AVP’s new commissioner Mike Dodd
Mike Dodd. Photo by Bo Bridges (bobridges.com)
Over the past four decades, Mike Dodd has peered across the sand at the greatest beach volleyball players the sport has ever seen.
But when Dodd – an Olympic silver medalist in his own right – was named commissioner of the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) in February, he changed his focus from the spikes and blocks at the net to something much deeper – the grass roots of the sport.
“One of my missions at AVP, and it’s such a different philosophy, is one of reaching out,” Dodd said. “There are multiple grassroots organizations such as the CBVA (California Beach Volleyball Association) and AAU (Amateur Athletic Union). Creating a national ranking system where a Triple-A player will earn points the same as (AVP stars) Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers is a way to unite the volleyball world. That’s something we (AVP) have never tapped into. We were always great at producing elite events for the very best athletes, but there was so much going on at the grassroots level for people who really loved volleyball and in a way the AVP wasn’t shunning, but wasn’t embracing either. We’ll work to build beach volleyball at the youth level and USA Volleyball (USAV) to have excellent communication with them.”
Dodd replaces fellow Manhattan Beach resident Leonard Armato, who served as AVP Chair, CEO and Commissioner until his resignation in April 2009. Armato had resurrected the AVP after rescuing it from bankruptcy in 2002.
Although the AVP tour has experienced financial difficulties and has not turned a profit since 1998, Dodd is excited about his new role and AVP’s new direction. As a former Olympian, indoor and beach player, broadcaster and coach, Dodd brings a wealth of knowledge and experience.
“If there was ever a job built for somebody, this is one built for Mike Dodd,” said AVP announcer and broadcaster Chris “Geeter” McGee. “Mike was in the forefront when beach volleyball exploded. His international experience, along with his broadcasting and coaching background make him a well-rounded choice for the job. He’s well respected by players and fans alike and is a great ambassador of the game. Mike will be a great go-between for the players, AVP, FIVB and USAV. In this day and age, we need positives and Mike brings that as commissioner.”
Dodd is grateful to those who paved the way for his professional career, including the man who previously held his position.
“I was more involved with Leonard Armato during his first go-round when he was CEO and I was on the Player Board of Directors,” Dodd recalled. “He is an unbelievable worker and an incredible salesman. I know beach volleyball owes him a huge debt of gratitude for both eras: For getting us started and for pulling us through some real dark times in the early 2000s. He took the reins when no one else was going to.”
Dodd said his short-term goal as commissioner is to get the tour sponsorship, cash flow and basic business model more secure. His long-term goal is much more complex.
“First and foremost, our CEO Jason Hodell is amazing,” Dodd said. “He literally had his hands in everything but immediately let me take charge of anything to do with competition and player issues, including sport development at the grass roots levels. We have a very big issue with Olympic qualifying, which is leaving the International Federation of Volleyball (FIVB) and going to USAV, our governing body. How that is going to be administrated and what the format is going to be is a huge issue I work on daily.”
Hodell is equally admiring of Dodd.
“We could not be more proud in naming Mike Dodd as our Commissioner—this is a great day for the AVP,” Hodell said on the day of the announcement. “Mike is the perfect fit for a strategy of embracing the core volleyball community. His skills as a player, coach, broadcaster and ambassador are world class.”
Tim Hovland, Dodd’s longtime partner on the court, believes his former teammate brings a good mix to the position of commissioner.
“Mike’s a great addition to the AVP,” Hovland said. “He has foresight, good connections and he can bring some old-school ethics in what has been some trying times for the tour.”
Product of his environment
Ever since he and his friends stretched a string across his backyard for a net, Dodd has been endeared to volleyball. Within two years, he discovered the beach game.
“We’re victims of our environment,” Dodd quipped. “If you grow up in Canada, you play hockey. I you grow up in Manhattan Beach, you play volleyball. I would go down to Marine Street. There were really good players there who were nice to me and would bump the ball around with me. They fostered a lot of goodwill and love for the game that I have to this day.”
Born to athletic parents, Dodd joined his siblings as a success on the court. His older brother Ted played on the USA National Team in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. Younger brother Matt was a setter for Pepperdine’s NCAA championship team. Mike’s older sister Leslie played at Utah State and continues to compete in 50-and-over tournaments.
