Karch Kiraly Quotes

Physically I'm not as strong as I was, but I try to make up for it mentally. It's a big challenge, and I relish it, competing with guys half my age.

One of the best ways to [improve my longevity] that is to minimize injury or avoid it by being more flexible-especially when we are meeting at the net. There is a hitter and blocker, which means a lot foot contact, where you can twist your ankle easily.

I want to be as self-reliant as possible and do it all from within.

I had four different colors of hats, one of which was pink. I just got on a roll with the pink hat. So what started out as a superstition grew into a tradition and an easy way for my family to find me at tournaments because I am the only one with cojones big enough to wear a pink hat.

Practice like it's competition and compete like it's another day on the practice court.

I had a bunch of different colored hats I wore. When I started wearing a pink one, we won five or six tournaments in a row, so I stuck with it. It started as superstition and now it's tradition-my hideous trademark that I always wear.

Volleyball is not like a formula so we must give players some freedom.

I never did. I only prepared to win the next day.

There's nothing worse than the feeling of wishing you had another chance at a play because you weren't ready. Every athlete has those feelings to mull over, and over and over ... Don't even expose yourself to the possibility to being caught off-guard. -

I was fortunate to start the sport at a young age. I was 6 years old when my dad started teaching me. We started playing tournaments together when I was 11, in the lower ranking of beach volleyball in California. We weren't playing against kids; we played against grown men, so immediately, I had to raise my game to compete.

In high school, some of the guys were really into music. When I first joined the team as a sophomore, I was blown away when we came out for our first home match-I'm getting goose bumps just thinking about it. The seniors would bring their whole stereo system. We started by yelling and stuff inside this little room just off the gym; then the coaches said, "Ready. Go!" We threw open the door and came running out. Even when I hear the songs now I get all jacked up.

The beach game taught me great lessons about how to elevate the play of my teammate, or teammates, and how to anticipate and expect the ball so much more than the indoor game ever could. It taught me - even forced me - to be a much better all-around player. That allowed me to help our USA Olympic Team in many more ways than I ever could have otherwise.

I still get excited just attending a final four, because the process is so long, so arduous, so challenging, that when it finally arrives, the adrenaline can't help but take over. I love the sense of accomplishment and camaraderie that the indoor game can engender.

It's the best. And the job site isn't too bad, either.

My general rule, which I have followed throughout my coaching career, is that everyone doesn't necessarily get treated the same way, because I'm not sure that's possible. But everyone has to be treated fairly. Moreover, they have to know and trust that they will be treated fairly. Dennis Green, NFL Coach There's nothing worse than the feeling of wishing you had another chance at a play because you weren't ready. Every athlete has those feelings to mull over, and over, and over ... Don't even expose yourself to the possibility of being caught off-guard.

It's a serve and pass game.

Playing against better competition makes you better and more focused, so you can do what you have to, to win.

Most people put a hat and glasses on to go incognito. I take them off.

How much we have to hydrate out here in this kind of heat and humidity. I think the most I have ever taken down in one day of fluids is five gallons - a gallon per match. If we didn't replace our fluids, we would probably keel over and die.

I played a kid's game, I got to do it at the beach, and I was able to support my family. I consider myself incredibly lucky.

No volleyball play can begin without a serve, and the serve is the only technique that is totally under your control. In other endeavors, you cannot succeed without believing in yourself, and that belief is completely under your control.

It's hard to give a career like this up, when I tell my wife I'm going to the office, and it's the beach.