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How do you feel when your back is against the wall? For me, I feel locked in. There’s nothing else like it. You either perform or you give up. I love that feeling because it’s those moments that reveal who you truly are. Especially to yourself. My guest today is the Olympic gold medalist Dain Blanton. He, and his beach volleyball partner, Eric Fonoimoana hold the record for being the lowest seed to win a gold medal. And while I don’t love the term underdog, Dain knows what it’s like to have his back against the wall and to succeed beyond the wildest expectations. If you’re feeling overwhelmed and like you’re at a decision point where you need to take action or give up. This episode is for you.
Resources Mentioned:
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Time Stamps:
00:00 – Introduction to Dain Blanton
05:01 – The Path to Olympic Gold
30:01 – Empowering the Next Generation
40:01 – Lessons in Leadership and Resilience
Show Transcript:
Dain Blanton. Thanks for, I’m I’m in your old neighborhood. Yes. This is where you went to college. And I have known you for probably since about 1992, I think 1993. Yeah. Yeah. About then.
[00:02:02] Dain Blanton: It’s been over 30 years.
[00:02:04] Gabby: Yeah, that’s a long time. You’ve been busy. You’ve done a lot in that time and both
[00:02:09] Dain Blanton: have
[00:02:10] Gabby: yeah, but I feel like You know when I look at your accomplishments and I was obviously doing my homework These are things I know about you already But when you’re getting ready to talk to somebody you kind of really brush up and you go Oh, yeah, and that and this I have to say That you were a person who there was a pioneering element to you coming into beach volleyball because you played basketball in high school And given your talents you probably could have played basketball maybe we could just start with why and did you choose volleyball because i’m sure everyone was like You’re from Long Beach like you’re gonna play volleyball.
[00:02:44] Dain Blanton: So, um, my family Originally is from Manhattan in New York. Mm hmm And I have two older brothers and they were actually born on the East Coast But then my family decided to move west and they moved to Laguna Canyon I don’t know if you know Laguna Beach well, there’s where um festival and the Zard festival.
So we were right down in the Canyon and being in Orange County, volleyball is a big thing where it’s not in other places. And I was, I, my brother started playing, I started getting into it, realizing that if you just played on the beach, there was no sport really to play in terms of collegiate. So I was like, I better play club.
And I played indoor and I played basketball. Like you said, But when it came down to it, I was like more division three stuff in basketball and volleyball. It was, you know, the UCLA’s and Stanford and Pepperdine. And it just, uh, it felt good to go that route. And it was interesting though, because you mentioned the pioneering side of it.
I looked up to my brother, but on the professional circuit, there was no one that really looked like me. So I knew that I could blaze a different trail that had been blazed. And I really, I really went for it all in playing during the school year club volleyball summer on the beach and watching guys like Sinjin Smith, Randy Stoklos or Karch Karai, Karch Karai.
Um, realize like you can make a living doing this. And as you know, back then in the eighties and nineties, it was big time.
[00:04:28] Gabby: Yeah. You know, it’s interesting though, for me, as somebody who observed you in a parallel way, um, It’s funny because you have like this beach culture that’s like loosey goosey and bro.
And I mean, St. John’s sort of very surgical, but Randy always had like that beach vibe. And what was interesting is you almost bring like an executives attitude towards beach volleyball. So it was, here we are, we’re talking about, you know, you’re one of the first, I would say professional black players.
Right. But yet you’re, you were the most, kind of executive, I thought. I thought you were almost, not, I wouldn’t say anti beach culture, but you didn’t fall into that bucket either, which I thought was a really, Beautiful and interesting extra bolt on to the whole part of the story.
[00:05:20] Dain Blanton: Yeah. I guess I never looked at myself as, as executive.
I was about business. I was very meticulous. I was always trying to learn something from the players that were already out there. And I think volleyball changed on the beach in the mid nineties when Karchakarai and Kent Steffes started to play together. So it went from a culture of hanging out at the beach all day long and relaxing, playing winners.
I got next to, Hey, we’re going to go down to the beach for two hours. Everybody, every player bring 20, 30 balls. We’re gonna side out, you know hundreds of times and we’re gonna train and then we’re out of here we’re going to the next step which would be strength and conditioning and Then you’re handling your business.
So it started becoming more of a more of a career more of a profession more Legitimate in terms of the seriousness, I think and I saw that I was I was very close with Kent Stavis and You Seeing them win the gold medal in 96. You just knew they were doing something very right.
[00:06:33] Gabby: Well, you’re talking about, I mean, Karch has always that sort of meticulous preparation.
You also, your college coach was. Is exceptional. Yeah. So you chose to go to Pepperdine. Right.
[00:06:48] Dain Blanton: And the big reason I went to Pepperdine was Marv Dunphy because he was just coming off of a hiatus from, or sabbatical, I guess you would call it from, from coaching at Pepperdine to taking the men’s national team, uh, to a gold.
And that was 88, let’s say soul. Yeah. Soul and 88. So he was the head coach and. He won a gold medal and I knew that I wanted to be an Olympian one day, even though I had shelved it at the time because beach volleyball was not an Olympic sport at that time in 1990 when I was entering college. So it was like picking the beach route, which I knew I wanted kind of had to shelf that Olympic dream.
And so in 94, I think it was when they announced that beach volleyball would be part of the Olympics. It just was like, I was just a kid, kid in a candy store, you know, just like, Oh my gosh, this dream could come true. Um, if I put enough effort into it, but, um, Knowing it, it would be a long shot because of the depth of the beach.
[00:08:02] Gabby: Yeah. starting later in the old days. Now you have beach players. You like you coach beach players, but in the old days you came from the indoor. Most people, except maybe Misty May and Holly McPeak and Karch maybe played a little and you know, but very few people were beach players. They were, they were to go to college.
You played indoor. And then if you somehow did want to play in Europe, you came to the beach to play. So were you a 16 year old kid who thought I have a dream? I want to somehow make it to the Olympics. Was that ever a thought? I mean, obviously it was, it’s, you know, you’re not nine feet tall,
[00:08:37] Dain Blanton: right? Right.
Well, I, like I said, I’d kind of shelf that dream because it wasn’t a possibility at that age, but I was playing in all the CBVA events up and down California, trying to get my triple A rating and just trying to, to accomplish and be, be as great as I could. Um, It was so funny. My brother, who has Kurt, who inspired me to play, I’d get him to play on weekends in, in tournaments.
And he, he, everyone asked me how come Kurt didn’t do the things that I did because he was just as good a player or better. But for some reason, being the youngest, I think I had a drive that he didn’t have possibly being the middle child. So we would play in tournaments and you know how it’s a Saturday, Sunday type of thing.
We would advance and then like, you know, Saturday night, he’d be like, God, do you really want to go back? You know? And, and then Sunday morning I’d be in this, you know, room shaking him like, we got to go, let’s go. But it wasn’t, it wasn’t the top of the list for him. He was a little more laid back. And, um, I was just kind of the younger brother, always, uh, just fiery with a lot of enthusiasm.
But, you know, he chose his path and has always been so supportive of me. Went to both the Olympics that I was involved with. And, uh, it was just, it’s interesting, the mindset and how you get that mindset.
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Whether it’s, I have something to prove. Somebody told me I couldn’t do it. Um, I have to survive. This will be how I make my living. Um, you know, whatever the million reasons are that make athletes go for what they’re going for, very few are completely emotionally well adjusted. And the impetus is, Oh, I just love this game.
I think there’s always also an additional reason. Now, maybe once you get going, it becomes your craft. You’re good at it. But I think sometimes that initial drive is it actually comes from a place. That’s like a rub that’s friction for you. Maybe it was being the youngest, like I’m going to, I’m going to play with these guys and I’m going to get it done.
Which is maybe the healthiest of the reasons.
[00:14:18] Dain Blanton: You know, I agree with you. I think that anyone that does great things, I think initially they’re looked at as like, ah, you know, you work a little too hard or you’re obsessed. Um, but I think to get to that level, if you, if you just look at all the successful athletes, Um, the, the Karch Kreis, the Kobe Bryants, the Michael Jordans, uh, the work ethic as for a normal person, it’s crazy.
[00:14:52] Gabby: Yeah. And it’s also sometimes the collateral damage people don’t realize, um, for certain people. Yeah. I think there’s a collateral. Well, let’s, let’s go back. What did you learn? Because this obviously comes into play later. From Marv as a coach, what did he do as a coach that you thought, okay, if I, these are principles that I will take into my life and that if I were ever to help anyone else, these are the ones that really are important.
[00:15:19] Dain Blanton: I think the biggest thing with Marv that stands out for me is his consistency. He is always consistent. I don’t know if, how, how close you are with Marv, but I’ve never seen him like lose it or get really animated and angry. And as a player, watching that consistency when you succeed or when you fail is empowering to the, to the, to the point of, You know that there’s times he wants to lose it.
And there’s times when, um, he wants to get more excited, but he, he loves to be even keel. He used to always say you got to avoid the peaks and valleys and try to be a little smoother. So if you look at that graph of a lot of this is, it usually breeds more inconsistency. And so he was always, Very even keel and I remember this one day we went into practice and we were kind of goofing off and, and doing our thing and, uh, and, uh, You
[00:16:35] Gabby: mean like 19 year old boys goofing off?
[00:16:38] Dain Blanton: And, and we were, he came in and we started practice and warm up and we started playing, but you could tell like the level wasn’t really there. And. He just said, you know, shag him up or whatever. And I thought, you know, you’re getting ready to do the next drill. On the line. Yeah, you know, or whatever, but no, but he just like, yeah, practice over.
And, and we love to play, right? Like all the guys that were on that team, that when we won the national championship in 92, especially, we’d love to play. And so as a player, like, I remember going up to his office and I, and I was like, Like, Marv, like, what happened? Like, we didn’t practice. And he’s like, um, he’s just kind of, yeah, you guys are good today, you know, like not giving me an answer, but just his actions spoke so loud, like, all right, you guys are coming today.
You’re not bringing it. You’re not ready. We just won’t practice, but I’m not saying we won’t practice. You know, that, that made it more impactful. There was no, like. A big lecture. I’m going to scold you for doing this. It was just like, just, which was so powerful. For me, the lesson was like. Wow. Like there’s nothing, you know, well,
[00:17:59] Gabby: the privilege to play.
And also that’s not his job. Yeah. You guys see, this is, this is for me, right. If coach that can teach the lesson without finger wagging, but you go in as an athlete and you have to like, ask yourself what happened, but this idea of like your guy’s job was to bring it and he would then run the practice. So there’s a lot of confidence to be able to not to have to explain it.
[00:18:24] Dain Blanton: Yeah, but he had it. He had the kind of the years behind him. You know, he had the experience. He knew how to execute something like that. And it was, it stuck with, you know, it sticks with me to this day as I coach as such a powerful lesson. And you, and you hear a lot of division one coaches say like, my job isn’t to make sure that you bring effort.