A skilled volleyball player at an early age, Dodd earned his AAA ranking at the age of 15, yet didn’t play on the high school team until his senior year. He made the Mira Costa varsity baseball team as a freshman but felt basketball was his future.
“Volleyball was in its absolute infancy,” Dodd recalled. “In those days, volleyball was something you did to social network. I wanted to be a professional athlete. I wanted to be a Laker and live in a big house.”
He grew five inches between his junior and senior year, to 6-4, garnered volleyball offers from numerous colleges, including UCLA and Stanford. But he chose the lone basketball scholarship by San Diego State.
He played guard for the Aztecs from 1975-79, and served as team captain his final year, and averaged 12.6 points per game. The other guard on the team was baseball Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn.
“I could be part of an answer to a great trivia question,” Dodd joked.
After being drafted in the 10th round by the San Diego Clippers, Dodd was cut after only three days. It was a day forever etched in his mind. Although his dreams of an NBA career were dashed, Dodd admits that he was starting to burn out on basketball.
“It was something right out of the movies,” Dodd said. “I opened my locker and there was a pick slip. Once I learned I hadn’t made the cut, it was a time I’ll never forget. It was this gorgeous day at USD and there was a pool that overlooked Mission Bay. I dove into the pool and just laid there, thinking I can’t wait to get started in volleyball.”
Back to the beach
Dodd had continued to play in beach volleyball tournaments such as the Manhattan Beach Open and had a year left of eligibility in collegiate volleyball, so he returned to SDSU for a fifth year. He majored in physical education and minored in biology. He was named All-American and looked forward to competing in the Olympics as a member of the USA National Team. His accomplishments on the court earned Dodd a spot in the Aztec’s Athletic Hall of Fame where he was inducted in 2007.
Prior to the National Team tryouts, Dodd played in approximately 10 matches in a co-ed professional league called the International Volleyball Association, which disbanded in 1980. After Dodd joined the National Team, he had to petition to get his amateur status back, a procedure that ultimately sent the beach boy overseas.
“It got to a certain point, and we weren’t getting any funding and were sort of on our own,” Dodd explained. “I didn’t want my parents to fund my Olympic dream. I didn’t see any wheels rolling on my petition and hated being in limbo so I decided to go to Italy and really become a professional.”
Dodd left in 1982 and embraced the experience, learning a new language and culture.
“It was the mid ‘80s and such a wonderful time,” Dodd said. “It was right when beach volleyball was starting to take off and I could go to Italy in the winter, and then play on the AVP during the summer. It was a dream life.”
During this period Dodd met his future wife Patty Orozco at – where else – a volleyball event.
“It was the USVBA Nationals where hundreds of men’s and women’s teams converge on one city,” Dodd said. “It was just one big party. I met her there and we started dating. She was also playing professionally in Italy and we lived fairly close to each other.”
They wed in November 1986 and in 1989 became the first married couple to win open professional titles on the same weekend, a feat they accomplished four times during their careers.
Mike and Patty ventured into real estate and 10 years ago, built the first of five homes together, each of which they have lived in.
“It turned out to be the most lucrative business each of us has had,” Mike said. “They’re not spec houses. We really build a house for us. We live in the home until price goes up, then sell and buy a new lot and start over. It’s stressful but rewarding.”
Because Patty is from Colombia, each house has a Spanish motif. The Dodds’ current house overlooks American Martyrs School in Manhattan Beach, where Patty teaches Spanish. “We love where we’re at and are in no hurry to move,” Mike said. “And now I have a real job.”
Plaques on the pier
With nearly $1.8 million in prize earnings, Mike Dodd’s career on the sand court was one of success and longevity. He won 75 tournaments, which included at least one in 17 of his 18-year career from 1980-1997. He was named the AVP Best Defensive Player four years in a row (1994-97), Best Spiker in 1989, Most Inspirational from 1995-97 and the AVP Sportsman of the Year in 1994 and 1996.
The highlight of his playing career came in 1996 when he and partner Mike Whitmarsh won the silver medal at the Olympics in Atlanta, the year beach volleyball debuted as an Olympic event. The gold medalists were Karch Kiraly and Kent Steffes.
