The 2010 Youth Olympic games held in Singapore during August showcased approximately 3600 of the best youth athletes from around the world. And even though the selection is highly competitive as it should be Pepperdine represented both athletes and coaches at the Olympic games.
Former men’s volleyball standout Rod Wilde was coach of the women’s volleyball team and led them to the gold medal match against Belgium on Aug. 26. The U.S. women’s team was defeated by Belgium giving them the silver medal but it wasn’t due to Wilde’s lack of volleyball knowledge.
Wilde came to Pepperdine in 1975 and was a dedicated member of the men’s volleyball team from 1975 until 1980. He played under legendary volleyball coach Marv Dunphy who helped cultivate Wilde’s Olympic dreams.
“I always had a goal of going to the Olympics and that was fostered once I got to Pepperdine by Marv Dunphy Wilde said.
And of all players with Olympic dreams, Wilde was the most likely to make it happen.
I don’t think we have ever had a better player at Pepperdine than Rod Wilde…He played eight days a week three or four times a day.” Dunphy said.
Not surprisingly he was on the path to the Olympics only four short years after graduating from Pepperdine. Wilde made the cut of the final twelve players for the 1984 Olympics but six weeks before the games were set to begin in Los Angeles he came down on the foot of a teammate during practice in Russia and broke his leg quickly losing any hope of Olympic playing time.
And as hard as it was for him to put his Olympic dreams on the back burner a different opportunity presented itself back at Pepperdine where Wilde had played just four years before. Dunphy took a leave of absence from Pepperdine in 1984 to coach in the Olympics himself giving Wilde the opportunity to take over the head coaching position during Dunphy’s absence from 1984 through 1988.
While coaching he led the team to a national championship a nice addition to the multiple national championships he earned while playing.
Once Dunphy regained his position as head volleyball coach in the fall of 1988 (which a he still holds today) Wilde found other ways to get involved with Olympic-caliber athletes in the Southern California area.
“I spent a lot of time coaching and doing camps and was working with the National team in San Diego on a part time basis Wilde said of his recent endeavors. I was training the guys who weren’t on the traveling team and when the position opened up for the Olympic coaching position I applied.”
And it’s no surprise that he got the job. Considering his extensive volleyball resume some say there is no one better for it.
“If I had to choose someone to teach a volleyball skill it would be Rod Wilde Dunphy said.
But as exciting as it was for Wilde to experience the Olympics that were taken from him twenty-six years prior, he did not name the games themselves as the highlight of his Olympic involvement. Instead, he called the opening ceremony the highlight of the 2010 Youth Olympics.
For me the most emotional part was getting to do the marching ceremony he said.
Wilde and his team took full advantage of their time in Singapore, advancing all the way to the championship match, an impressive feat, considering Wilde and some of the players did not meet one another until they met at the airport on the way to Singapore. This obviously did nothing to hinder their team chemistry, though, thanks in part to team captain Samantha Cash who is set to play at Pepperdine starting in fall 2011.
Wilde was very complimentary of Cash.
She is very energetic enthusiastic and positive both on and off the court Wilde said. All of these are reasons she was elected captain. She is a solid player.”
And as Wilde said it wasn’t just on the court that she helped lead the team. According to Wilde it was Cash that initiated team-bonding activities while in Singapore and helped to bring the team together in the short time that they were playing. He also says that it is her enthusiasm and excitement that attracts people to her.
“I like to call her an eleven-year old in a seventeen-year old’s body Wilde said. Everything is fascinating to her.”
Now that the Olympics are over Wilde continues to coach and train athletes at the club level.