Like that, that goes without saying, you better show up and bring effort every day or you’re not going to be a part of this program. And it’s interesting because so many athletes think they have what it takes to play a division one sport and then they get there and realize that they may have been, may have put themselves in the deep end.
[00:19:18] Gabby: I’m going to just ask out of curiosity. Um, none of my kids went this route. Um, believe me, the temptation to force it, push it was there, but I’ve also learned because it is hard and you know how, like you’re talking about when you’re young, you have the internal drive. I believe. It really is gonna come from the individual so I’m gonna provide all the opportunities But if you’re if you’re not biting those hooks, you’re passionate about other things I can accept that as a parent But I have also seen like when I went to school and when you went to school like my coach At the time to silver nod.
It was like her word is law That was it. You could ask questions. There was room for, you know, discussion, but like she was the head of the ship. So we, I feel like with athletics and I have friends that coach in other universities, the athletes have, I don’t want to say more power, but it feels like it’s a little more like they can rub against the coach.
So what I’m curious about, because it’s like creating an army or going to battle. Pretty much you have to have a leader.
[00:20:23] Dain Blanton: The
[00:20:23] Gabby: coach has to be the leader They have to be given the room to be the leader. How do you Like hearing the story about marv how do you now do that in this day and age 30 years later with athletes where they It is just a little different.
How do you create that? Like no, actually i’m i’m the guy i’m i’m i’m in charge
[00:20:44] Dain Blanton: I think the the most important thing with coaching that i’ve come across is recruiting You have to recruit top level character, effort, all of that. Marv had a quote, he’d always say, You can have one and a half knuckleheads on your team, but you can’t have two.
And it’s so true, because once you get two, they’re goofing off, and they’re pulling in the next person, and all of a sudden it’s kind of a cancer, and things change very quickly. So I’ve had to, Get rid of some, some, some players and, and it has usually been, um, addition by subtraction because it would help everybody else.
But I think, you know, we’re in a very different time now. The athlete has a lot more power than they did. The coach has to, um, tap dance for lack of a better term, a little more because it’s not. We’re not in that space anymore where it’s just drill sergeant you come you do what I say, so For me, I try to stay try to stay ahead of the curve Try to have people on the staff that are different and that athletes can can interact with because I don’t want to hire Three assistants that are just like me, right?
you you want them to have a similar mindset that you have but a different bring a different personality, so I That the athlete may connect with that assistant better than they connect with me, or, um, But, but what I was going to say is my biggest, I think, coaching philosophy is trying to empower the athlete so they have control.
And I do that by usually getting a leadership group or a couple of captains that are an extension of my philosophy and they know what, what I want. Um, and then those other players can go to the captain, they can go to me, then go to another assistant. And then with the communications flowing and you think you’re part of this thing rather than.
I’m just a player. They’re the coach. We’re all in this together. We all figured out there’s times when you as a player going to have more Intel than I do as a coach because you’re in it. You know, I’m not in the locker room. I don’t know what goes on. And so that back and forth, I think You know, I think it’s like, it’s like pride and ownership, right?
You own a house. It’s a different ballgame. You go and rent a house, you’re like, whatever, whatever, whatever. But when it’s yours, then you can go to great places. And I think that’s the trick trying to empower the athletes. So they say like, this is mine, I own this. And I have some say in the direction of this unit.
[00:23:44] Gabby: Yeah, I think it’s, that’s everything. It’s even like in parenting, I tell my girls, I’m not here to control you, right? I’m here to teach you how to manage yourself, your wants, your goals, because that’s the most effective and the only way it’s really going to work anyway. Uh, it’s, it’s harder in a different way also, cause sometimes you do, you just want to lock down and control and go, this is what we’re doing.
But you realize in the long run that this other way that you’re talking about is better for everybody.
[00:24:13] Dain Blanton: Yeah. And then I encourage the athlete to speak up and be an advocate and an agent for themselves. And you know, it’s fascinating. Um, I’ve been a head coach now for five years at USC. And sometimes the funniest thing is the parents and it is just fascinating.
Is that the word
[00:24:37] Gabby: you use at home when you talk to your wife? Like let me tell you about a fascinating situation I have with a parent today.
[00:24:44] Dain Blanton: And it’s, it’s, it’s my, it’s mind boggling some of the conversations you can have and their perspective and it’s. You know, it’s just sometimes I’m just blown away.
You think the kid is, is growing and that student athletes getting better, they’re winning championships, but on the parent’s side, they’re, they didn’t take
[00:25:12] Gabby: the course.
[00:25:13] Dain Blanton: Yeah. They’re like, my kid’s not getting this or that. And. It’s fascinating. And then there’s a whole community of the parents interaction, you know, and
[00:25:24] Gabby: do they have like a pay like a group text that I’m joking, but you know what I mean?
It’s like all that extra community. Like did your parent mother did anyone in your house ever? No, they go to your games, right? They didn’t go. You didn’t go. Hey, coach Marv. I mean, advocate. Yeah, yeah. So, um, Okay, so Pepperdine, your sophomore year, you guys win a national championship. Let’s say win, you’re a winner.
Okay? You finish, you go to beach volleyball. Um, and, and the, the story on you is your steadiness. Mm-Hmm. . So the, that emotional kind of just steady
[00:26:03] Dain Blanton: Mm-Hmm. .
[00:26:04] Gabby: How hard is it to be steady?
[00:26:09] Dain Blanton: It’s extremely hard because. Like I said, with Marv Duffy, that was a great example. Someone who’s steady, regardless, eliminating some of those peaks, peaks and valleys.
Um, I think I was so hungry and I knew that you needed to be steady to be successful. The, uh, anyone with the erratic behavior or the gimmicky behavior. I mean, we’ve seen all sorts of athletes on the beach that, You know, and I won’t name any names, but are more entertainers than they are athletes That never was attractive for me I wanted to play at the highest level I could and and to train at the highest level but I was hard I was hard to play with I think looking back in terms of my standard was so high and so If you were playing the sport for anything less than, than trying to be great and, and to compete with yourself to bring out your best, then I was gonna, I was gonna let you have it and, and try to push you to that level.
But, you know, we could, we could do a whole like podcast on who has it and who does it. Can you learn it?
[00:27:27] Gabby: Um,
[00:27:29] Dain Blanton: And that’s where it gets tricky.
[00:27:31] Gabby: Well, you have, when I said earlier that you had this business approach, this executive approach to sport, it is also your demeanor. Like you and I have crossed paths for 30 years.
This is how you’ve always been. I mean, you actually are lighter now, I think, because you have a family. And I think life does that, right? You get, you sort of, we joke that you get tempered, Yeah, right. Yeah, you just do. Yeah, you do. So this is maybe the lightest I’ve ever seen you, but you have always been You know to the point
[00:28:02] Dain Blanton: that’s good, right?
It is so so
[00:28:06] Gabby: I think a part of it is your demeanor But what i’m trying to understand is because for those of us who are trying to be steady
[00:28:13] Dain Blanton: You
[00:28:14] Gabby: have to put it somewhere Because you have feelings you have reactions you feel pressure you do get disappointed you are excited You What is a system that you have, for example, if you’re in, you’re playing and it’s, it’s, you got, it’s not going great.
You’re not finding the rhythm. You’re not locked in yet. Where do you go? What is the technique that you have within yourself? You know, is it, is it a mantra? Is it sort of you direct yourself? Where did you always come up with being able to really avoid the peaks and valleys?
[00:28:45] Dain Blanton: Mm. Okay.
[00:28:47] Gabby: You know, I,
[00:28:48] Dain Blanton: when I was turning pro, let’s go say between 94 graduating from Pepperdine and moving on to the AAVP tour.
Yeah, I would read, I remember reading a lot of sports psychology books, trying to get an edge, trying to get, um, some sort of, you know, ahead of the game some way and watching guys like Karch Crye, Ken Steffens, like I mentioned earlier. I realized that volleyball is very unique in the sense that you play for like 15 seconds and then you have 20 seconds off.
And so it was fascinating because I think, I forgot who it was, who I heard this quote from, but they were talking about tennis. And I think tennis is very similar to beach volleyball. And they were saying the players that are most successful know how to manage that in between time better than the next player.
So it’s not the, the, when the ball’s going across the net, it’s when that, that little solitude that you have You take the deep breath. You, you visualize what’s next. You really prepare yourself for that next play. And because we all know outcomes at the end of the day, you can influence them to a certain extent, but you can control that next play to a certain extent, but you, you, you don’t control the outcome.
Like if we’re going to play each other today and you’re on fire and there’s nothing I can do about it and I’m playing great. I can’t control the outcome. So, that’s a hard one, isn’t it? Yeah, but a lot of athletes never get to that. That, I guess, evolved state where winning is going out and performing your best.
And that competition with yourself. It’s not always a competition with who’s on the other side. It’s usually the competition with yourself, with yourself. And how do I prepare myself so I can get the most out of myself at this moment in time? And I think in my career, you know, I haven’t been the best beach volleyball player of all time or the best coach of all time, but I’ve managed to line up the dots at the right time in the big events that have then changed the trajectory of my career.
And then people know that I can perform when the most is on the line.
[00:31:33] Gabby: Yeah, well, it’s so interesting. You know, they talk about the space between our heartbeats, that that beat in between the non beat is actually as critical as the beat itself. To your point and I think we don’t give credit to preparation and we don’t give credit to letting go.
Are you, will you, was it easy for you to say? I, my plan was to do this. I wasn’t able to execute in that play moving on. We are, were you quick to an easy to move on? Or was that something you worked on? Make it moving on from mistakes?
[00:32:13] Dain Blanton: No, I think that was critical. Having that detachment of I did that. I did my best on that play.
Now you got to flush that out and. You got to focus on the next play. It’s almost cliche, right? Hey focus on the next play focus on you hear it a lot. Yeah, but but It’s actually very real and it’s a practice that maybe is never perfected because all we have are thoughts in our mind constantly thoughts thoughts doubting and we um you know now I work with a lot of athletes and and we meet once a week with a sports psychologist and it’s so It’s important to have that ability to realize that focusing isn’t sitting and meditating and not being distracted.
You’re constantly going to be distracted. The practice is how do you refocus? and constantly refocus. Okay, I’m going back to pass. All right, that person in the crowd just threw something on the court. Can I bring it back now? All right, it’s hot out here. You know, I’m sweating. I’m a little discomfort. All right, but now can I bring it back?
And all these things are happening. So the ability to focus is almost the ability more to refocus because you’re just constantly going to be. It’s a constant. Feeling these, these distractions and it’s how you can deal with them, uh, and every one of them is different, but how you deal with that, that’s focusing.
You know, some people try it, they’re like, I can’t focus, I have all these thoughts. That’s, that’s, that’s normal. But how can you. Refocus off of those distractions that are constantly going around us and that, and that’s almost in any, in anything, in any field.
[00:34:09] Gabby: Yeah. Do you teach your athletes? Like, do you encourage them?
