GODS to GHOSTS Volleyball

Vogie discusses:

-  His recollection of some of the players he competed against ( Larry Rundle, Henry Bergmann, Ron Lang, Ron Von Hagen, Gene Pflueger, and Mike Bright),  his favorite beer he drinks these days, a CLASSIC Mike Bright story when Vogie decided to go spear fishing one day, and stopped by Mike Bright's dive shop for some spear fishing advice on his way to Point Dume, and Bright gives Vogie a taste of his own medicine with some spear fishing advice that leads to one of the funniest stories ever!

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Vogie discusses:  

- His youth growing up in LA and going to Sorrento Beach as kid with his parents, shagging balls for the legends playing there, and being immediately in awe of the players, the energy at the beach, and the lifestyle...,  playing volleyball with Pete Hogan as a teenager at Sorrento, State, and Muscle Beach,  his memories of Gene Selznick ( watching him play, parking cars for him, being coached by him, and Gene's love of food!), his time coaching AVP player Brian Gatzke on the AVP tour in the '90's, the '67 Manhattan Beach Open, when he and UCLA All-American football player Bill Leeka lost in the first round, and then drank beer the rest of the weekend and made it to the finals to face off against legends Ron Lang & Ron Von Hagen ( including the antics that took place with the crowd throwing beer on the court, a fan breaking a bottle of beer of  Steno Brunicardi's head, which didn't phase him, and how when the fan ran away, Butch May ran him down, tackled him, and saved the guys life by giving him up to the police to put in a squad car before Steno got his hands on him), Vogie's lack of success in never winning a final in the 9 times he made it there, and his recollections of legend Mike O'Hara.

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Adam Johnson Part 3:  

 Adam discusses:

- Playing and winning on both sides of the court on the AVP,  his 3 most memorable wins, the experience of visiting the Manhattan Beach Pier and seeing his name on it among all the legends who won there, the CUERVO parties!, the 5 best hitters he faced, 5 best diggers, the best blockers, and best players he competed against, what it was like playing with Karch Kiraly, and some of their best wins together, including the epic '97 Minneapolis Open when he and Karch beat their former partners Kent Steffes & Jose Loiola, his thoughts on the NEW RULES, his answers to FAN questions, including:  his NIKE foot digs, the BEST SMACK talkers on the beach, his low toss jump serve, his football punting skills, his memories of playing in Milwaukee at Bradford Beach, what he's up to now in his career with his Adam Johnson Volleyball Academy in Austin, TX, and beautiful family with his wife Jennifer, and their two amazing kids, and how he would like to be remembered.

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Adam Discusses:

- Playing with legend Pat Powers and getting his first win with him in '91 at Santa Barbara and then being dumped by PP shortly there after, teaming up with Ricci Luyties that season and winning the first NBC live televised event in Milwaukee when he and Ricci beat John Hanley & Mike Whitmarsh in an epic final on live TV, the success Adam and Ricci had the rest of that summer playing together, culminating in an epic win over legends Sinjin Smith & Randy Stoklos at the USA Championships in Hermosa Beach, the '93 Manhattan Beach Open when he and Bruk Vandeweghe finished second to Karch Kiraly & Kent Steffes, and the amazing jump serves he blasted "shrapnel" off Karch on Kent, that people still talk about to this day, his prowess on defense, and what made him so successful as a 2 x AVP defensive player of the year.....

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Adam Johnson  -  Part 1   

Adam discusses:     His start in the sport as a kid growing up in Laguna Beach,  his illustrious Laguna Beach high school career, winning 3 CIF titles along side some incredible volleyball talent playing for coach Bill Ashen, his collegiate volleyball career as a USC Trojan, playing for Coach Bob Yoder  (where he was the NCAA Player of the Year in ’86,  a 3 x All-American, and 3 x NCAA runner up), his stint on the USA Men's indoor volleyball team,  his start as a young professional on the beach competing on the AVP tour alongside Troy Tanner and Steve Timmons, having sponsors approach him to represent their brand, winning his first tournament in '91 alongside Pat Powers in Santa Barbara over legends Sinjin Smith and Randy Stoklos, and how he lived week to week during the early years on the AVP tour, when partners dumped one another with no remorse….