Second among Dodd’s top-three list is having his name on five plaques on the Manhattan Beach Pier. Each season, the male and female winners of the Manhattan Beach Open, considered beach volleyball’s most prestigious tournament, are honored by having their names engraved on a plaque that is embedded on the pier. Dodd and Hovland won the Manhattan Beach Open from 1982-85 and again in 1987.
“We had some exciting wins together,” Hovland said. “I was lucky to be in the right spot at the right time. We’ve shared many transitions of life, like marriage and children, and I’m exciting for Mike and his new position.”
Dodd and Hovland raised the bar for generations of players who compete in the Manhattan Beach Open.
“In the end, everyone wants to be remembered,” Dodd said. “I feel I left my print on the sport. I won a ton of Chicago Opens and Belmar Opens but who knows that? But people can walk down the Manhattan pier and see the names. The Olympics and the Manhattan Beach Open are the two things that if you win, you’re part of history. You are part of a family or group that did something unique that no one will ever take away.”
His longevity and 17 consecutive years of winning at least one professional tournament put him in the category of the game’s greats.
“Being a real good player for a real long time, that was always the core of being a beach volleyball player,” Dodd said. “Going back to Van Hagen, the Menges, Lee and Gage – they just wanted to be as good as they possible could and for as long as they could. I think that’s the true mark of a beach volleyball player.
“I had some amazing partners. I wouldn’t have accomplished what I did if Mike Whitmarsh hadn’t rolled around at just the right time after Hovland and I had run our course. Mike was just a monster at the net and I was still pretty good on defense and moving around the court, reading players. There were a lot of other players who were more dynamic, more explosive, but I was kind of like the tortoise and was steady. I was athletic and could jump and move around, but I played a game that wasn’t so dynamic.”
While proud of himself and his peers, Dodd is equally impressed with today’s players.
“There’s the age-old argument of the eras, but I think all of us in our prime could truly compete with each other,” Dodd said. “I’m truly amazed at the modern players, how they’ve adapted to the size of the court and changes in the game. They play this game at such an incredible level. Todd Rogers is proving himself to be one of the greatest right-side players to ever play volleyball. He’s every bit as smooth and every bit as an intuitive a player as I was, but I didn’t have his jump. His legs are incredible. He’s something special.”
A new career
In 1997, at the age of 40, Dodd won two tournaments with Mike Whitmarsh, but he struggled with a shoulder injury and Whitmarsh chose to play the final three tournaments of the season with a new partner. Dodd’s shoulder required extensive reconstructive surgery and rehabilitation during the off-season.
“I went through all the training and really got myself ready to go in 1998,” Dodd said. “Then right before the season started, things started to hit the skids. You could see there were some problems with the AVP management. Prize money had dropped considerably from the previous year. Mike Whitmarsh had started playing with Canyon Ceman, so I was looking at ninth, seventh and fifth place finishes.”
Then the AVP made Dodd an offer that was difficult to turn down. He would become part of their broadcast team.
“They offered me the TV job and all I had to do is roll in on Saturday, do the finals on Sunday, with guaranteed money,” Dodd said. “I said to myself, ‘Maybe it is time to retire.’ It was such an honor to be asked to do it and such a great way to still be involved with the sport. I don’t know how some guys can just walk away from the game they love. It was a stroke of luck.”
In 1997, Dodd opened Fonz’s, a successful restaurant in Manhattan Beach named after his father. He sold the establishment to partner Dan Bochle in 2005, but maintains an interest. Soon after, Dodd would add another page to his volleyball resume.
“Jake Gibb and (Redondo Beach resident) Sean Rosenthal called me after I had sold the restaurant,” Dodd said. “I had been asked to coach many times before but never felt that it was the right time or, to be honest, with the right players. There was something about Jake Gibb that I always liked: The way he carried himself and his character. Sean was just this wonderful kid that I knew I could give a lot to. It just made complete sense. They called and told me that had a contract complete with a salary and stipulations. I said ‘Hey wait. Let’s meet down in Hermosa for a couple of hours and see how it goes. Slow down.’ The second I started working with them I knew it was the right thing.