You know, for me, I would go get back down to my feet. Like when I was playing beach, I would just go back down and look at my feet and reconnect with the sand. Like I just kind of wiggle my feet around and look and be like, that to me always represented. I was getting ready for the next play. I would start there because if I did this or looked around, it was never going to ha it wasn’t happening.
So I would just go back to point one and say, okay, and take one big exhale, almost like letting the bad play out just whoo. And having these little practices, everybody is is different. It reminds me I have a friend, Nancy, I’ll say your name. I don’t care, Nancy. And she always has feelings about everything.
Like she’ll sit and look at a menu and be like, Oh, I want to I don’t know, I told them this. But do you think that was too mean? I’m like, you should just have a feeling not a feeling about the feeling. And sometimes making mistakes is Yeah, I made a mistake. not having that other chatter of I made a mistake and I can’t focus.
It’s almost like having the ability to, uh, to observe it versus, you know, pile on top of deep coaching women. Because you know how men compartmentalize? I think in an easier way? I just think we do. I think that you all do. I mean, for the most part it’s, there’s a biology, right? Like hunt focus. Okay. Babies, million other things, threats.
Like it’s just, there’s some biology attached to it. Let’s, let’s not play games. If you coached a group of women and you coach a group of men, typically there’d be some patterns. They’d be a little different. So you as somebody who competed, you know, at, at the highest level, Olympic gold, you know, national championships.
Is there any dance or something different that when you’re having this conversation about the meaning maker, about your brain, about all these things, refocusing with, you know, a different group of athletes, have you adjusted anything within yourself, uh, to communicate?
[00:36:15] Dain Blanton: I think seeing all the different kind of theories and, and, you know, Kind of not, not baggage, but the way that athletes arrive.
Seeing so many different approaches and so many different, uh, players coming from different, different coaches or different high school programs and, and they get there and, you know, I always say with, with like volleyball, Volleyball, you could, I, we could go down to the beach, right, and I could hit 100 balls.
And every single play is different. And it’s one of those sports where you have to improvise on certain things. So I don’t think there’s a wrong way and a right way. I know a way that has been successful for me and for a lot of players I’ve coached. But if someone comes in and they got a weird swing or whatever.
Right. Let’s meet in the middle. Let’s have a conversation about it. It’s not wrong. Let’s figure out what works for you. And if that kind of strange swing works for you and that’s all you have, then you, you go down that path and you keep with that. But I think I’ve become, seen more athletes, working with more athletes.
Um, I’ve come more, become more open to accepting different theories and different ways to get to that end goal, whatever that is.
[00:37:40] Gabby: So you play professionally, you, you’re, you know, very well respected. The Olympics are coming around. You end up playing with Eric and, um, let’s just say not me because as an athlete, you sort of kind of see certain people a certain way, but let’s say from the outside, you guys were perceived maybe as underdogs.
[00:38:03] Dain Blanton: No question about it. So
[00:38:05] Gabby: I don’t always love that word, but,
[00:38:07] Dain Blanton: but we were seated ninth going into the Olympics. So even when the Olympics came around. I think you could confidently go back over the last 30 years, and we would for sure be then the lowest seed to have ever won a gold medal.
[00:38:22] Gabby: Yeah. It would have been a good Vegas story, right?
Yeah. So now you can place. Best right on everything. I mean, what are sports for? Uh, so what is, what is the, Was that a familiar feeling to you? Was that like, Oh, like, what do you do with that? Is that sort of like, Hey, that has nothing to do with me. What do you guys do with, with, with that, knowing that people sort of go, Oh, well, that’s cute.
You guys, you know, made it in, but it’s going to be tough.
[00:38:54] Dain Blanton: Well, I mean, let me, let me tell you kind of the story because it’s, it’s, it’s fascinating how it became an Olympic sport. I thought in 96 I could probably get out there and play. I remember they had a trials in, uh, I want to say it was in Baltimore.
And I went out there and I got destroyed. I forgot who I played with. I was going to say,
[00:39:15] Gabby: that’s also part of the formula. I mean, part of the equation is your partner.
[00:39:19] Dain Blanton: Yeah, yeah. Um, that’s a big part, but, um, I remember Karch and Kent won and Dodd and, um, Whitmarsh got second place. So they were going to represent the AVP in that Atlanta.
And so I was kind of kidding myself, thinking I could be ready in that time. Cause you know, it takes time on the beach too. No matter how long you’ve played, it seems like, you It’s a sport where you develop a little bit older. Variables.
[00:39:46] Gabby: There’s just different variables. Yeah.
[00:39:48] Dain Blanton: You don’t see the 19 year old coming out usually.
I mean, can it happen? Absolutely. So I set my sights on 2000. I said, Hey, I got to win a tournament first that, you know, before I go to the Olympics. And so in 97, I won the Hermosa beach grand slam with Canyon Seaman at the time. And a month later, he dumped me to play with Mike Whitmarsh. And so that’s how Eric and I got together.
[00:40:14] Gabby: Yeah. Speaking, so for people who don’t know, Whitmarsh is a very large guy.
[00:40:19] Dain Blanton: Yeah. The late Mike Whitmarsh, um. was a basketball player. Yeah. 6, 6, 9, 6, 10. Um, awesome guy, really a lot of fun, uh, and played with Dodd. So two real, real class acts. But, um, Eric and I got kind of put together. I remember I had to switch sides, you know, usually play a right or a left side in the beat.
And I was, I wanted to play with Eric so bad that I was like, I’ll play a side that I haven’t played. But, I adjusted to it pretty, pretty quickly. And we played for a while and realized we were getting like second all year. And,
[00:40:57] Gabby: well, how big is Fennoy? 6’2
[00:40:59] Dain Blanton: 6’2 6’3 So we’re about the same. Yeah. And so we play this whole year.
We, we, we don’t win and we split up. And then I remember I was planning on possibly Going to the Olympics with Kent Steffes because Kent and Karch had kind of broken up at the time and so It’s right before the 99 season. It’s like a week before. I think it’s Clearwater and Kent disappears basically and he Like Stanford Business School.
I finally get a hold of him and he’s like Um, not gonna play anymore. He’s only 30 at the time, right? But didn’t he go to like, he went to Stanford Business School? Yeah, he went to Stanford Business School. I think he graduated like number two in his class. Just a really smart guy. And so I’m like, what am I gonna do?
At the same time, like, Whitmarsh hurts his back or something. And so, Eric is without a partner. I’m without a partner. So, it’s almost like destiny, right? So we get together, Enter on like a Tuesday, make it to the finals of Clearwater, beat Karch and Adam Johnson 15 7 in the final to win our first tournament.
Like, and so it’s like, this almost shouldn’t have ever happened. Yeah. And then from there we went on this. Crazy, uh, world tour trying to qualify for the Olympics.
[00:42:28] Gabby: So for people listening, you have to travel around to come out as a top two from each country. And just to give you a sense of it, the U S Brazil, uh, these are some of the most competitive countries in the sport.
So if you were, you could literally be seventh in the world, but third from the U S and you weren’t going to go to the Olympics. Yeah. So people just have to understand you’re also trying to compete out of One of the most talented countries in this sport at that time. So you were, you were dealing with that.
So I, I want to ask though, when you’re getting second and getting second, getting second and say, Hey, maybe we need to make a change so that one of us can win. Right. Um, and you end up back together. Was there a change in mindset or you’d given up with, you know, expectation? What do you think? Also, besides right time, you played, right?
All these things. Was different about the two of you that allowed you to actually win. Cause you’re talking about Karch, which I don’t care if Karch has one leg at the time. He’s a hard guy to beat.
[00:43:31] Dain Blanton: I think when we got back together, we realized the urgency of getting closer to 2000, the Olympics. Which we both had childhood dreams of being Olympians.
Um, And when it clicked in Clearwater, we realized we had something. It was just extracting it. Up until that point, you didn’t have the proof of concept. It was like, yeah, we’re good, but we’re not, we’re not at that great level yet. And I think the urgency, along with the fact of the matter of you have to qualify together, and now.
You’re you’re together like
[00:44:13] Gabby: your points have to be together.
[00:44:15] Dain Blanton: We’re going on this journey together. Regardless, there can be no noise. There’s no partner. There’s no one calling you asking to play every week. It’s like. You have to qualify together and that’s the brutal thing about the Olympics because if something happens to your partner in that qualification run You’re out.
You can’t just get another player and at the time it was your best eight finishes now I think it’s your best 12 finishes But until you’ve won eight tournaments, you can be improving and so this battle went on for Almost what a year and a half this qualification And the team that we were battling was Karch, Karay, and Adam Johnson for that second spot.
The first spot was already taken by a team that had committed full time to the international circuit.
[00:45:05] Gabby: Right, so they were just accruing points.
[00:45:07] Dain Blanton: Yeah, and whereas myself and Fonoi Moana, Karch, and Adam were trying to support the AVP tour and try to qualify. So we were basically fighting for this one spot.
So it comes down to Belgium, uh, Belgium in 2000, that was probably 45, 60 days prior to the Olympics, the last. qualification tournament. We’re behind by, I don’t know, certain, it’s, you know, it’s arbitrary, whatever the points were, but we needed a fourth place or better. And if Karch got fourth, then we needed a third.
If he got third, we needed a second. I remember we, I think we went to like a movie during the qualification day and Karch was in the qualifier. And we came out of the movie and we were walking back to the hotel and people were like, Oh, did you hear what happened? And we’re like, no. And they said, Karch threw his shoulder out.
And so we were like, oh, that sucks, you know, but you know, okay. Your next, you feel for him and then the next thing you think like, all right, so what does that mean for us? We still needed to get fourth, or better, to take over that spot, right? So nothing really changed for us, other than They weren’t going to be in that tournament to push it higher.
So I got to the fifth, fifth place, uh, position. We were at the fifth place. And we end up, this is, you know, this may be a little too intricate of a story, but you as a beach volleyball player, you know, and beach volleyball players that are listening, they know, but we were playing Sinjin Smith and Carl Henkel.
Sinjin and Karch have history that goes back a really long time. So we’re thinking maybe Sinjin might not play as hard, you know, cause you guys, yeah,
[00:47:00] Gabby: he’ll jam Karch through you.
[00:47:02] Dain Blanton: Okay. So you get it perfectly. So we’re feeling good about that, but it’s Sinjin, but no, but no, but no, his partner, Carl. Yeah. So we do a coin flip.
We, we, we lose the, uh, no, we win the coin flip. We go on the good side. It’s pretty windy. Carl serves like five aces from the bad side.
[00:47:24] Gabby: Okay. So for people listening, the deal is with beach volleyball, and these are these variables, and that’s why usually you do need to be a little more experienced when you’re, when you start on the good side.
Those are, it’s like serving in tennis. You don’t want to be broken. Those are the, that is the time you must get your five points. So for him to start out and be serving from the bad side and getting five points is not good for Dain and his partner. It’s like being broken in tennis like three times in a row and
[00:47:50] Dain Blanton: you are reeling.
