 |
|||||
|
Locals Metzger, Fontana on rolls as MB Open approaches
by Richard Blount
Two local players have been tearing up the volleyball courts in the men's and women's divisions here and abroad. Barbra Fontana and Stein Metzger have elevated their games to new heights and have become our best USA beach volleyball players. Both have had career summers on their respective tours and there are still three major events to play, including this weekends $125,000 Manhattan Beach Open Michelob Light Open presented by Paul Mitchell.
No tournament is more important than the Manhattan Open. The event starts Friday with qualifying matches beginning at 9 a.m. and runs through Sunday. The event is free to all and there is bleacher seating on the main court. (Free parking and a shuttle service will be available at Mira Costa High School).
After Fontana and Metzger clear their swimsuits of sand from the "Wimbledon of beach volleyball" they will leave Sunday night on a red-eye for the $150,000 Goodwill Games in Brisbane, Australia. The Goodwill Games run from August 29 through September 4. Metzger and Fontana are half of the number one teams representing our country in Ted Turner's event. The tourney features the top thirteen men and women's teams in the world plus three wild card teams. This marks the first time the event has not been held in the USA or Russia.
Immediately following the closing ceremonies they will be whisked away to the Hard Rock Café in Las Vegas, Nevada to participate in the King and Queen of the Beach tournament September 7-9. This event ends the 2001 USA beach professional circuit.
|
Stein Metzger and partner Kevin Wong hope to repeat last weekend’s first place finish in Santa Barabara at the Manhattan Open this weekend. Photo by Frank Goroszko
Barbra Fontana can be expected to go up against long time local rival Lisa Arce again this weekend at the Manhattan Open, as she did earlier in the summer at the Hermosa Open. Photo by Frank Goroszko |
Metzger goes on the offense
Stein Metzger, who makes his home in Hermosa Beach, is listed as 6-foot 3, but he claims he is actually 6-foot 4, weighing in at 205. He was an All-American and three time national champion and the 1996 NCAA post season MVP. This last weekend he sizzled at the Karch Kiraly Open in Santa Barbara rising up the hard way, through the loser's bracket, and stealing a victory from hometown favorites Todd Rodgers and Dax Holdren 21-14 and 21-19.
He graduated from UCLA in Environmental Studies? Metzger described it is a geography major that specializes in the environment. "It was like watching the Discovery Channel everyday. Nonetheless there was nothing I wanted to do except play professional volleyball and learn more about environmental studies. It kept me on the team and my last year I made the dean's list!"
Metzger and his teammate have combined to earn $123,200 to date, yet he arrived for this interview riding down the Strand on a long skateboard and listening to tunes on his new mini-disc player. If all goes well he says he will be investing in a condominium in Honolulu, near the Outrigger Canoe Club. His down payment money will come from his bonus pool money he earned playing on the FIVB tour this year.
The Outrigger Canoe Club volleyball team is considered the best club team in Hawaii and is among the best run programs in the United States.
Metzger earned three consecutive championship rings at UCLA while running the Bruins offense as a setter. I asked Metzger how his recent FIVB win in Switzerland compared with those championship rings? "It was second only to my senior year championship. The victory in Switzerland was second to that.
His teammate this year is long time friend 6-foot 7 Kevin Wong. "Kevin and I went to Punahou High School in Honolulu together and played against each other in JV ball. Afterward we played together and won two straight state championships."
To improve his technique, Metzger played club ball for three years with the Outrigger Canoe Club. Wong played his senior year with him on that team. Other Outrigger teammates included Mike Lambert, a Stanford All-American player, former Olympian and current AVP beach professional; and Sean Scott an University of Hawaii and AVP player. Every starter on that team went on to play Division 1 college volleyball.
