Shortly after he began playing with Phil Dalhausser, beach volleyball player Todd Rogers said that his goal heading into the 2007 season was to be more consistent on the international circuit. In 2006, he and Dalhausser had competed together in six tournaments during their first season in 2006, finishing first, second, third, ninth, thirteenth and seventeenth.
“We were either really good or really bad,” Rogers told me in 2007. “… We were kind of either hit or miss. (We are) looking towards that consistency.”
Many would say that since then, the teammates have accomplished that goal they set for themselves. In 2008, Dalhausser and Rogers earned the outdoor beach volleyball gold medal at the Beijing Olympic Games, and since have consistently been the team to beat on the international circuit. Before the AVP cancelled the remainder of the 2010 season due to financial problems, Rogers and Dalhausser had gone undefeated for the entire AVP season, amassing a 34-0 record. Between the AVP and FIVB tours, the teammates have won 13 titles this year alone and 58 titles overall.
And although anything could happen, as of now, the pair are the early favorites to win the Olympic gold medal in London, as well.
Greatest Volleyball Team in History?
The teammates are beginning to be compared to the greatest beach volleyball teams in history, including Kerri Walsh and Misty-May Treanor and Karch Kiraly and Kent Steffes. In prize-money earnings, they are second only to those two teams, and in tournament wins they are fourth behind Randy Smith and Sinjin Stoklos, Walsh and Treanor and Kiraly and Steffes.
So, what has made Rogers and Dalhausser so successful, anyway? It depends on who you ask.
Talent of Phil Dalhausser, The Thin Beast
If you ask Rogers, he will tell you that 30-year-old Dalhausser’s growth as a player is behind the team’s success. Nicknamed “the thin beast,” Dalhausser stands at 6’9” and is the the best pure blocker in the sport’s history, Rogers told USA Today.
“He just brings physical capabilities that, in my opinion, no one else in the world possesses,” Rogers told me in 2007. “… He jumps very well. He moves very well for a guy his size. His hand-eye coordination is exceptional. He’s a great setter and a great passer. His ability to take things that I tell him and learn from them very, very quickly and put them into implementation — it’s pretty amazing.”
Coaching of Todd Rogers, The Professor
Dalhausser, who was born in Switzerland and grew up in Florida, did not begin playing volleyball until college. Because of this, many believe that Rogers is the driving force behind the team’s success. Nicknamed “the professor,” Rogers spent time coaching volleyball at the University of California-Santa Barbara for six years and is the brains and leader of the team, many believe. According to Rogers, the pair have an older-younger player mentality, with Rogers’ years of experience leading the way.
Relationship Between Volleyball Players Dalhausser and Rogers
In reality, it’s hard to say what makes Dalhausser and Rogers so successful. But according to Rogers, it doesn’t really matter. The fact that the two have good chemistry and get along is reason enough to believe in their success, he said.
“We are both very mellow guys,” Rogers told me in 2007. “I’m more intense than he is, particularly when we get on the court. … Both of us tend to blame ourselves more than the other person, which I think is pretty critical for our relationship to go forward. … So that dynamic makes it a lot easier to play with one another, because you aren’t blaming the other guy, which I think destroys a lot of relationships on the tour, because it’s kind of like a marriage. So that dynamic, I think, is our No. 1 attribute.”
This weekend, Rogers and Dalhausser will travel to Norway to try to win their fifth FIVB tournament of the season.
Resources:
- Todd Rogers, personal interview. April 5, 2007
- Moore, David Leon. London Calling: Duo of Rogers, Dalhausser sees spike in victories. Aug. 19, 2010.
Kristen Nichols - Kristen is a freelance reporter and copywriter covering Olympic and Paralympic sport for Suite101.com. Kristen's love of sport developed ...