And we figure out what’s going on. So this is why we, this is what we figured out. So if Karch has hurt himself. But still retains the spot with Adam the first alternate would be Carl Yeah, so Carl’s playing his heart out because if he blocks us from knocking Karch he plays without him he plays without him and He’s playing and this
[00:48:22] Gabby: you’re learning this in real time kind of
[00:48:24] Dain Blanton: Yeah, because like, you didn’t know what you were going to face.
Yeah, did somebody like on a
[00:48:28] Gabby: water break go, Hey, by the way, just so you’re, we’re clear, Carl gets to go in if you guys don’t pull it.
[00:48:33] Dain Blanton: Well, no, that was, that was kind of out there. Okay. But then the St. John thing was, you were kind of like, maybe that trumps it. He lets us kind of slide by. And he’s playing like out of his mind.
Carl Henkel’s mind. Fantastic player. You know, you played in the Olympics with Sinjin in 96. And so anyways, it’s about, I think we’re down eight to two at one point. Then we get all five on the bat on the good side. We, we, we closed the gap to eight to seven. We ended up winning like 15, 12, but that win put us into the Olympics.
And so these kinds of storylines that are happening kind of real time are fascinating. And
[00:49:10] Gabby: when you’re in that in real time, And you’ve worked not only for the, you know, 16 months of qualification period, traveling all around the world, kind of all these different variables and components to get you there, but it’s, it’s a lifetime, right?
It’s being a kid and practicing and going to sweaty gyms and going to beaches and traveling and not making a ton of money as a, as a professional beach volleyball player, doing it for love and passion, uh, and, you know, dedicating yourself to developing your craft. You’re here. It is not starting out in the optimal.
This wasn’t the plan. Okay? When no one
[00:49:48] Dain Blanton: plans for it to come down to the last but when it’s eight to
[00:49:53] Gabby: two When it’s eight to two and it should be five five. Yeah, let’s say in a perfect world Where do you go? What do you tell yourself as an athlete or just as Somebody who really wants something? Cuz we always say, Oh, you know, don’t, don’t put outcome, just do your best, be in the moment, work hard, do all that.
Where do you go? What’s your internal dialogue at that moment where it’s like, Hey, man, this might be a bust?
[00:50:22] Dain Blanton: Yeah. Yeah, you thinking not only
[00:50:26] Gabby: you’re like, Oh, shit. Yeah. Who knew?
[00:50:28] Dain Blanton: Yeah. No, but I mean, he was Yeah, he’s playing great. But you’re thinking, gosh, all these trips. all these continents. I mean, there was years we would do Asia, we’d do Australia, we’d do Africa, we’d do all of Western Europe, we’d do South America, we’d do Canada.
Just for, you know, to get to this dream of making it and representing your country in the Olympics and to think of You had all this opportunity to create this, like, a gap if you were gonna ever do it. But you couldn’t do it and now this is it. This is like, this is it. And so at that time, those thoughts that I just said are coming in and out of your head.
You’re like, but you’re trying to keep, keep them quiet. And that’s where that refocus is, like, All right. You know, you’re thinking, all right, I put all this time in, I’m not going to make the Olympic, it was all a bust, but then you got like, all right, sir, receive, receive, you know, and the athlete that can pull back, like we talked about earlier and quiet that voice and quiet that noise, uh, and succeed is the one that usually prevails.
Yeah. Do you get
[00:51:45] Gabby: meaner? Like. You know, so I guess what I’m saying is sometimes you almost use a little bit of aggression to push those thoughts out in that sense of, okay, next ball, I’m getting this ball. How did you, where did you find it? Where did you get it from?
[00:52:03] Dain Blanton: Yeah, I don’t think it’s a pushing out because then you have this conflict.
It’s more acceptance of that’s true. And I still need to side out. You know, like, whether you like that reality or not, that it’s now down to this. That’s what it is. Accept it. Don’t be like, I have to block it out. Cause if you’re like, I have to block it out. All that does is create more and more and more.
It’s like almost, I acknowledge that thought. I don’t like it too much. And now what can I do? Cause I don’t want to fight that. If I, if I get in a. back and forth with that thought. Yeah. You’re beating yourself up and you’re like, you idiot. How are like,
[00:52:54] Gabby: how do we get here? How do we get here? Do you, is there a mantra?
Is it, okay, I pass the ball. Like first point, you know, first principle, what’s the most important thing in volleyball? pass the ball. Nothing else happens unless you pass the ball or you just make everything a lot easier. Let’s just say that. So is it, do you go lock into, I go back to the fundamentals. Is there an internal mantra?
Is there something you and Eric did as a team that also brought the team back into this refocus?
[00:53:24] Dain Blanton: Yeah, I think kind of like, you know, how you said, you look down at your feet and you kind of reset yourself. You have to have that. That tool that you can rely on, like all that’s great, all this noise is happening, all this crazy situation, but here comes side out. You know, I, I, you know, slap my hands together or think of just passing.
Think of that one thing on the net. What’s my next action? And can I do that to set up? play. And there’s this constant dialogue, I think, that every athlete has, especially in a sport that has these stop downs, like, like beach volleyball or tennis have. And it’s, it’s that ability again. And I don’t know how you get that ability other than practicing it.
Like, whether you’re at the beach and there’s no crowd, can you execute that practice, you know. Gabby, are you looking at your feet in practice? You probably are, because there’s no way you’re doing it in, in the real time of a huge competition.
[00:54:38] Gabby: Right. If you haven’t practiced
[00:54:39] Dain Blanton: it. And so that control, even though it’s almost like it’s control, but it’s not because.
[00:54:49] Gabby: Yeah, you said it, the acceptance of it. Yeah. But you’ve practiced these other things. around it. So you have a tool with the acceptance, but also I think gaining experience is wonderful for this, but gaining those skills allows for the acceptance of it to be easier because you’re not just fear based, right?
You have a, you have a strategy. So I have to ask you as somebody who coaches athletes where you’re not on the court, you don’t get to pass, you can’t serve it for them. You don’t know how to set, you can’t set up the block. What is the, where do you go as a coach? What’s the most impactful way for you to support them from the side because you don’t get to touch the ball?
[00:55:34] Dain Blanton: Well, I, I sometimes I’ll tell them just pass. That will be your trigger for everything else. Don’t think about, you know, you hit that last ball out, or you didn’t kick out on this side or that side, or just try to pass that ball, absorb it, pass it in that general area, and that Is going to trigger everything else if, if you have prepared, you know, from practice and all that because there’s no reason like to think of Okay, I have to do this and I have to do that and I have to do it like that’s my instinctual Yeah, you need something that is going to ground you and be all right I fleshed out the last play and boom I’m here and I’m ready for this next play and I Like I said, managing that focus and refocus is, and practicing it.
Practicing it, I think, is most crucial because so many people get to that big game. And I think it’s, it’s funny because the Olympics are in a week and, and you always see so many top seeds succumb to the pressure because they are not Possibly equipped with those tools, um, to reset or the magnitude is the voice gets too loud.
The, the, oh my gosh, I’m here. I’m supposed to win. I’m the number one seed. You know, I do think when we went to the Olympics and to continue on that, that story, I remember getting back and everybody was like, Oh, so great, you know, but like there was this whisper of like, yeah, a card should go, you know, he’s got like three gold medals, you know, two indoor and one on the beach.
And, and, you know, you hear the noise and it’s, it’s, it started to that noise of us Not succeeding that well, not being great in that qualification, but we made it with, I kind of made it limping in and just barely, but hearing the noise for me, that’s always been a huge motivator. You know, it puts a little chip on your shoulder when people doubt you like, yeah, you can’t do that.
So I remember vividly it happened. Multiple times where people were like, Oh, that’s so cool. You’re going to the Olympics and it’s going to be so cool. Have a great time. And like, like take a lot of pictures and you know, it was kind of like, but it was kind of like, you know, the slap on the butt, like go enjoy yourself, but like don’t get your hopes up, but just go down there.
That’s so cool. You’re representing the United States and you’re doing this, but. Almost like, but don’t expect too much. You know, don’t expect too much. Were
[00:58:24] Gabby: you and Eric working with a coach?
[00:58:26] Dain Blanton: Uh, we worked with Greg Vernovich, who was, um, he was just getting into coaching and he was a teammate of mine at Pepperdine.
And he was fantastic because he was so, he was so far ahead of the game. I mean, remember back then, When you got a tape of someone, it was like VHS, and you would have to sit there with the one VCR here, the other VCR here, and, and one of the things we, we did, which now is, you can do in two seconds, right?
Is, he would make, Three to five minute videos of every team that we were going to play and they were, they were cut to watch just them siding out. So I could see you side out in 30 time, 30, 30 balls
[00:59:13] Gabby: passed here. These are your tendencies and such. Oh, look at that.
[00:59:16] Dain Blanton: The guy looks at the ball at the last second and he does this or he doesn’t look at the ball at all.
And then he does that. Yeah. Of course. Tendencies that the players wouldn’t even know. So he was fantastic. Getting us prepared, but he was also a go between. One of the biggest things when you get to the Olympics is shielding yourself from the distractions. And sometimes those distractions come from.
Those who you think it wouldn’t come from, like a family member or, uh, you know, a cousin or someone. There’s always someone that’s like, it’s nine o’clock at night and they’re like, I need tickets to beach volleyball tomorrow.
[01:00:03] Gabby: Oh, yeah, and so he shielded you guys from all that Yeah, we
[01:00:06] Dain Blanton: said, you know, everything goes to him And that’s smart and you know, we wanted to absorb everything.
We went to the opening ceremonies A lot of athletes will be like well i’m playing the next day. So i’m not going to opening ceremony. That’s very real I get it. But for us we were like, it’s the olympics. I mean, how long is the
[01:00:24] Gabby: opening ceremony four hours? How long is it?
[01:00:26] Dain Blanton: It can be long. Yeah. Yeah,
[01:00:27] Gabby: right
[01:00:27] Dain Blanton: and they have you kind of in a holding uh, holding area in the gym.
And then they usually walk you out. Everyone’s a little bit different, but we wanted to get the full experience, even though it, you know, I could hamper, but if you’re thinking like, Oh my gosh, I’m going to be on my feet. And then hopefully in ceremonies, you probably shouldn’t go, right. You know, if you’re going to go there and have fun and like, this is crazy.
Once in a lifetime, then that’s how we kind of looked at the Olympics. And. Then I remember we just really said to each other, let’s just, let’s go as hard as we can each play and let’s just play the best volleyball that we’re capable of. That’s our goal, to try to play the best volleyball that we’re capable of.
That took away like, who’s on the other side, that kind of took away the, here this is a 10, 000 seat arena in Bondi Beach and it’s amazing. Yeah. Not completely away, right? Mm-Hmm. . It’s there. Sure. It’s always trying to creep in, but let’s reset. Let’s just, let’s, and, and I, I, I wish I could have played at that level consistently.
