Karch Kiraly

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Karch Kiraly bigraphy, stories - Volleyball player

Karch Kiraly : biography

03 November 1960 –

Charles Frederick "Karch" Kiraly ( born November 3, 1960) is an American volleyball player who is the only person to have won Olympic medals (of any color – it just so happens that Kiraly won gold in both) in both the indoor and beach versions of the sport.

High school career

Kiraly started for the Santa Barbara High School volleyball team and his father Laszlo was instrumental in helping found the program. The Dons with Kiraly were runners-up in 1976 to San Clemente High School and won the CIF SS title in 1978 over Laguna Beach High School under coach Rick Olmstead.

Coaching

He served as assistant coach of the American women’s Olympic Volleyball team at the 2012 London Olympics.

He has been named head coach of the USAV national women’s team for the 2016 Olympic quadrennial.http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Volleyball/Features/2012/September/11/Karch-Kiraly.aspx

Awards and honors

Kiraly was inducted into the Volleyball Hall of Fame in 2001.

Kiraly has been named as one of 2009’s inductees into the College Sports Information Directors of America (COSIDA) Academic All-America Hall of Fame."". National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). May 11, 2009. Retrieved on 2009-07-07

College career

Kiraly started for the UCLA Bruins volleyball team from 1979 through 1982. He was named All America all four years. While playing in UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion under coach Al Scates, he led UCLA to three NCAA Men’s Volleyball Championships in 1979 (undefeated season), 1981, and 1982 (undefeated season). During Kiraly’s four years on the team, UCLA won 129 matches and lost only 5.

Kiraly won Most Outstanding Player in 1981 and 1982. He was inducted into UCLA’s Hall of Fame in 1993."". CBS Interactive. Retrieved on 2009-07-07

At UCLA, Kiraly studied biochemistry and graduated cum laude in June 1983 with a 3.34 cumulative GPA.

American national team

Kiraly was popularly called the "Thunderball in Volleyball." He joined the national team in 1981 and went on to become a fixture through much of the 1980s as a passer/outside hitter in the "two-man" or "swing hitter" serve reception system created by Doug Beal in 1983. Team USA won Olympic gold medals in 1984 and 1988 with Kiraly. He was team captain for the 1988 Seoul Olympics, wearing #15, and was also named by FIVB (International Volleyball Federation) as the top player in the world in 1986 and 1988.

Personal

Kiraly resides in San Clemente, California, with his wife Janna and two sons, Kristian and Kory. His father, Laszlo Kiraly, played for the Hungarian national volleyball team.

The nickname "Karch" is presumably derived from the Hungarian "Karcsi" (pronounced "KAR-chee"), which can be translated as "Charlie". It is a common derivative of Karoly, which is Charles. His last name, Kiraly, means "King".

He babysat Misty May-Treanor when she was younger.

Beach volleyball career

After the 1988 Olympics, Kiraly retired from the national team. After a stint of professional club volleyball in Italy with Steve Timmons (playing for Il Messaggero Ravenna), he returned to the U.S. to play beach volleyball full time on the AVP tour. Kiraly won 148 professional beach volleyball titles. He partnered with Kent Steffes to win the first men’s Olympic beach volleyball tournament in 1996.

Even in his mid-40s, he continued to compete effectively against far younger players. Kiraly recorded two AVP tournament victories with his partner Brent Doble in 2002 and 2003, and four more with Mike Lambert in 2004 and 2005. Kiraly’s most recent victory came in August 2005, when he and Lambert won an AVP tournament in Huntington Beach, California. In 2006, Kiraly partnered with Larry Witt, and in 2007, his partner was Kevin Wong. Kiraly has won over $3 million in beach volleyball (which is a record ). Kiraly retired from the AVP tour after the 2007 season.Moore, David Leon (9/1/2007). "". USA Today. Retrieved on 2009-07-07

Broadcasting

As of 2008, Kiraly still works as a broadcaster for ESPN in addition to continuing color commentary for AVP on NBC broadcasts. Kiraly served as an analyst for NBC Sports coverage of Beach Volleyball at the 2008 Summer Olympics.Frager, Ray (07/2008). "". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved on 2009-07-07