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Lang Discusses:

-  Why he thinks Gene Selznick is the best American Volleyball player ever despite my argument that Karch Kiraly is,  his recollection of his time on the '64 Olympic team, how he would have played against Dalhausser on the beach ( regardless of his partner), classic stories of playing against Jim Menges back in the day when Lang served a sky ball that was going to land out on a woman and her child and Jim Menges caught the ball before it hit them and Lang said, that's a point!, the advice he gave to a young Kent Steffes in the early 90's over dinner when Kent shared with Lang how the rest of the players on tour didn't like him ( Lang said:  SO WHAT!), how he moved on from the aging Gene Selznick as his partner to the young upstart Ron Von Hagen, his strategy as a defensive player when it came to digging ( his knowledge is PRICELESS),  , the best hitters he played against during his era, his recollection of the classic '68 Manhattan Beach Open when he and Von Hagen lost in the dark against Larry Rundle & Henry Bergmann, how he won 70% of the tournaments he played in from '58-'68 in his prime, what he thought of Wilt Chamberlin's volleyball skills ( or lack there of), classic stories of Steno Brunicardi, and Jack Backer, how amazing Mike Bright was as player, and more!

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Leeka discusses:

-  His UCLA football career playing for legendary Coach Red Sanders, pledging as a freshman there ( alongside beach volleyball legend  Ron Von Hagen) in the Beta Theta Pi fraternity and the HAZING they went through, some of his most memorable experiences as a two-way player on the team, including the "forearm" shiver he delivered to Oregon State's star tail back/safety  that made him a legend in the Pacific Coast Conference, the fun he had the nights before home games causing mischief when the team played at the LA Coliseum, and staying at a downtown LA hotel, and going on double dates with Ron Von Hagen to The Luau in Beverly hills when they enjoyed a "few" of their infamous Rum drinks and had a good time....

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Nancy Cohen Part 2.

Nancy discusses:

- The amazing men's players she saw at State Beach when she was playing ( including Dane Selznick, Andy Fishburn, Randy Stoklos, Sinjin Smith, Dane Hotzman, and a teenage Kent Steffes), the legendary players and characters of State Beach ( Bernie Holtzman, Gene Selznick, Ron Von Hagen, Ron Lang, Jean and Steno Brunicardi, and Butch May practicing with his his daughter Misty May!), plus basketball legend and lover of volleyball- Wilt Chamberlin, and the impact he had on the sport, her thoughts on the sport today and what could be done to make it better, what she is most proud of over her career, how she would like to be remembered, and what she is up to NOW DAYS in 2020 :)

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Nancy Discusses:   

- How she got her start in the sport growing up at State Beach in Santa Monica, learning the sport from her father, Altie Cohen, witnessing the legendary volleyball players/characters, surfers, and movie stars who were all a part of the State Beach scene, winning the '74 State Beach Open at the age of 15 with her partner, Jean Brunicardi, her time as a highly successful high school player at Pacific Palisades HS, being one of the first female volleyball players to earn a collegiate scholarship to play for Coach Patti Bright at Pepperdine University, what it was like playing with Kathy Gregory on the beach, her recollections of Gene Selznick and his impact on the sport, some of her favorite wins on the beach, as well as who some of the most talented women's players were over the years she competed.

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Larry Discusses:

- Playing with Bob Clem ( his partner in the '71 Manhattan Beach Open that they WON), how he views himself as MORE of an INDOOR player, than a beach guy, the best players he competed against, the best diggers, the best hitters, playing and WINNING the GOLD medal in the '67 Pan Am Games in Canada on the US Olympic Men's Indoor team to qualify for the '68 Olympics, how he supported himself financially working as a waiter in the evenings at the Daisy Disco Club in Beverly Hills during '67 and '68, and then training in the UCLA weight room all day on little sleep, the '68 Olympic Games in Mexico City, how they beat the defending gold medalist Russians in the 1st round, then spraining his ankle in round 2,  and he could no longer play, how amazing of a team Von Hagen and Lang were on the beach, his thoughts on how he would do against the best beach players of today on the beach, some great fan questions, what he is most proud of over his career, and what he is up to today.

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