Always throughout my career. I think I would had, you know, 50 more wins or won all the games that you quote should have won. Yeah. Those are my favorite. Yeah. Would’ve, could have shoulda have. Yeah. And. But we were so locked in. I remember we were so locked in that tournament. Could you sleep? I could, but it was almost like Christmas, you know?
Yeah. You couldn’t wait to get up. Yeah. And we had about a 45 minute bus ride from the village to the beach. And I remember, um, vividly going, on that bus ride once, um, to the, to the, to the championship. And I thought to myself, it came, I was like, I’ve already achieved a silver. It’s like, so why don’t I go down there today and do something more, right?
Like do something like I’ve already earned the silver. I can go down and just stand on the court. I’m getting silver. I’ve already got it. But how many chances will I ever have to be in this position to win a gold I put that urgency on myself, like, I may never be in this position again, so, You’re, you, go for it and leave it all behind.
You know, you hear that, that’s another kind of cliche statement, leave it all on the court, leave it all on the court. But if you’re an athlete, you know, like, and only you know. When you go home and look in the mirror, that night, the coach can ask you all day and you’re going to be like, Yeah, coach, put it all on the line.
But you know, like, could I have gone for that one ball? Could I have done this? Could I have? And I think you’re always going to have the little doubts, but I can say, like, without a doubt, during that Olympic run, it was. Like max effort on every play. And I’ve seen the tapes and it’s, you’re just, you’re max effort on every, but that’s the challenge and we were able to overcome it.
And so that competition with self, which yourself is always kind of, uh, let’s kind of be a little laid back. You gotta be,
[01:03:50] Gabby: or you’re pacing yourself, holding energy for the duration of the match or what have you. So I have a question. And if you. You’ve been favored right when you play in the MVP or top team in college top team Did you feel different pressure?
Because the X their expectation was like hey, of course you’re there you’re you’re great But the expectation wasn’t for you to win. Was there something about that? That was actually better For you you think?
[01:04:23] Dain Blanton: I think that we were underdogs was better for us rather than being The team to beat? Yeah, the team to beat.
I think that took pressure off. Anytime someone doubts you or kind of looks at you as you’re just there but it’s not going to happen, that Not only, not only are you not in the spotlight, but it also gives you that incentive to push forward. And I was so about beach volleyball, like, I would look at the back of Volleyball Magazine when I was a kid and see how much the guys were making at the time and realize, hey, you can make a good career, you know.
and
[01:05:04] Gabby: endorsements at the
[01:05:05] Dain Blanton: time. Cause you know how the nineties were, it’s just like, it was exploding, but. The guys like, like Tim Hovland and Mike Dodd and Sinjin and Randy who I spent the night at tournaments in Laguna Beach to see them, like that was before there was a grandstand. So people would come the night before, bring couches, bury kegs in the sand, and it was a big party.
And I had two older brothers, so I could tag along when I was whatever, 10 years old. So imagine going from that. 10 year old watching them on the court to competing against Karj Karaj. Must be a mind
[01:05:49] Gabby: trip a little bit in the beginning. Yeah,
[01:05:51] Dain Blanton: it’s kind of crazy. It’s just like some of these people now are playing against.
Or tennis, Djokovic. Yeah, playing Tiger Woods and they were two at the time. But um, But going in as an underdog was. But what I was going to say, Hey. With all these athletes, like I understood the importance. Do you know what I mean? Like Karch and Kent, they knew how important it was to win the first Olympics.
[01:06:18] Gabby: Yeah.
[01:06:19] Dain Blanton: Like there was way more on the line than them winning the Olympics. Like they got it. Like the hierarchy, the fight of where did this sport originate? There was a lot on the line. And so I think Eric and I were from that school where We got the history, like you go out to some players right now, they can’t name five players, you know, from back in the day or that put the sport to where it was.
So we went into that Olympics with more, we felt the responsibility, like where no one else put that responsibility on us, but us, that Karch and Kent won in 96. This is 2000. We’re the representatives. We’re the shot to do it. We’re going to go do our job. And the crazy thing is now is like, Karch and Kent in 96.
Myself and Fanoi Moana in 2000. Misty and Carrie, 04, 08, 12. Um, April, Phil. Oh, oh yeah. Phil and Todd. Oh eight. Yeah. April in, uh, in, uh, two, in, uh, 2000 or 2020. Yeah. And it’s just, it, it means something, you know, from the, the fabric of the sport. And so I think we had that weighing heavily on us internally that we had this responsibility to perform.
And that’s what got us to, to perform at that level.
[01:07:50] Gabby: Yeah. And people don’t realize how athletic, you know, it’s like the Brazilian teams are like, you’re talking about phenomenal athletes too. It’s not like, uh, people who are just picking up the sport. Um, is it safe to say the sport was pretty much born at state beach?
Are we saying it was state beach or is it more, uh, surrender? Like, are we getting technical?
[01:08:12] Dain Blanton: Yeah. I think like there’s a fight, like the Hawaii. thing with, um,
[01:08:17] Gabby: what do you mean? Like
[01:08:18] Dain Blanton: from the sport originating? Oh, you know, I think Hawaii kind of claims some of it and Southern California. And so I don’t know what the correct answer is.
[01:08:32] Gabby: We used to have, um, I’ll tell you a really quick story cause I don’t want to talk about your, your four national championships at USC. Um, so. So let’s say this, you, you have a beyond successful career as a professional. And then because you are articulate, you want your understanding of the game, um, your love and passion of the game, you’ve also been broadcasting.
How many years now?
[01:08:58] Dain Blanton: Gosh, probably since oh eight or 2010 around that. It’s almost 15 years.
[01:09:05] Gabby: And when did you retire from competing?
[01:09:07] Dain Blanton: Uh, around 08 to, you know, I might’ve played one tournament in 2010, but around 2008. So I played from about 90, let’s say 94 to 08.
[01:09:19] Gabby: And it’s funny in, in talking to you, it’s like, I can see how much you love volleyball, but you also feel like a lot more than just a volleyball player.
Like somebody who can sort of say, Oh, what, what are the things interest me that I’d like to. So was that transition, how was that transition for you going from competing to not competing, even though you had something else to fall back on?
[01:09:43] Dain Blanton: When you say fall back on the Well, I
[01:09:45] Gabby: mean, you,
[01:09:46] Dain Blanton: you
[01:09:48] Gabby: are a unique person.
You’ve won a lot and you, you could do many other things. And the fact that you broadcasting was pretty obvious, I thought. Cause you’re, like I said, a great communicator, you understand the game, but it wasn’t like you weren’t gonna, what’s, you know, you have nothing else to do, let’s say that, but how was that going from that high level execution, you know, that those fine, fine, fine moments and then going, okay, I did it.
Were you okay with it? Cause you had, you had done it. Or was it hard? I think
[01:10:23] Dain Blanton: walking away from the sport and realizing that the window is closing, you know, you realize the window is closing and beach volleyball, when your phone calls don’t get returned from like partners and you realize, okay, um, go ahead.
[01:10:39] Gabby: No, no. That’s just always been a funny part to me about volleyball, beach volleyball in particular. Like they broke up, they’re together. This guy went behind or this girl went behind. Yeah. Got the other partner before they broke up with the partner. Most sports don’t have that.
[01:10:52] Dain Blanton: No, it’s I don’t know what
[01:10:54] Gabby: they do in Doubles tennis, but I just it’s the only sport where that’s kind of wonky.
It is. Yeah, it’s
[01:11:00] Dain Blanton: like it’s almost It almost mimics a real relationship. It’s brutal. It’s crazy. And then The two players that have broken up always end up playing each other and that’s always really, really fun. Um, I think as, as I saw the window closing, I said, what can I do next? I saw, you know, some of the commentating opportunities.
And I remember I started doing international volleyball first at a studio out in Glendale with, uh, that wasn’t even equipped to really do broadcasting. I had a big boom mic and I was by myself and I would talk for seven hours and that’s kind of how I learned. And then I got to a point where I didn’t, I didn’t think I could, uh, go much further.
And I started looking into getting an agent kind of and figuring it out, but I got a break. My first break in broadcasting was with Fox Sports West. I started doing high school football on Fox Sports West. Like Friday night, like Friday night life. How’d you
[01:12:01] Gabby: get that gig?
[01:12:02] Dain Blanton: Um, This guy named tom fewer. I don’t know if you know tom.
He um Used to work with nike and yeah, he was an executive producer really great guy and um, he Put together this football pack. It was crazy because uh, chris mcgee was the play by play. I was doing sideline And I did okay, but it was a great You platform to fail in, you know, or not, or not be great. It won’t ruin you.
Yeah. Yeah.
[01:12:30] Gabby: I got you.
[01:12:31] Dain Blanton: Cause even now to this day, I tell upcoming broadcasters, don’t take an A gig if you’re doing C work. Yeah. Cause you may only get one shot at it. And so I was learning, learning, learning. Then I, they put me on some pre and post Dodgers and Angels games. And then I did some college football.
Um, and then, uh, I did a couple, I got a call one day and they said, um, the sideline reporter for the Clippers is sick. Can you do a Clipper game? And I was like, I’ve never done an NBA game and I was like sweating and, and I remember at the time, I think I, I went home and I think I even like picked up a newspaper, like let me get, download all who the players are.
Yeah. Then just figure out by four o’clock I’m at Staples interviewing Mike Dunleavy at the time. It was the coach. And I remember I was in the back room getting ready to do the open, you know, and they like, let’s go down to the sideline and And I remember I was in this back room and the girl who was gonna sing the anthem was practicing on the top of her lungs and I didn’t know the story and I was freaking out.
And I went out there and they threw it down to me and I did it, whatever it was, the story I think was on like Sam Cassell getting traded and they were playing in Boston, I think had won that year. This is 08. I don’t know what I said, but I guess it was good enough because they gave me a few more opportunities.
And I got with an agent, um, his name is Lon Rosen, who’s Magic Johnson’s old agent. And I knew him through a friend at the gym and he took me on and he ended up being friends with Tom. And then they, he started negotiating for me to do the sideline stuff. And By the end of the day, one day he called me, he’s like, we got five, we got five games next year.
He called me back two hours later, we got 15 games. Then he called me two hours later, he’s like, we’re doing all the home games. And I’m like, that’s the greatest thing ever. The next year, Fox took over all 82 games. And so I was on the team playing, traveling, and like, you know, my broadcast career was, was moving.
And it was It was so fun to do the, the sideline reporting with the NBA, but the NBA is brutal in terms of travel. Oh yeah. It’s great travel. Yeah. And they travel so efficiently and chartered. But it’s still travel. Yeah, you don’t, I would, you go to sleep and, uh, or you play a game in Atlanta, you’re on the plane, you wake up in New York, come back to hotels, you don’t know what room you’re in because you forgot.
Yeah, it was the
[01:15:07] Gabby: bathroom on the left or the right side.
[01:15:09] Dain Blanton: It was wild. But, um. The AVP, I’ve done the broadcasting for, gosh, yeah, like 12 some years. But I think the story about doing Sidelines, so many people were so surprised that they couldn’t believe like, uh, Olympic gold medalist was going to go and do Sidelines for high school.
