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Mike Miazga |
Don't go feeling sorry for beach legend Karch Kiraly.
He's doing just fine.
Kiraly became part of the recent partner-switching carousel on the AVP tour
when he and Mike Lambert closed the books on their extremely successful
two-year run.
Lambert is now playing with 2000 Olympic gold medalist Eric Fonoimoana,
while Kiraly has teamed up with up-and-coming southpaw Adam Jewell.
"It was Mike's decision," said Kiraly, who is coming back from shoulder
surgery. "I would have loved to have kept playing with him. I had a great
time."
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Karch Kiraly |
After winning the 2004 men's points title, Lambert and Kiraly struggled out
of the gates with a pair of seventh place finishes and a ninth place finish
this season—very un-Karch-like results.
Kiraly, 44, also aggravated his surgically repaired shoulder at the
season-opening Ft. Lauderdale Open.
"At the start of the season, I felt my level of play was a notch or two
below the level of play last year. I felt I let Mike down. I told him feel
free to look around and I will honor and respect his decision," said Kiraly.
"Nobody doesn't not want to play with the MVP. The decision was in his hands.
It was as amicable a breakup as you will find. Mike is a great guy who
deserves to do well."
Both new teams debuted at the Santa Barbara Open. Kiraly and Jewell
finished 13th, while Lambert and Fonoimoana took fifth. It was only the sixth
time in Kiraly's 25-year career that he has finished lower than ninth place.
And that spans 327 career tournaments.
"In practice we felt good," said Kiraly, beach volleyball's all-time wins
leader with 147. "But we didn't play as well as we had hoped. We'll make
some adjustments. I've had some disappointing finishes before. But my play
is improving. My shoulder feels good. I still expect to get more solid
offensively as the season goes on."
Things like the partner switch, the shoulder scare in Ft. Lauderdale and
the lower finishes tend to bring the word "retirement" out of the
wordwork.
But Kiraly is having none of that.
"The fire still burns bright," said Kiraly, who has 247 career podium
finishes to his credit and is the only person in the beach game to eclipse $3
million in career earnings. "I enjoy it, but I'm not enjoying the results
I've had this year. I'm working really hard and Adam is too to improve that.
I go into every year thinking it's my last as I have in each of the last eight
or nine years. This could very well be my last year. If through the course
of the season, we're challenging to win tournaments, then it's a pretty easy
decision to play another year."
Another thing Karch isn't hip on is a retirement tour.
"Not really," he said. "But there will definitely be a last tournament for
me. Who knows when that will be?"
Mike Miazga
Editor in Chief
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