On a Friday night a few weeks ago, Adam Shrader was sitting on a
glass coffee table in his best friends’ apartment. He had sat
on the table a thousand times before, but this time it
collapsed.
The broken glass sliced up his legs and hand, requiring a trip
to the emergency room and stitches.
Shrader, a redshirt junior libero for the No. 7 UCLA men’s
volleyball team, didn’t complain about the mishap, practiced
that Monday, and played the week’s matches ““ stitches
and all.
It’s just his style.
“He’s never missed a game,” UCLA head coach Al
Scates said. “He fell through a coffee table and got stitched
up but it didn’t even slow him down. He’s an iron
man.”
The idea of Shrader as an “iron man” is a bit
misleading. While it would be ridiculous to question the tenacity,
skill, or competitive nature of Volleyball Magazine’s 2002
Libero of the Year, he is a quiet leader, who does not crave much
attention or notoriety. In fact, the libero position, a defensive
role that requires superb digging and passing, seems to suit
Shrader well.
“It is satisfying for me to play defense and pass the
ball,” Shrader said. “That is one of the most fun parts
of the game, and while it’s not a part of the game that is
glamorized it fits my personality to a T. I contribute but I
don’t need to be in the spotlight.”
Shrader, a Solana Beach native, played outside hitter at Torrey
Pines High School, but when he arrived at UCLA it was apparent that
he would not make it at that position as a Bruin. He was converted
to a libero and has thrived at the position from the get-go, as he
was a First-Team All-MPSF selection last year and was a Second-Team
All-MPSF selection in 2001.Â
Last year he led the league and was second nationally in digs
per game. He finished with 303 digs ““ third on the
all-time single season list for UCLA, and first on the
rally-scoring list.
Those aforementioned best friends, senior quick hitter Scott
Morrow and senior setter Rich Nelson, see Shrader as an integral
part of the team’s success.
“He is the best at his position in college volleyball, and
of course last year he was libero of the year,” said Morrow,
who played club volleyball in high school with Shrader.
“Right now he is playing excellently, and he is a huge factor
for our team, if he plays well and passes well, we play
well.”
In deciding to attend UCLA, Shrader caught his family ““
staunch USC supporters and alumni ““ off guard. From his
grandparents to parents and sister Lindsay, a freshman at USC, the
Shraders (save Adam) bleed cardinal and gold.
“I’m the only stray cat ““ my grandparents were
just shocked because they went to USC and they are real diehard USC
fans,” he said. “They will root for UCLA volleyball,
and they will root against USC for volleyball, but in everything
else, no way. It’s pretty much the same with my parents so it
makes for fun family get-togethers.”
Shrader is modest when discussing the accolades he has picked up
at UCLA, even that Libero of the Year Award.
“It was a quite an honor to receive that award and it
meant a lot to me,” he said. “I’ve worked hard to
get where I am but I still have a lot of improvement that I could
do. It’s my job to keep that title.”
With all this praise that’s slung in his direction, one
wonders whether Shrader will begin to enjoy the attention.
But with his perfect match attendance record and occasional
trips to the ER, it doesn’t seem that Shrader will have time
for the limelight.