This is what
[01:15:33] Gabby: I was going to say is you’re an expert, best in class, start over.
[01:15:39] Dain Blanton: Yeah.
[01:15:40] Gabby: I think that’s the key to universal success is you’re never afraid to be at the beginning. Even when, when your pride a little bit gets banged up or whatever, I’m sure you’re on the sideline of a football game and some hotshot kid who thinks he’s the cat’s meow who won’t even play D three ball thinks, you know, is like, Hey, buddy, get out of my way.
And you’re just like, Oh, you have no idea. Right. So what is that the belief in yourself that you. Because belief in yourself is like, I’ll understand this, I’ll go to the next, I’ll understand that I’ll move through the next. What was it in you that you’re like, all right, I’ll humble down for this.
[01:16:21] Dain Blanton: Yeah, I just see I saw more as an opportunity.
You know, I think that if you think things are owed to you, or you think you’ve earned stuff, and everyone’s gonna just roll out the carpet, like you’re like sorely mistaken. And I just thought If you want to go down this path, you gotta pay your dues and you gotta start somewhere I didn’t really, those thoughts never were in my head, although some people would bring them to your attention.
Like, hey, you’re an Olympic gold medalist, how are you? And you didn’t even, like the best part was the basketball. Like, you didn’t even play basketball. Like, you know, always people thinking the prerequisite is you need to be, like, the superstar player to cover a sport. Little did they know is the majority of play by play.
Commentators never played. You know, but um, the analyst is always usually a player. But the sideline reporter,
[01:17:19] Gabby: Yeah, you’re telling stories. Yeah,
[01:17:20] Dain Blanton: you’re telling stories and um, I just always looked at it more as a, here’s an opportunity, let me do the best I can in this opportunity. And, you know, on to the next opportunity.
And then, so in 2016, I was, NBC had me, um, be a part of the Olympic team and that was incredible. I did some, uh, analysts work. I did some play by play stuff. I did some sideline. I was invited back to do Tokyo, which was really cool, but no crowd. And then, um, now I’m going to Paris. You’re heading out?
[01:17:59] Gabby: Yeah.
You’ve got a couple days and you’re heading out. Yeah.
[01:18:01] Dain Blanton: And so,
[01:18:01] Gabby: so I wanna, I wanna rewind. Um, when did you meet your wife?
[01:18:06] Dain Blanton: Um, 2001. 2002. She moved from the East coast. And she was a yo or is a yoga teacher? Mm-Hmm. at, um. Um, the sports club LA, which I’m sure you’ve been to before, which is now an Equinox. And yeah, we were friends probably almost 10 years before we got into a relationship.
And I think those are usually the best relationships when you can be friends first. And, um, it’s just been awesome. She’s such a great support and always has supported everything. Uh, I remember. the, the head coaching job at SC, how instrumental she was and just helping encouraging and guiding. And then the reason I
[01:18:57] Gabby: bring her up is because, so let’s say you’re a couple by 2010 or 11 and you’re broadcasting and.
Are you feeling satisfied in the broadcasting? Is it bringing you a satisfaction? Because again, you can keep improving. It’s you’re you are in a world that’s all dynamic. It’s athletics. Are you does that feel? Is it enriching you in the ways that you want?
[01:19:19] Dain Blanton: It was interesting because I was on the tail end.
I came in with a Clippers Blake Griffin’s rookie year. And right before Doc Rivers took over as head coach, I had left. So that was about five years 2000 7 0 8 to like 2013 mm-Hmm. . And that’s right when we, you know, our relationship started. So I was doing a lot of, a lot of public speaking, a lot of, um, going to schools and doing speaking.
Also dabbling in the coaching thing.
[01:19:50] Gabby: Well, this is what I’m so fascinated on it. And so 2015, you volunteer.
[01:19:55] Dain Blanton: Mm-Hmm.
[01:19:56] Gabby: to be a coach. Yeah. At USC Gold medalist, that’s another
[01:20:00] Dain Blanton: reset.
[01:20:02] Gabby: Yeah, but volunteer, like you have, you’re in a relationship, you’re grown up in the way that you have grown up responsibilities, right?
You, you have this other craft that you’ve been developing and doing. What, where did you get this idea?
[01:20:16] Dain Blanton: The coaching?
[01:20:17] Gabby: Yeah, to volunteer.
[01:20:18] Dain Blanton: Well, I was And how do you have time? I was starting, starting like a beach club with a friend of mine. Um, and I didn’t know exactly where that would go and then I got a, I got a phone call from Anna Collier.
Do you remember Anna Collier? Do I
[01:20:31] Gabby: remember her?
[01:20:32] Dain Blanton: So.
[01:20:33] Gabby: You know I was one of her first practice dummies.
[01:20:35] Dain Blanton: Okay. For Holly
[01:20:37] Gabby: and uh, Cammie.
[01:20:40] Dain Blanton: Yes,
[01:20:41] Gabby: they were like, yeah, go over there and take line. Okay, now take this. Classic.
[01:20:46] Dain Blanton: Classic. So, so Ana was the head coach at USC and so much credit has to be given to her, um, for really getting the beach movement going for the NCAA and the collegiate level.
And I think Misty May was, Volunteer assistant. She got pregnant. And I think she was gonna walk away. And I remember vividly when I got the call. I was working a game in Stanford. Broadcasting for the Pac 12 network or something. And she called and she said, You know, I wanted to see if you wanted to be a volunteer assistant position.
Misty just laughed. Why don’t you come see the team? So, I thought about it. I was like, well, this could be cool. But you know, you’re kind of wary of this movement hasn’t really started, right? It’s 2015. It doesn’t start till 2016, but there’s still a league and the teams are growing. So as soon as I got back to Los Angeles, I went to, um, a practice and the team was so professional.
They ran over, they all got in the line. They shook my hand. They’re led by Sarah Hughes. Kelly Chang and the, all these two,
[01:21:57] Gabby: two women that are going to the Olympics next week. Exactly.
[01:22:00] Dain Blanton: So I said, this, these girls are serious. And so I agreed to do it. And then that year in 2015, we’d gone defeated 28 0 the next year, which was the first.
What did you
[01:22:14] Gabby: learn there? Well, in that, did, was there something that you learned? You have so much experience in volleyball. Was there something in that season, even as an assistant, that showed up to you different? For me? Yeah. Just did you, you were like, Oh, I’m looking at this differently.
[01:22:31] Dain Blanton: Yeah. I mean, now you’re, I always say like, number one, be the player on the court.
That’s the most fun. Number two would be coaching. And number three would be broadcasting and talking about what’s going on. So, coaching was, I was still so active at the time. You just, I’d jump on the court, I’d play a lot with the girls and um, I was just slowly transitioning from this player to this coach, but having, being a player’s kind of coach is I think so beneficial because you’ve been, you’ve been there.
And so I tried to give them all the tools that I knew that were making me successful when I played and they were like sponges. Like Sarah Hughes was, Just like, you know, Misty May kind of mentors her and she just is very driven, very driven. And everyone kind of fell in line. That’s, uh, again, remember we talked about the culture leadership at the, those captains being kind of an extension of, of the coaching and they were focused on winning that first national championship.
That was going to be history. Almost like we talked about the gold, you know, 96 Olympics Karchin camp. They were gonna be the first Yeah, like if they had decided that so one in 2016 then one in 2017 Then I stayed for 2018 and at that
[01:23:57] Gabby: the time commitment And yeah, that was hard, but I mean and and were you did you think oh, I’m investing in myself Was there any of that comp thought to your mind about what you were doing?
[01:24:07] Dain Blanton: Yeah, there was like hey if I ever You If I ever got a head coaching job, I’d love for it to be in LA because that’s where I’m, where I’m at and love for it to be a really strong program and, but I use that time to get better, to learn the coaching ranks and I continue to be a volunteer despite being offered the lead.
assistant job because I could still broadcast. And at the time I had a contract with ESPN to cover 25 minimum, uh, women’s indoor events. And so being the volunteer, I had that freeway to say like, I gotta go. And then I walked away in 20 after the 2018 season. And then in the summer of 2019 on a step down and you can imagine everybody in there was clamoring yeah, because Southern California beach volleyball and to be able to coach at a school like that and It was the stars aligned and fortunately it worked out and It took a long process.
[01:25:14] Gabby: What does that mean? What do you mean it took a long process? Well, I think,
[01:25:19] Dain Blanton: when you’re a school like USC, right? When you go to hire a head coach, what’s usually one prerequisite of that coach? Do you know?
[01:25:31] Gabby: I don’t.
[01:25:32] Dain Blanton: Is that they’re a head coach.
[01:25:34] Gabby: Oh,
[01:25:34] Dain Blanton: got it. Already. I love that. That’s always my favorite, that
[01:25:37] Gabby: chicken and egg.
We’d love to get you, but you have no experience, but you can’t get experience. It’s like, help me out.
[01:25:43] Dain Blanton: So I think they went through a multitude of coaches that maybe didn’t, you know, wasn’t the fit for them. And fortunately for me, None of
[01:25:53] Gabby: them were gold medal winners,
[01:25:54] Dain Blanton: baby. So the resume was strong, but it didn’t check.
It didn’t check. Yeah, but you’d been there too, but you know, someone had to talk to them like, Hey, yeah, you got to go out on a limb, even though you’re not really going out on a limb, but if you want that box check, it’s not checked yet. So you’re going to have to take that risk. And so, um, it was funny. I was in, I remember I put my resume and did the whole thing and I was broadcasting in Hamburg, Germany for the world championships.
And of course they called me on like, Monday and the tournament goes to the following Sunday. And at the time, Lin Swan, NFL, uh, player for the Pittsburgh Steelers, you remember Lin Swan, he was the AD and he was going on vacation. So they said, you know, you got to, uh, you got to, when you get back, we’ll do it, he’s going to leave the next day from, I think I was landing like Sunday night, it was either, it was either Sunday or Monday.
And I remember I flew from Germany to LAX and got in an Uber. And went straight to USC to do like, yeah, interview. Like I remember having my roller bag and it was, it was crazy. And you know, when you do a flight like that, you’re kind of loopy. When you, when you get to where you are, and so you got, I just kind of did the best I could.
And, um, anyway, long story short, the ended up probably 30 days later, they made a decision and I was the decision. And it’s so funny, like now that we have. I just had this, created almost this, four national championships,
[01:27:37] Gabby: you mean? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. I can say it for you.
[01:27:39] Dain Blanton: Four national championships. Yeah. And every, every year I usually get a text from Lynn Swan saying, I guess, I know he’s like, I guess we made the right call.
Yeah. You know, just. And, and so many thanks and gratitude that, that they did go out on that limb, even though from my seat, it didn’t seem like going out on a limb, but for, from their seat, and you know how it is when you get to certain positions, sometimes the people hiring you might not know that much about the sport.
