May and Walsh Win Gold!

I just wanted to touch briefly on Misty May and Kerri Walsh, and their amazing run to the Gold in Athens. May and Walsh are the first Women's Beach Volleyball Gold medalist in the short history of Beach Volleyball in the Olympics (the first time Beach Volleyball was an Olympic sport was 1996.)

They didn't just win Gold, they matched the US Women's Softball team by winning gold without losing a match...to make it even more incredible, May and Walsh didn't even lose a game!! That, in itself would be amazing, but wait, it gets better.

Misty May suffered an abdominal strain in late May. Upon her return, in July, she wad to withdraw from her first tournament back after having tweaked the injury. With amazing resilience, she trained hard, and somehow found the will to compete...and compete very well.

There is one thing that bothers me, and it is something that has, in one form or another, bothered me for a very long time. Chris Marlowe and Karch Kiraly were the commentators for the event (no, that didn't bother me). Whenever they spoke of the team, it was to say how "Kerri Walsh is the greatest female player on the beach, and maybe the greatest female beach player of all time." Now, don't get me wrong, Kerri Walsh is one hell-of-a player. She's tall, blocks extremely well, covers the court well, hits well (duh) but the greatest player?

I disagree with this. I think Misty May is the greatest. Why? Well, let's look at it.

1. Misty May is a better passer.
2. Misty May is a better setter. (hello?!? 4 Time All American setter at Long Beach State!!)
3. Misty May is an AMAZING defensive player (15 digs in the final match). Super fast reflexes, and ball recognition that rivals another underrated star...Sinjin Smith.
4. Misty May gets a majority of the serves (who would serve the 6'2 Walsh?). Of those, she hits a very high percentage (14 kills in the gold match)...this with an abdominal injury and a reconstructed knee (2001).
5. Misty May does this while hitting Kerri Walsh's 2 foot high sets. (for those of you who aren't in the know, hitting a low set that is back off the net --like Kerri Walsh's sets-- is extremely difficult, especially out of the sand.

Ok, I think that should tell you why Misty is better. I think people have a tendency to promote the big hitters and blockers instead of the people who do all the grunt work. The fundamentals...like passing, digging, hitting consistently while getting 90% of the serves. It's unfortunate because your Sinjin Smith's and Mike Dodd's and Misty May's are going to get swept under the rug...unless they play for 30 years like Sinjin and Dodd did, then they are going to be remembered because of their longevity, not their dominance.

In closing, I would like to say simply...without the fundamentals, you cannot win. Without Misty May, there would be no Gold medal. (not to say Kerri Walsh doesn't deserve this, I truly believe she is the second best player in the world.) You have to have the best to be the best. I think Kerri Walsh said it best...right after they won the Gold, the team was interviewed. She said how happy she was with the gold, and then turned to Misty and said, "I'm so glad to have won this with Misty, she is the best woman's volleyball player in the world."

I couldn't have said it better myself...