NEAR a strip of sand known more for auto racing, far from the California coastline where the best beach volleyball players are usually bred, Phil Dalhausser would sit on the couch watching baseball on TV, sound-lessly practicing his setting until his shoulders ached or his mother told him to stop chipping the popcorn paint up above.
Over and over the teenager would flick the ball straight into the air, aiming toward the peak of the cathedral ceiling that gave him room to stretch despite his basketball player’s body. When the ball came down, he would cradle it ever-so-gently in the spread of his fingertips, striving for perfect silence, and send it back up, repeating as often as he could, then taking a break, then starting again.
—–
“What sets himapart fromother big guysis his ability tocontrol the ball.His setting, fora guy 6-9, is offthe charts.”
Todd Rogers
on his beachvolleyballteammate, PhilDalhausser
—–
At 6-foot-9, the blocking and spiking that earned Dalhausser the nickname “The Thin Beast”
Over and over the teenager would flick the ball straight into the air, aiming toward the peak of the cathedral ceiling that gave him room to stretch despite his basketball player’s body. When the ball came down, he would cradle it ever-so-gently in the spread of his fingertips, striving for perfect silence, and send it back up, repeating as often as he could, then taking a break, then starting again.
—–
“What sets himapart fromother big guysis his ability tocontrol the ball.His setting, fora guy 6-9, is offthe charts.”
Todd Rogers
on his beachvolleyballteammate, PhilDalhausser
—–
At 6-foot-9, the blocking and spiking that earned Dalhausser the nickname “The Thin Beast”
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