“So much of our relationship came to fruition that had nothing to do with the X’s and O’s of volleyball. I had more of a big brother relationship with Jake and maybe even a father type of relationship with Sean. That’s the part I cherish. We really grew to love and care for each other and hopefully I gave a little technical guidance along the way.”
The trio remain close, playing golf together when they can. Dodd, who once won a Lexus 400 Coupe by hitting a hole-in-one, said they are all golf fanatics.
“Golf has been a big part of our relationship and camaraderie. We go out and forget about volleyball for four hours. They’re passionate about it.”
Dodd’s leadership transformed the Gibb-Rosenthal team into one of the best on the AVP tour and a qualifier for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Last season, Dodd added the job of coaching Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs, leading them to a career year. Last July, Dodd became the first person to coach the men’s and women’s champions at the same Manhattan Beach Open.
“I think that’s what made it so easy for me to take the (commissioner’s) job at the AVP. I knew I would continue to be their (Gibb’s and Rosenthal’s) surrogate big brother and father and after four years of coaching, it was probably time for them to get a different set of eyes to work on their game.”
Dodd culminated the 2009 season captaining Team USA to a victory over Brazil’s best players in the inaugural AVP World Challenge last September. It added to Dodd’s international experience, which he not only cherishes, but feels will benefit him in his new role as AVP commissioner.
“When I decided to go to Italy in 1982, I thought my Olympic dream was over,” Dodd said. “When it was announced in 1995 that beach volleyball would be an Olympic sport, I was fortunate not only to sneak in at the tail end of my career and catch the fever while winning a medal, but was able to go as a broadcaster in 2000 and cover beach volleyball. Then going to Athens and covering indoor volleyball was just amazing. And then what happens, I become a coach and I get to participate in Beijing. Now I’ve been to four Olympics in a row.”
Looking ahead
“Volleyball has given so much to me and when I coached Jake and Sean, I really felt like I was giving back,” Dodd said. “But it was too select, it was only two guys. With the AVP and this job, I have a chance to really give back in a huge, municipal way. If I make this tour grow and secure the lives of these players and not have them go through what they did this winter with our sponsorship situation in question and prize money not being known, I can impact all volleyball players for future generations. So I think the timing and work here is so important. Every day I wake up excited to go into an office.”
While Dodd’s immediate task is stabilizing the AVP tour, creating more opportunities for players through lower-level exposure is key to his long-term goal, which he says will depend on relationships with other organizations.
“The AVP from its inception, which was wholly owned by players, was to provide player benefits and opportunities,” Dodd explained. “I don’t think we’ve really gone too far from that. The more benefits and opportunities we can provide for players the more we’re expanding our sport, doing right by sponsors, television and everyone else. The sport will grow, but it’s not going to happen unless we all work together with USAV and build a better relationship with the international federation.”
With the AVP being the national tour for USAV, Dodd believes it can set a prototype that evolves into annual, world-wide competition leading into the Olympic Games every four years.
“The way the FIVB tour is now, it’s not really set up for expansion,” Dodd said. “My dream down the line is that national, or continental tours are held – a South American tour centered in Brazil, an Asian tour based in China, and one in Europe — with maybe one event in each zone, like the Manhattan Beach Open, becoming a major tournament.”
Dodd realizes that fulfilling his dreams will not come easy or quickly.
“I’m a student of the game and always looking for different ways to teach and inspire, whether it’s on a volleyball court or now, in an office,” said Dodd, who videotapes and studies his daughter’s games.
When “sand volleyball” was approved as a women’s sport by the NCAA, it opened another avenue for Dodd to consider.
“I was probably at the top of my many lists to be a coach,” Dodd said. “But two things happened. First, I was offered this job (as commissioner). I knew in my gut that this is what I was supposed to do. I knew if I didn’t take the job and the tour did poorly later on, I would never forgive myself.
“But somewhere down the line when beach volleyball really becomes established and they figure out the logistics — because it does have a few years to go and it’s gonna get started and it’s gonna happen – I’d love being the head coach of a beach volleyball team at a university, kind of finishing up this ride. It would be something I’d really enjoy.” B