Lambert loving life as one of best in pro beach volleyball

By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer

Empty seats littered venues at the Athens Olympics. One rocking exception was beach volleyball, where, by the end, seats were only empty because fans were up dancing.

Kika Masunaga, 9, of Manoa, sharpens her passing skills during a clinic held in conjunction with the Best of the Beach pro tournament. Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser

It will be one of 16 next year, according to Leonard Armato, who founded the Association of Volleyball Professionals in 1983. He re-acquired it in 2001, when it was down to six tournaments despite the bump provided by the 2000 Olympics.

Punahou grad Mike Lambert played indoors at the Atlanta and Sydney Games. After winning three AVP events this year with volleyball legend Karch Kiraly, Lambert is dreaming of kicking sand in the face of the competition in Beijing in 2008.

"He is absolutely the best American player," says Kerri Walsh, who struck gold in Athens with partner Misty May. "Mike is such an imposing force on offense and defense, and he is still learning. ... It's kinda scary."

Lambert doesn't quite share Walsh's optimism, but admits he is now "where I've always wanted to be" and relishes the opportunity to take over where, and when, his partner leaves off.

Kiraly, 43, is recovering from his third shoulder surgery. The operation came two days after he and Lambert won in Las Vegas earlier this month. It was Kiraly's 147th beach title. No other active player has more than 55.

Lambert, the AVP's Rookie of the Year in 2002, is 144 short. But he is also 6 feet 6 and possesses all the elements the beach game demands.

Lambert

And playing with Kiraly helps elevate his game.

"He doesn't coach much at all," Lambert says, "but you just watch him and take notes on how he does things. ... It's a great way to grow."

Lambert's short-term goals are simple: "Win, win, win, win."

Long term, all he thinks about is winning a medal in Beijing. It might not be with Kiraly, who takes his career a year at a time since turning 40. But for now, Lambert will latch on to the legend for as long as he can.

He has dreamed of this life since starting the game in intermediate school and admits his backup plan was to "panic."

His first taste of the beach game came on Outrigger Canoe Club's "baby court" at age 15. He traces his success back to that humbling site, and the coaching of Peter Balding and Scott Rigg at Punahou.

Now, after two Olympics, five years of playing professionally in Greece and Italy, and a seemingly infinite future on the sand, Lambert is loving life.

He lives in Hermosa Beach, where his "office" is a few feet from the California surf. He has saved enough money to invest in Hawai'i real estate. He married Deborah a month ago, after meeting her in Milan.

He hopes the next few years will help him get settled financially, so he can build his house on the North Shore and spend his time surfing, eating Italian food and playing guitar.

But first, there is Beijing. Lambert believes if Kiraly retires, former Punahou teammate Stein Metzger would make an ideal partner. Metzger, who didn't qualify for this week's event because he spent much of the season overseas trying to qualify for Athens, won't discuss the prospect at this point. But he is clearly eager to improve on his finish last month in Athens.

"The energy ... imagine the Manhattan Open, that kind of intensity and multiply that by 10 for the Olympics," Metzger says. "Beach volleyball is the best sport to play. You're on the beach, in the sun. If you grew up here, that's what you love."

Lambert agrees.

"The beach is where I'm going to finish my volleyball career, and what a way to do it," he says. "Heaven. You get to play on the beach, surf and practice the way you want to practice. It's all up to you."

NOTES

The Best of the Beach format breaks the two fields (16 men and 16 women) into four pools each. Players switch partners every match in a round-robin and the top two from each pool advance to another round of pool play. The top two from those pools advance again and can choose their partner for the final round, but cannot play with their regular partner.

Hawai'i's Kevin Wong won the last King of the Beach title, in 2001. Barbara Fontana is the only woman here who has won this format twice, in 1993 and 2000.

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8043.