Every four years the Olympics bring countries together by allowing athletes to compete on the same playing surface in 26 different sports, sparking interests to viewers and athletes worldwide.
Although the closing ceremonies for the 2012 games in London were held on Aug. 12, the impression of the games is still fresh in fans’ minds.
Indoor volleyball is one of many Olympic sports that does not feature a professional league in the United States, so players normally do not have an opportunity to continue their athletic careers past the end of their collegiate eligibility.
Therefore, the Olympics are a spectacle for volleyball players and fans around the world – as is the case for many sports – and are the highest level of competition past college. The Ohio volleyball team is in awe of the women that once were in the same position on a college volleyball team.
“I love how much coverage the volleyball got, NBC does a great job televising success,” Ohio coach Ryan Theis said. “It’s always good to watch the high level and I think that it has helped our sport out a lot as far as the interest is concerned.”
Team USA finished as the runner up in London this past summer in indoor play to Russia, while the Americans took both the gold and silver medals during beach volleyball play.
“I definitely enjoy the attention that the Olympic volleyball gives to the rest of the sport,” senior outside hitter Faith Robins said. “When I was younger it was my dream to play volleyball at a high level and it’s also great the United States has such good role models for young girls to dream as well.”
The Bobcats, along with Robins, agreed that they are avid fans of both the indoor and beach volleyball events, despite many stating they do not have any interest in trying to participate in future contests.
“I am a fan of the Olympics and love watching any volleyball teams play on TV,” Robins said. “But, most likely I would not like to ever compete at that level, I’m fine with just watching it at home.”
The Bobcats currently represent Ohio University and play for their school pride, but two members of the team, Chelsea Bilger and Kelly Lamberti, played on the U.S. Developmental Team this summer in Beijing. While not playing on the highest national team, the duo has represented their country.
“I definitely feel more pride playing for school than I did on the developmental team,” Lamberti said. “But that’s because I wasn’t on the highest level for my country, it wasn’t the same feeling as I get playing for Ohio University.”
At Ohio, women can compete only on an indoor volleyball team at the varsity level, but the squad still enjoys playing beach volleyball as a part of the team’s offseason training schedule during the summer.
About every other day the team splits up and faces off in the sand as a way to keep their volleyball skills sharp, while still enjoying time away from the indoor court. The players might not be allowed to compete in beach volleyball collegiately at Ohio, but beach volleyball teams do exist.
In the spring of 2012, all NCAA programs were given the green light to begin beach volleyball teams, but Ohio has no plans of beginning a team any time soon.
Only 41 NCAA programs in all divisions currently have beach volleyball programs, compared to 329 indoor programs.
Indoor volleyball has been an NCAA-sanctioned sport for decades, but because of the popularity of beach volleyball in the Olympics, the sport is growing to other levels of competition.
“I’d love to see beach volleyball come to Ohio,” Theis said. “It’s a better all-around way to get better, but it’s a ways away from coming to the Midwest and not many schools are adding sports right now.”
Whether or not beach volleyball becomes a collegiate sport, the Olympics have had a direct impact on not only younger players, but also the game and opportunities in general.
cl027410@ohiou.edu
