Colorado Springs, Colo. - Doug Beal has been retained as the head coach for
the USA Men's National Volleyball Team, USA Volleyball Executive Director
Kerry Klostermann announced today. Beal served as the team's head coach
from 1976-84 and again from 1997 to the present.
"I am honored and delighted that the association offered me the opportunity
to continue coaching the national team," Beal said. "I consider coaching
the men's team a great honor and responsibility. I think there are a lot of
challenges ahead on the men's side, but I am looking forward to our
continued rise to the top of men's international volleyball."
Klostermann expressed his excitement in Beal's return.
"I am extremely pleased that Doug has extended his tenure as Head Coach of
the USA Men's Team," he said. "Doug's knowledge, experience and coaching
ability are unrivaled and I am positive that under his leadership the team
will regain Olympic medal status."
Beal began his volleyball career as a player in his hometown of Cleveland.
He earned conference MVP and all-America honors while attending Ohio State
University. Soon after graduating from Ohio State in 1970, Beal joined the
US men's national team.
While playing on the national team in 1970-71, he started and coached the
men's volleyball program at Bowling Green University. He returned to Ohio
State in 1972 to become the Buckeye's head coach. He coached OSU for three
years, leading them to a 52-15 overall record and earning conference coach
of the year honors twice.
At 29, Beal accepted the head coaching position with the USA men's national
team in 1976. He helped establish the first-ever year-round volleyball
training facility in Dayton, Ohio in 1978. The center moved to San Diego in
1981 along with the national team program.
After finishing No. 13 at the 1982 World Championships, Beal implemented a
new revolutionary offense. His two-man serve reception, innovative use of
multiple back-row attackers and swing hitters transform the sport and led to
a decade of dominance for the USA men.
The team won the first leg of the elusive volleyball "triple crown" in 1984
when the USA men captured the country's first-ever volleyball Olympic gold
medal. Legends Karch Kiraly, Steve Timmons and Dusty Dvorak were all part of
Beal's Olympic squad. Victories at the 1985 World Cup and 1986 World
Championships capped off the American rise to the top of international
volleyball. Kiraly was recently named the best player of the 20th century,
while the 1984-88 team received special recognition in the greatest men's
volleyball team of the century category.
Beal resigned as head coach to become the organization's National Team
Center Director from 1985-87. He remained involved with the organization
until 1990 when he moved to Italy to coach a top professional team.
He rejoined the national team program in July of 1993 as a special assistant
to the Executive Director/CEO. He worked closely with former USAV Executive
Director John Carroll, and was responsible for FIVB relations and player
development for the USA national teams.
He worked in that capacity until he accepted the program's head coaching
position in 1997. Beal helped the Americans climb from No. 10 in the world
in 1998 to No. 5 at the beginning of the 2000 season. Highlights of
1999-2000 winning NORCECA, tied for second at 1999 World Cup, winning pool
at 2000 World League. Beal is confident that the current crop of players
will help the program re-establish its international prominence.
"I am proud of the progress this team made during the majority of the last
quadrennial," he said. "Of course I was disappointed in the way the team
finished (11th at the Olympics), and I feel like there is some unfinished
work and we are headed in the right direction. We have some outstanding
young players (tom Hoff, Ryan Millar, George Roumain) with a lot of
international experience that I hope and expect will continue with USA
Volleyball in the next quadrennial."
Beal was elected to the Volleyball Hall of Fame in 1989 and was USA
Volleyball's first recipient of the All-Time Great Coach Award in 1995. He
was recently named a finalist for the Federation International de Volleyball
Greatest Coach of the Century.
Beal is married to Nonie and is the proud father of Mitchell, 8, and
Madeline, 4.
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