You know what I mean? Like the intricacies of it. Um, and that’s sometimes, that’s what we’ve. Finally got conveyed and he understood and
[01:28:23] Gabby: how have you learned to manage the business? bureaucracy university system With coaching and managing because the head coach has to do that. How do you have a different?
Character that you put on to bridge that like how because that people don’t realize the art of that as well
[01:28:42] Dain Blanton: So I’m sure you’ve heard this quote before where people say if you want a coach don’t be a head coach Because there’s so much that goes within there’s I mean nowadays for me. I’m doing A lot of what like a GM would be doing with the finances and things are changing right now at the NCAA level and it’s only going to get a little more complex, but with the name, image and likeness side of things, it’s, it’s fascinating, but it is like running a small company with the players, with your staff, with juggling.
Um, the athletic department, the university, um, it’s a corp, corporation. Yeah, yeah, there’s um, there’s a lot of different components and I’ve learned a ton, always just trying to, to, to listen and find my way and it’s been a blast, like, I’m on my, yeah, this is the 3rd AD that’s there, um. The AD’s name is Jen Cohen.
She came down from the University of Washington and she’s been awesome. So much great support. Um, President Folt, who’s the president of the entire university, very big supporter as well. And so
[01:30:00] Gabby: winning also, you know, winning, let’s not kid ourselves. I mean, you’re kicking, you guys are kicking ass and so, and now you have all these players coming out of your program that are also kicking ass on the bigger stage.
So, you know, you’re, you’re not only. coaching athletes, but I, I know from being impacted by a coach because I, I don’t know if this is true or not, but for me, as a, as a woman, as a young woman going into your college and having a really great coach who is still my dear friend that I respect and admire that actually.
Changed the trajectory not of my life and who I became as a person And so not only are you making great athletes, but you’re mentoring people and you’re creating a coaching staff That’s doing that. So I have to ask if a you as the player you said number one most fun Obviously is doing it playing but what is are you surprised?
um at the satisfaction that you’re experiencing impacting, however large or small the way people that happen to be athletes. Like what, what’s that been for you?
[01:31:09] Dain Blanton: Well, it’s awesome. Like the, the two big goals, right. Are for the student athlete, you want them to have an awesome experience. You want them to get a degree.
If you can get a ring for them, a championship ring, that’s even better. But I think the most joy I get is seeing athletes fulfill whatever it is. Maybe it’s, Just being a great college player and then going on to get a job and work in business or whatnot Or those players that go on to want to play more and it’s it’s crazy Sarah Hughes in the Olympics Kelly Chang the the Team that we spoke of earlier Sophie Bukovic who was on that squad in 2015 16 and 17 She’s from canada.
She’s in the olympics and then tina grudina Is a latvian who was a four time all american? Can you say that name
[01:32:01] Gabby: again, please
[01:32:02] Dain Blanton: tina grudina? Yeah, that’s amazing. Sorry So and I and the great thing is With the majority of those athletes, I have great relationships and you want to be that support that, and you want them to feel part of that family.
And so I put a lot of effort in trying to keep the alumni engaged and together and bring them by practices. So the current players can see and then become so much more real for them. But I think the biggest joy is watching. The players succeed and knowing that you might’ve had a really small part of that, but it’s, it’s just a lot of fun.
And we’re having a blast. My, my assistant coach who is now an associate head coach is Gustavo Hoja. He’s a Brazilian, um, coach who is just. with the players. Players love him and he’s so knowledgeable and like without him it would, you know, I don’t think it would be where we’re at. And so the coaching staff, um, that has been there, uh, with me and the support from the school, it’s just a really great formula.
[01:33:12] Gabby: What um, Um, how would you have coached yourself? Like now you’re a coach, if you had an athlete like yourself, how, what technique would you have used?
[01:33:26] Dain Blanton: Well, I think the way that we talked about earlier in this conversation of Marv Dumpy, um, I, I never really responded to the yelling coach or the drill sergeant coach, although I’ve had them.
You know, but I think like the story I told you where he stopped down practice without an explanation but Knew exactly what he was doing. I think that triggered me more than and when I say Triggered
[01:34:01] Gabby: yeah,
[01:34:02] Dain Blanton: knowing that like there’s so much more going on than what’s on the surface, as a coach. And, you know, you don’t always want the athlete to know everything or spell it out for them.
Sometimes it’s nice when it’s, you figure it out.
[01:34:23] Gabby: They discover it. So I’ll tell you a really quick story. Gary Sato was one of my coaches on the beach and he was an assistant coach to Marv, right? And he tells this great story. He’s, they’re indoor. I think they’re You know, in a tournament, like a world tournament, I don’t know if it’s Olympic or not, but let’s say it’s pretty serious.
And it’s at the end of the game and who do you think is going to get the ball? Karch. And they all get in the huddle. They say, get the ball to Karch. Everybody’s in the huddle. They lean in and boom, boom, pass that, boom, give the ball to Karch, game over. as planned, right? Yeah. So Gary said he put that in his pocket.
He thought one day when I’m coaching a head coach, I’m going to use that. And he said he was in a scenario, it was a group of female players. And he said, Okay, we’re gonna give the ball to whoever. And all the girls leaned out. And the girl that he said it about, was like, went like this, he goes, because it was different.
Right? Like coaching, coaching, the complexity, of coaching female athletes and male athletes, and there’s different emotions and different things. I’m just curious how you developed your skills in that way, because it isn’t the same. You know, some girls, it’s like, Hey, you can do it. Some girls, it’s like, It’s gonna, you know, you can’t, you know, it’s just all the nuance.
How have you developed? Is it intuitive? Like, you know, Hey, with her, I need to just put my hand on her back with her. I need to leave her alone and say, give her one idea. Where do you get the instincts and bringing the best out in each person? Because I think that that is the art of coaching.
[01:36:04] Dain Blanton: Yeah. I think over the years, what I’m starting to learn and what I’ve started to implement is, you know, Learning the player as a person more, because then it is intuitive.
Because you can’t have a blanket, like, here’s the policy, here’s how I interact with everybody, because it works for some people, it doesn’t work for others. So, using that intuitive approach of trying to, Speak to the way that they listen is huge and there’s emotions involved, there’s ego involved, there’s all sorts of things at a varying level per athlete.
And I think that’s the, the magic is the more you know the player, cause it’s easy to get like locked into like, it’s a volleyball, volleyball, we’re gonna do the volleyball. But the trick is almost. Take the volleyball.
[01:36:58] Gabby: Yeah.
[01:36:58] Dain Blanton: Not out of it, but put an emphasis on relationship building and caring about the individual, um, off the court.
Then when you tell them to do something, the trust has been built and the understanding and then it’s way more effective at that learning, teaching level than it would be without the relationship.
[01:37:24] Gabby: You have a son and wife, and I’m fascinated. Well, a couple of things. One is you have all these personalities that you care about, and it’s your part of your job.
And then how do you have a way to sort of, because it becomes a family, your team becomes a family. How do you create have enough energy, emotional bandwidth, when you get Right. Yeah. To like be available there too. Where do you have, do you have a technique? And I would imagine you’re a better partner because of your coaching.
I imagine that you, you’re, there’s some things that you’ve learned that make you a better partner, but how do you have you? Cause that’s, it’s a lot of energy.
[01:38:09] Dain Blanton: Yeah, it really is. And um, especially when you, like right now preparing for the Olympics, coaching and recruiting and the days can be long and then you have to shift gears.
Like I think learning to shift gears. ’cause, ’cause Mave and Cade have been amazing. Cade’s six now and he’ll start first grade, uh, in, in the fall in like a month. But. They’re excited for you to get home. So that’s inspirational and that almost, you know, at times if you don’t feel like you have the reserves, you get that Yeah.
Jolt of energy by seeing them, by, by understanding like, oh, this is the, the real stuff and there’s the work stuff. But yeah, there’s almost those different buckets and that that whole balancing act is hard and sometimes. The family, you’re all in doing all that and everything else is out. Other times you’re all in, like the last two Olympics, I’ve gone by myself and this Olympics they’re coming with me.
[01:39:17] Gabby: Oh, see, that makes all the difference.
[01:39:19] Dain Blanton: Yeah. So it blends them together rather than on the road, working in a hotel room by yourself, um, which. Can breed a lot of focus, right? Yeah. Well, that’s the easy stuff in a certain way. Yeah. And then, but now when they’re with you, you’re not worried about what’s going on at home.
You don’t feel split. Yeah. And it’s kind of all merged and it’s easier to manage the different hats when it’s all together. And it’s all, it’s a lot more fun because I think all these things that we’ve talked about, the, the, the Marv Dumpy, Eric Fonoimoana, the, Uh, coaching and, and the assistant coach who I mentioned, uh, it’s all about experiencing it together and with someone, and that makes the experience so much more fulfilling.
[01:40:13] Gabby: Yeah. You’re a parent and if your, if your son says, um, you know, I like sports, I’ll do it, but I’m not like, I don’t want to be a hardcore athlete. Um, Are you okay with that?
[01:40:26] Dain Blanton: Yeah, absolutely. We, I think we, we put him in so many things early. I think like basketball at the YMCA and at the park, this and baseball and, and soccer.
And then he got, he kind of got to a point where he was just like, he’s like, I didn’t want to take a break. And we were like, that’s fine. You know, that, And then you start thinking like I didn’t start playing organized sports till like Third fourth grade and he’s not even in the first grade. Yeah, so we definitely Took a step back there, but we always have the plan of hey We’ll introduce you to sports and we’ll try to facilitate as much as we can so that you can play what you want to play, but you you get to pick and We don’t want to push them down any route.
I think, um, just giving the options and then they’re going to gravitate to what they like. Is that how you see it turned out for you?
[01:41:24] Gabby: Yeah. I mean, I’ll be honest. I’ve said this many times. Sometimes I wish I did orchestrate and push and, you know, do it a different way because, um, I was putting my filter of what success was for Laird and I, um, on my kids.
Because that’s what kind of saved us individually was our sports and Laird’s is different because he has a relationship with his sport I mean, he’s still nobody can tell him. No, right. He’s still going
[01:41:54] Dain Blanton: right,
[01:41:54] Gabby: and and But then I realized it’s their life and that’s the hardest thing So I wonder when you see parents because you you mentioned earlier you deal with parents if you could give them advice about Because I think people do get nutty, you know, they have these kids in, you know, fifth grade and you’re like, take it easy.
Is there, is there, as somebody who’s reached the highest level on every pursuit of their sport, like you have, what, what advice would you give them as far as, um, you know, kind of having their kid participate?
[01:42:30] Dain Blanton: It’s, you know, it’s hard when you are the athlete, like you said, I’ve, you know, reach these, these different pinnacles, you know what it’s like.
Usually the parent that may have not have reached those levels is the one that’s really pushing hard because that’s their ticket. Like you’re going to be a pro. I was, Cade got invited to this tryout for a soccer.