Out of the eleven major events Metzger and Wong team have strung together five final four finishes, four podium placements, and an AVP win. Metzger said it's no mystery. "We have really good chemistry together and we are opposites. I'm really intense and get fiery. Kevin is really calm in tight situations and slows down his game and does more thinking. We play off each other really well, I help him get more excited when he needs to, and he tries to calm me down and analyze the game a little more."
Wong does most of the blocking and Metzger is the back row defender. But that changed recently. "It depends on the team we play and the rhythm we are in. Lately, we have been trying to jump serve tougher." As a result Metzger has been blocking more. "We lost a really close match recently. We had five score swings for game against the World Champion Argentineans in our last tournament in Belgium to go to the final four and I blocked Martinez Conde eight times in the match. I was on fire."
In spite of the transportation issues, language, different foods, training on the road and living out of a suitcase for months, Metzger finds life on the road a great adventure. This year alone they have played in Tenerife, Spain; Gstaad, Switzerland; Berlin, Germany; Stavanger, Norway; Lignano Sabbiadoro, Italy; Marseille, France; Espinho, Portugal, Klagenfurt, Austria and Ostende, Belgium.
"I have done well because of the pure enjoyment of traveling. This is my first year playing abroad and I'm absolutely having a ball. I have a smile on my face the entire time. I know some of the other USA teams get frustrated and want to come home. They would talk about coming home and I think it hurt them. Kevin and I had a really good time."
His favorite spot on the tour was the World Championships in Klagenfurt, Austria. He describes it as, "the most incredible beach volleyball tournament I've ever been to. They had great fans. In fact they couldn't stop the fans from doing the wave. They were so loud and so distracting to the teams that they had to stop the matches. We got VIP treatment -- anything we wanted to eat including meats and salmon. The spreads were incredible."
Everyone knows about the new rules changes on the FIVB. Metzger was quick to point out "the new rules favor my game in sideout situations." He claims, "I'm the type of player who gets the ball down quick. I have to use my quickness instead of my height because I don't jump as high as the other players on the tour. With the smaller court I've found you really need to get the ball down as fast as possible. If you play the high game or shoot too much you get dug quite a bit. We run some plays. We'll run quick and shoot sets from time to time. Kevin was served more than me this summer. I think teams felt they had a better chance of serving Kevin and defending his style of hitting versus mine."
I wondered how he was able to improve so fast. He claims, "In my high school days, I used to watch videotape of Karch Kiraly playing indoors and try and emulate things that he did. I have also taken a little bit of my former partner's game and incorporated it into mine. Carlos Loss, Eduardo Bacil, Wayne Seligson and Matt Unger have helped me develop into the player I am. For example, I've taken ‘Anjinho’ Bacil's pokey and ‘Alemone’ Loss’ blocking and have incorporated both into my game today.
One would think to play well you need to develop more shots. Metzger has done the opposite. "The more complicated you make the game the more difficult it is. I make it easy on my self and do the same thing each time. Instead of having ten different shots I use four now."
Quicksilver and Scott Hawaii sandals sponsor Metzger. His hobbies include paddling outrigger canoes and surfing at Maile Point, Hawaii.
Fontana ruling on world courts
Barbara Fontana is not your typical professional volleyball player, despite $188,650 in earning as a team in 2001.
She earned a Bronze medal in the 1994 Goodwill Games in Leningrad, Russia with Lori Foresight and placed fourth in the 1996 Olympics with Linda Hanley. In short, she is an USA Open National Champion, FIVB Gold Medallist, Juris Doctorate/Attorney at Law and 2000 Queen of the Beach.
She is the youngest of five siblings including Gina, Linne' Greg and Karen. She grew up on the sands of Manhattan Beach and attended Aviation High School her first three years. The closing of Aviation her senior year forced her to attend Mira Costa. From there she earned a scholarship to Stanford where she was a four-year starter, All-League as a senior and team captain.
She, too, is coming off a solid finish at the Karch Kiraly Open in Santa Barbara. She and her teammate placed a respectable third in their first outing in the states in quite some time.
