 2
( This Interview took place on August 28th, 2018)

Jim discusses:    The invaluable  lessons he learned from the legendary Ron Von Hagen, his 3 most memorable wins, an EPIC rally he and Greg Lee had against Ron Von Hagen and Tom Chamales at the '76 World Championships at State Beach when the ball crossed the net 13 TIMES, a match against Kirk Kilgour and Doug Dunlap when they were absolutely crushing balls, the best hitters he faced during his career, the best diggers, who he believes are the 3 BEST players in this history of the sport on the beach, Ron Lang and how AMAZING her was in SO MANY ways, his thoughts on the rule changes to the short court and rally scoring, his answers to some amazing questions from the fans ( including which beach had the best groupies, being the AVP tournament director, the naked coke commercial he did, how he got his nickname "cookie", and how the Mikasa Suede Spike ball ended his career), how the beach changed in '82 when the NEXT generation of players came along ( Sinjin, Dane, Fish, Randy, Andrew Smith), and an amazing trip he made to Costa Rica with Jon Lee, Boomer Millken, and Mark Jacobs where Jon Lee saved them all from going to jail with with his fluent grasp of the Spanish language, charm, and wit,  and what he's up to today..... 

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Interview with Jim Menges - Part 1
(This interview was conducted on Aug 28th, 2018)

Jim Discusses:  Playing high school football for legendary coach Don Steere at Santa Monica high, his start in the sport alongside his SAMO friends Randy Niles, and Tom Chamales in the summer of '69 at Sorrento Beach, how amazing the beach scene was at Sorrento, with legends Ron Von Hagen and Ron Lang holding A court all day, everyday, meeting his future partner Greg Lee in 1970, losing 8 - 0 to Lang  the first time he played him (NEXT!),  all the incredible players and characters at Sorrento, like Steno and Vogie, his years at UCLA competing indoors where he was a 2 x NCAA champ and '74 all-american,  some great stories about Mike Stormin' Normand, his tryout for the men's indoor USA national team in '74, and how being CUT sharpened his focus on being the best on the beach, his amazing 13 wins in a row  streak on the beach with Greg Lee, his 5 Manhattan Beach Open wins, including the $4,200 first place prize he and Randy Stoklos won after winning the '81 Manhattan Beach Open, and a great story about cashing the check at the bank...

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Interview with Bill Imwalle - Part 2. 

Bill discusses:   His most memorable wins on the beach,  the partners he played with on the beach ( Matt Gage, Bobby Jackson, and Phil Anderson, to name a few), his recollection of the other significant competitors he played against or with  in the 70's:   Ron Lang, Rose Duncan, Fred Zuelich, Gary Hooper, Captain Buzzard Swarts, Skip Allen, and Mike Carey,  the surreal experience he had during the '92 USVBA Men's 45 Masters indoor tournament, where he competed alongside his friends Ernie Suwara, Rudy Suwara, Buzz Swarts, and Butch May,  the 5 best hitters, 5 best diggers, and best teams he saw during his era... his career AFTER playing on the beach career, his successful coaching career at Menlo College, and what he is up to today with his amazing wife, Kathy Imwalle.

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Interview with Bill Imwalle - Part 1.

Bill discusses:   How he got his start in the sport on the beach in Santa Cruz, his time competing collegiality indoors for the Long Beach State 49ers, his college teammates, some of the BEST players he competed against at the collegiate level, playing in beach opens for the first time with good friend, Matt Gage, and what it was like playing against some of the greatest beach players to ever play...

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