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FEATURE ARTICLE:
from avp.com

Building a Future
Mark Dustin
3/10/2003
On any given weekday, the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour’s Stein Metzger and his partner Kevin Wong can be found on the warm California sands of Playa del Rey.

It’s a hot, sunny morning in southern California and the team is getting ready to start its practice with coach Dane Selznick.

Before the practice even starts, the real battle begins.

“Stop living in the seventies!” echoes over the crashing waves.

“Every morning it’s a fight over which radio station we are going to listen to during practice,” Metzger said. “I prefer to listen to KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic show. Dane prefers the classic rock of Arrow.”

Once a station is finally chosen, the two-hour practice begins. After playing with Wong for two years, the team is still fine tuning its game, ironing out some of the final kinks that slow them down looking forward to a more prosperous 2003 AVP season.

A Hawaii native, Metzger was introduced to the game of volleyball at the age of 10. At 13, when his sister was playing for an intermediate team, he realized some natural ability for the game.

Up until then, basketball had been his sport. But, he attended one of his sister’s games, joined one of the warmup circles and began passing the ball around. After a few minutes, he was just as good as the girls and that’s when he realized he had some ability.

In seventh grade, Metzger began playing organized volleyball at the Outrigger Canoe Club in Hawaii. From there, he switched his focus from basketball to volleyball, and 18 years later, he is one of the stars of the AVP and the Fèdèration Internationale de Volleyball tours.

Besides volleyball, Metzger is also interested in architecture. In the off-season, he takes classes at El Camino College in Torrance, Calif. Presently, architecture is more of a hobby then a full time career path, but once volleyball is over for the 30 year old, it may become his job.

Metzger’s interest in building and architecture are traced back to his childhood. As a kid, his father, William Metzger, built homes when he wasn’t busy teaching, and Metzger tagged along to help his father out. With an abundance of materials lying around, he found himself building forts and tree houses when given the chance.

Older now, Metzger is still building. Three years ago he and his father built a house in the Manoa Valley Mountains above the University of Hawaii. Also to his building credits, Metzger, along with his father, joined the Jimmy Carter work project, Habitat for Humanity, which took them to the Philippines to build homes.

His international work doesn’t stop in the Philippines. With partner Wong, Metzger competes on the FIVB tour as well. Last season, the team finished on the podium four out of seven times, the best results turned in by an American team in years.

“We’re definitely stronger internationally,” Metzger said.

With their success on the FIVB, Metzger said he thinks he has a shot at becoming an Olympian for the U.S. With that in mind, the team is focusing on the Olympic qualifying events, but their road to the Athens, Greece Olympics in 2004 is not going to be easy.

During the off-season, the AVP and the FIVB came to an agreement allowing the AVP to produce major qualifying events in the United States. With this new agreement, AVP teams enjoy a less confusing road to qualify for the Olympic beach volleyball competition.

With the start of the 2003 AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour just around the corner, the goal is preparation to be competitive this year. After a sub-par AVP season in 2002, Metzger and Wong agree that they have developed a better understanding of the game with age.

“On the international circuit, it’s a power game — the big indoor guys come out onto the beach and pound the ball,” Metzger said. “The AVP is more of a finesse game. Ball control and an understanding of the game and its elements are vital for success.”

Metzger said he is anxious for the start of the season in Florida, the April 4-6 the Paul Mitchell Fort Lauderdale Open, the first time the AVP has been in Florida in some time.

“There are a lot of knowledgeable fans in Florida,” he said. “It’s good to go back there for the AVP and the fans.”