What makes Fontana unusual is that she earned her law degree from Santa Clara in 1991, served on the Santa Clara Law Review and passed the California bar examinations in 1992. She specializes in civil defense. "I worked for a mid-size law firm in the Mid-Wilshire district that represents insurance companies," she said.
On weekends she found time to play beach volleyball. She has amassed 183 tournament starts (see chart). Her professional beach career flourished immediately prompting her to give up her law practice.
Fontana indicated she missed law the first few years. "I felt I should really be building my practice. I talk to some of my friends whom I started with and they have thriving practices. And I think to myself, Oh gosh! But as I look at the big picture I don't regret it. I'm very happy doing what I do."
This season she and her teammate have played in 11 final fours and have a winning percentage of 55-12. They did so while playing in Macau, Macau; Calgliari, Italy; Gstaad, Switzerland; Gran Canaria, Spain; Marseille, France; Espinho, Portugal; Klagenfurt, Austria and Osaka, Japan.
"I'm really happy this year. Elaine Youngs and I complement each other well on the court. In addition, we have both worked hard in the preseason training and we have been able to produce. I do it every year. It's not like I ramped up this year any differently than I did last year or the year before. It's a matter of getting on the court and playing well and be consistent. As a team we have been able to accomplish that."
Reflecting on the year, she pointed out, "The whole summer has really been back to back for us. What's nice about this time of year is there are some really choice events. I'm very excited about Manhattan, the Goodwill Games and the Queen of the Beach. They are all great events. But you still can't get caught up in them."
Her height has always been a question mark to others. Playing at 5-foot 6 she has overcome tall odds. "Let other people worry about your height. I was 4-foot 11 as a freshman in high school at Aviation High School. At that time my coach DaeLea Aldrich (now at Mira Costa) didn't say, "you are too short." I played varsity ball my freshman year."
When I was recruited for college it was an issue. People even told me, "lie about your height and say you are 5-foot 9. Yet everybody knew how tall I was. Keep in mind, I was an outside hitter at the time. I would ask them what is the shortest outside hitter you would play. Of course they would say, 5-foot 6. I'm not cognizant of how short I am until I see a photo. The best woman's beach volleyball player in the world for the last four years is 5-foot 5. Her name is Shelda Bebe and she's from Brazil. You can argue all you want about how tall you need to be for this game but if you look at the numbers there are people out there who aren’t 6-foot and they can play this game. I tell people to focus on their strengths. If you are short be a phenomenal ball control player and be able to work the court. People joke about it all the time. Hey, aren't we supposed to get rid of these short players? Even with the new FIVB smaller court people say this will eliminate the shorter player. It hasn't!"
Fontana said the new rules have been a mixed blessing. "It makes defense easier. But that doesn't help me because defense was one of my strengths. It levels the playing field for the weaker defenders. That’s not to I say I don't have more success on defense. The shorter court has made it easier for me to close the court down. "
"Offensively it's a disadvantage. I have less court to work. I like to play a finesse game. I like to move the ball around. They have taken away square footage off of my real estate over there. It doesn't make it impossible. It took about three months for me to switch over my offense and my serving. In regard to serving, if you can switch up your angle on your arm swing its advantageous to be right at the line because you are three feet closer. You can bring more heat and bring a faster ball."
She also raised an interesting point with the shorter court. "What's most difficult is when you are in a long rally and you tend to resort to muscle memory. As a result my middle deep swing in the old court is clearly out. You really have to be aware that the court is smaller."
Aside her intellectual side, she is in fabulous condition.
" If you play beach volleyball you are going to be in good shape. It's an upper and lower body workout. It’s a lot of running and jumping. I have the pleasure of having this be my job so I have more time to devote to training and being in shape."
A normal week for Fontana includes three days a week on the beach, two to three hours at a time, plus six more hours in the gym, plus an hour or two doing some kind of explosion work.
