Thursday, March 6, 1997
M. VOLLEYBALL:
Former Olympian takes aim at national championshipBy Vytas
Mazeika
Daily Bruin Contributor
Many people see Mike Lambert in one way: "He has a lot of
potential. For him, the sky is the limit."
Many athletes have been tagged with this designation Â
being the next superstar. Yet only few come even near their
astronomical expectations.
So when Lambert’s name is quickly followed by the word
"potential," doubts pop up.
For Lambert, whose Stanford Cardinal visit the Bruins on Friday
night, all of the hype is backed by quite a resume. Along with
UCLA’s Paul Nihipali, Penn State’s Ivan Contreras and BYU’s Ryan
Millar, Lambert occupies a spot at the very top of men’s college
volleyball. And he stands in a class of his own as the only current
men’s college volleyball player to have made the U.S. Olympic team
 beating out Tom Sorenson for the sixth starting spot on the
team.
Lambert, Stanford’s top player, has great physical abilities. At
6 feet 5 inches tall, Lambert can be a pretty intimidating figure.
At the age of 23, he has already led the No. 3 Cardinal to the top
echelon of the collegiate volleyball ranks.
His remarkable story of making the 1996 Olympic team is even
more shocking if one takes into account the nagging shoulder injury
which bothered Lambert during his extended tryout with Team USA.
But 1996 Olympic men’s volleyball coach Fred Sturm believed that
Lambert had the potential to be a major contributor.
"Our biggest need was to identify and develop people who can
hold their own at the net in blocking and hitting," Sturm said. "It
was (the coaching staff’s) consensus that Mike (Lambert) had the
greatest potential of helping our team."
One of the first people to recognize Lambert’s ability to aid
the Olympic team was UCLA men’s volleyball coach Al Scates, who
toured with Lambert in Japan. Scates knew that Lambert possessed
all the physical capabilities to have an impact. But Lambert played
as a swing hitter for Stanford in 1995 and the transition to
opposite hitter at the international level was hard.
"I told (Sturm) he had to start him if he wanted a chance to win
a medal," Scates said. "I just felt (Lambert) needed to train
longer at that position in the international level. Eventually he
took my advice."
In order for Lambert to try out for Team USA, he needed to leave
Stanford for a year. To him, there was no second thought about this
decision.
"It was an easy decision (to try out for the Olympic team),"
Lambert said. "In their lifetime, how many times does a person get
a chance to go to the Olympics?"
And with this decision out of the way, Lambert and his coach at
Stanford, Ruben Nieves discussed what to do with his final year of
eligibility. With the option of redshirting the 1996 season and
coming back to play at Stanford for the 1997 campaign, the decision
was easy.
"From the very beginning (of the Olympic tryouts) the plan was
for him to redshirt and go back to Stanford the next year," Sturm
said.
The opportunity to play with and against the top players in the
world was a privilege which taught Lambert a great deal of things.
He witnessed the work ethic of players like Brian Ivie, Tom
Sorenson and former UCLA great Jeff Nygaard.
"They encompass the word professional," Lambert said. "They show
up every day being ready to play, putting forth an all-out effort
in practice."
Although he learned a great deal from participating in the
Olympics, Lambert struggled with his hitting and never maximized
his potential. He had less-than-stellar hitting performances
throughout the Olympics, and Team USA finished a disappointing
ninth place, which left something to be desired.
Nevertheless, Sturm is optimistic that with more training and a
few more years experience, the 23-year-old can piece together the
puzzle and put his entire potential to use.
"Overall he had a very good Olympics," Sturm said. "He will tell
you that he hoped he had a better Olympics. (But) he played a
position that carried a big load in offense. Mike (Lambert) is
young and hitting is a skill he will learn. It will take time to
develop.
"I think if he would have been healthy he would have had a
better Olympics."
In the 1997 season, Lambert’s shoulder has not been a problem.
At the beginning of this week he ranked third in kills per game at
6.25, with UCLA’s Player of the Year candidate Paul Nihipali
ranking first (6.75 kills per game). Nieves has seen vast
improvement in both Lambert’s hitting skills and his role as a
leader.
"As a hitter he learned to be a more cagey hitter," Nieves said.
"He moves the ball around … and he has become a more reliable
hitter.
"(But) the biggest difference (in this year’s team) is
leadership that someone like Mike (Lambert) sets. His experiences
with the Olympic team have made him a much more mature player."
All of the improvements that Lambert made during his one-year
campaign with the Olympic team did create one problem. With the
drop-off in talent in the collegiate level from the international
level, it has become harder for Lambert to motivate himself.
"In a way, I think that competition at the collegiate level is
just different," Lambert said. "I find it is hardest to try and
keep my expectations really high on a consistent basis."
Yet, while Lambert struggles to keep those expectations high,
others see no problem in inflating the already mind-boggling
expectations of what Lambert could meet.
One road that Lambert chose not to follow after his one-year
stint with the Olympic team was to join the professional ranks.
Instead, he ended his hiatus from the Stanford men’s volleyball
team and tried to fulfill his goal of a national championship.
"I was pretty sure I was going back to Stanford (for this
season)," Lambert said. "I never really gave consideration to going
pro. I did not think my opportunities were all that good abroad.
Maybe if we would have won the gold medal.
"I want to give a shot at making the AVP tour. Maybe qualify for
a few tour spots."
Regardless of what else Lambert wants to do in the future, most
people know that he has the potential to achieve his goals.