She then spoke of her diet or should I say her non-diet. "I don't play with my diet. I try to eat well and balanced. I'm not a real stickler. If I see something I want to eat, I'll eat it. I do make sure I stay hydrated! That is something I'm very cognizant of because I think it is a danger in our sport. I don't do funky formulas with foods and things.
Fontana is a big fan of the New AVP. "It is great. I think it will be a great organization. It has a lot of forward momentum for success. We have all the men and women together playing. We have a great company running it. We've got someone (Leonard Armato) who knows the volleyball business and yet has been outside of it for awhile. He can bring in fresh ideas and contacts. I'm really excited about it.
As for the 2004 Olympics, it is definitely on the list of things to do. "I have no plans of retiring and I'm really happy with my game and excited about what's going on with the sport. So I'm going to continue to play. I enjoyed the 1996 Olympics. I would love to have a medal from the Olympics games. Its something I'm shooting for."
Fontana is fluent in Italian, a product of her family's heritage. She studied overseas in Florence as an exchange student in high school for six months. "It's fun", she says. "On the road I do get to use my Italian." Her hobbies include snowboarding, rollerbladeing, traveling, hiking and movies. She is coached by Jeff Alzina and sponsored by Speedo and Jamba Juice.
All Time Open Victories
Men's Career Victories Women's Career Victories
1 Karch Kiraly 142 Karolyn Kirby 67
2 Singin Smith 139 Jackie Silva 58
3 Randy Stoklos 122 Holly McPeak 56
4 Kent Steffes 110 Liz Masakaya 45
5 Mike Dodd 75 Nancy Reno 38
6 Ron Von Hagen 62 Linda Chisholm 36
7 Tim Hovland 60 Angela Rock 27
8 Jose Loiola 50 Shelda Bebe 22
9 Jim Menges 46 Adriana Behar 22
10 Adam Johnson 43 Linda Hanley 20
All Time Open Tournaments Entered
Men Women
Singin Smith 384 Barbara Fontana 183
Randy Stoklos 340 Karolyn Kirby 180
Mike Dodd 334 Holly McPeak 180
Tim Hovland 284 Gail Castro 168
Karch Kiraly 278 Liz Masakayan 164
Brent Frohoff 271 Angela Rock 163
Ricci Luyties 265 Elaine Roque 158
Scott Friederichsen 246 Linda Hanley 158
Adam Johnson 244 Nancy Reno 152
Mike Whitmarsh 240 Jackie Silva 151
MB Open Rules 1960
Two out of three games to 11, a point may only be earned by serving the ball. Switch sides on multiples of four. The court size is 30' x 30', the net height is 7'-10" and there are no antennas. No overhand passing of the serve and you must be facing the direction you are setting or it’s a throw. The ball: McGreger 12-patch or Rawlings 18-patch. You can't reach over the net ever.
MB Open Rules 1998
The traditional side-out scoring system, only the serving team can be awarded a point. A game is played to 15 points with a nine-minute clock and a mandatory-winning margin of two points. If the game score reaches 14 to 14 or if the game clock expires and there is not a two-point margin, the game will continue without the clock in use until a two-point margin is attained. Switch sides on multiples of five. Two 45-second "full" time-outs and two 20-second "sand" time-outs are allowed. No overhead serve passing allowed, the court is 30' x 30' per side plus antennas on the net. One toss per serve. The ball: Wilson 18-patch game ball."
MB Open Rules 2001
Rally score play, first two sets are to 21, third game to 15. The first team to reach 14 in the third set, side out scoring will be used until one team has scored the 15th point or wins by 2 points. No cap on all three games. Side changes will be every ten points in the first two sets and every five in the third. Two time outs per set with duration of thirty seconds. The side changes will be direct without delay. The court size is 26'-3" x 26'-3" per side. Let serves are good, overhead serve passing is okay and antennas are used on the net. There are two hits after a block. The ball: FIVB Mikasa ball. ER