[01:43:00] Gabby: Yeah,
[01:43:01] Dain Blanton: and the coach was very straightforward. This is not a YSL. This is serious This is this this is this isn’t this and I respected that but at the end of the day Maeve and I were like
[01:43:15] Gabby: Your childhood,
[01:43:16] Dain Blanton: yeah, and it’s like all this traveling and all this like once you buy in like you’re you’re in and To put that on like five and six year olds didn’t really make a lot of sense But the fascinating thing was some of the parents Because when you’re in that Kind of circle for a second or at practices, you know, they talk and they’re like, oh I drive up from St.
Clemente You know three times a week to practice here and then we have games on the weekends and the thing and like you’re like Oh my gosh, this is this is wild and So it’s scary how some parents are approaching their kids career and I just think there’s plenty of time later I think I started playing volleyball at like 11 and you don’t have to play at four and five and it’s way and I and I use this in coaching and I tell I tell people this often as a coach If I want it more than the players, we’re in a really bad place.
Really, like, if you don’t want it more than I want it, like, I, number one, have to downshift, for sure, because all you’re going to do is rebel against me. Um, pushing you too hard. And it’s the same with the parent, the more the parents like, Oh, let’s go here. The, the kid’s going to be like, no, let’s, let’s do something else.
You know, let’s do something now. And that almost comes full circle to our conversation of what we’re talking about, the empowerment, give them the say, give them that, that agency to where they’re in control. And once you have. that control and you’re empowered like this is my decision I’m doing this here like it’s way more effective than Hey, let’s go.
We’re going, you know, here we go. And the kids just like, Oh, I guess here I go. So take a bat, you know, I take a step back and really listen to what the, the child has to say. And like, how much are they really enjoying it? And if they, they’re loving it, cause there are kids that love it. A dog with a bone, man.
They want to do it. It’s not a blanket statement. It’s fun. Right. And, and like you said. Every interaction has to be intuitive to that situation.
[01:45:49] Gabby: So in wrapping this up, I don’t want to lose the opportunity, um, just to even do some nuts and bolts questions, uh, injuries. I feel like you’ve been pretty healthy your whole career.
I’ve
[01:46:00] Dain Blanton: never had any surgeries. Um. Oh my gosh. Fortunately, uh, did you, how
[01:46:05] Gabby: did you, I know a lot of it’s genetics, you know, your patterns, if you moved correctly, you didn’t wear out your, the wrong joints at the wrong time. But um, did you have, uh, you know, as far as like your food, even when you were competing, did you have kind of a rules that you were living by as far as your food and things like that?
[01:46:27] Dain Blanton: I would just always try to eat healthy. I wasn’t like. None of this, none of this, none of that. It was just, you know, staying away from the fast food, staying away from the fried food, staying away from the BS carbs, stuff like that. Do you have
[01:46:40] Gabby: that as a
[01:46:40] Dain Blanton: coach too, with your girls? Um, yeah. And we have a nutritionist as well.
Um, it’s hard at that age because you can consume everything. And you’re ripped. You’re like, look at me, look at me. What are you talking about? Why do I need to change my diet? So if the athlete doesn’t understand the performance. component of it, because it’s not a, the aesthetic, it’s not the aesthetic components, the performance, like you want to feel good at, at, you know, 20 all and
[01:47:10] Gabby: low inflammation and recovery and all these things.
So are the, is that more of a conversation though, at the college level?
[01:47:17] Dain Blanton: Yeah, we have that. We have, we have those conversations. We have a nutritionist where the athlete can Do a lot of one on one with them. We’re always pushing fueling correctly. Um, Some for some players it goes in one ear and out the others some really embrace it.
Um, but it’s uh, It’s so important to take care of your body, but at that age, it’s hard to know. And your question about me, I think I’m lucky as well. I sure I took care of my body and whatnot, but I also think that I was fortunate. Not, um,
[01:47:54] Gabby: but I feel like your wife is serious.
[01:47:56] Dain Blanton: Yeah.
[01:47:56] Gabby: I feel like she, cause I met her and I, I sort of thought, Oh, she’s somebody who might be serious about all of a lot of things.
Yeah. Like, is, is there some rules at the, at your house about kind of how we’re eating?
[01:48:11] Dain Blanton: No. No. She, she’s not that serious. Uh, uh, I mean, she’s very healthy. Yeah. Um, but she doesn’t push that, you know? No, no.
[01:48:21] Gabby: No, but just kind of, I got from her that she was. She’s, she’s, you said, you know, yoga instructor, she’s informed.
I know she, you know, reads and sees a lot of things cause we had a five minute conversation. Yeah. You guys ran into each other in Whole Foods. At Whole Foods. Yeah. In the fruits and veggies section. Um, but if, if this, cause someone looks at you and you know, obviously you’re very healthy and you’re moving around.
So what about your own training and eating? Is it just kind of. consistent and you don’t put a lot of emphasis and thanks for the genetics or what?
[01:48:54] Dain Blanton: Um, I think it’s been work and it’s been genetics. I think now it’s so hard for me. It’s so hard. Like I struggle with what was just normal, like wake up, go to the gym, play basketball for an hour, go walk right off the court, lift weights.
That was just regular, normal. Then COVID hit, then Cade came along and he was at the age of, like, in the morning, you’re taking them to school. So I think with the coaching and with the broadcasting, with the family and everything starts to push your priorities a little bit down the road. So. Do I take Cade to school at eight in the morning or do I go to the gym?
And then you’re like, well, I’m going to take him to school. Cause this window of time is, you know, there’s going to be a time when he doesn’t, he’s going to drive to school. And then your, your own stuff kind of continues to get pushed. So I think the biggest thing I struggle with or battle with internally now is is like getting myself to the gym.
And, you know, like I may like, I feel, I look okay and whatnot, but you know, you know yourself and you’re like, I think, you know, you feel a certain way based on whatever that, Normal is for you. And so that’s the biggest fight I think right now is to stay ahead of the curve and as you get older It’s like it’s almost like someone’s grabbing you and pulling you back like not letting you take off because there’s so many things In life that start to stack up and then you just it becomes a prioritizing type of a deal and Um, I think we all struggle with, with that.
And I think we all will put ourselves sometimes on the bottom to take care of things. And so there are times when you, you have to be selfish and take care of, take care of yourself. Or, you know, the, the flip side of that is bad health and you’re not around.
[01:51:05] Gabby: Yeah. So, In the, in the final question, because you are even keeled, you are a person, I think, who naturally kind of avoids a lot of the peaks and valleys.
You seem like that, but do you have any practices because you do have a stressful cycle? And it, there’s a lot of moving pieces and you’re performing in all of these ways at a high level. Is there anything you do? Is it, um, you know, run walks, meditation? Are there practices, even if it’s in your car, that you do that helps you kind of let the, you know, The the pressure out because we all it starts to accumulate
[01:51:49] Dain Blanton: Yeah, I like doing meditations like daily and and i’ve i’ve messed around with like headspace and The calm apps and those things work, you know, if you it’s just a taking time to set aside to like reset Uh relax, maybe unplug for a second.
I think that is a form of of recharging Um I love like the breathing exercises the what is it the box breathing the four seconds inhale and hold and that whole thing which i’m sure you’re totally familiar with but And sometimes just taking some big deep breaths. It’s funny how we um We don’t do so many things and you almost have to consciously do some things that can reset yeah, so You Um, I used to, you know, I met Maeve in yoga class, and I used to have yoga as a weekly regimen when I was playing.
I think that probably helped with some injury prevention as well. But now, like, I would say lately, the first response would be like, I don’t have time for that. You know, I don’t have an hour. Yoga class time, but you do have it. You just
[01:53:07] Gabby: have
[01:53:08] Dain Blanton: to prioritize it and you have to maximize the, um, the day. So, I’m learning, I’m getting better, but, um, the family, the work, and, you know, I think I have some balance there, but, um, I’m always, I’m always trying to be better, whatever it is that I’m, that I’m doing.
Um, I don’t know if that’s a good or a bad thing, but I’m driven like that. I think you’re, you’re driven like that as well. Trying to see what’s next. And when you do something, you probably question it. Like I could have done a little better. I could have done this a little better. But I think most people need to understand that that’s, that’s normal.
And you don’t need to beat yourself up. Yeah. About
[01:53:49] Gabby: it. You, you said a couple things too that I just want to highlight before we wrap up. You, you, you talked about, you know, managing, uh, when you show up, the game that you showed up with. Mm hmm. I thought this is really profound because that’s all of us in our everyday lives.
We’re showing up with who we are at that moment, whatever that looks like, and we’ve just got to manage that. And I thought that that was something that was really important and wise. And the other thing you said, and this pertains to athletics, but this also, I think pertains to life, which is you, you talk about when you were playing with Fennoy, it’s like, Hey, we’re going to make the opposition earn it.
And I, I sometimes think we, think we have to go out and do all of these extra things and, and sometimes it’s, it can also be about, just don’t shoot yourself in the foot basically. And I think people sometimes believe when they see a person like you who has won so much, that it’s always been about that you have to be so extraordinary in every moment.
But it’s also that maybe you let yourself win, but also you didn’t shoot yourself in the foot. And I think that that is quiet, which makes me also think about all the ways that you’ve gone through your career, you’ve been pretty quiet. And I think It’s, I don’t want to say it gets overlooked, but it, all that goes into that, I think is all the real lessons and that you, you’re showing up, you’re doing the work, you’re willing to learn, you have humility, but, uh, you’re definitely not going to be the person who, uh, I think makes the mistakes and that gets you to all these places.
Yeah.
[01:55:39] Dain Blanton: Yeah, that’s actually. That’s a great perspective because I’m a true believer in like stacking the days right like doing the little things like all right today we’re not that good, but we’re We’re not gonna give it away. We’re just gonna do what we can do and deal with what you show up I always say like You know, I know you were training to be a golfer, right?
Oh, God. Brutal. But, you know, sometimes you go out there and every drive’s going right. Every drive’s going right. And unless you are an expert, you’re better off aiming left so you hit the fairway because you’re driving the ball right. And having that wherewithal to Recognize, this is what you have today, you know, you have this slice and you can fight it all day or you can make a slight adjustment and probably have a good time.
[01:56:38] Gabby: Yeah, I think you said about marriage. I swear to God. There are days like I show up and I know I’m I’m in a certain kind of mood. And I can see Larry’s kind of a certain mood and you just go, Uh huh. Yeah, this is what it is.
[01:56:51] Dain Blanton: So true. It’s in every corner. It’s true. But yeah, I think that managing what what you have, because some days are better than others.
Yeah. relationships and sports and whatever. It’s just recognizing that. And um, being conscious of it and not, I think it’s so easy to go on autopilot these days. And you have to fight it. Yeah. You have to fight it. And um, it’s, it’s a constant kind of struggle to um, to have joy. You know?
[01:57:27] Gabby: Yeah. It’s not going to land on you.
No.
[01:57:29] Dain Blanton: It’s just. You have to
[01:57:30] Gabby: keep working.
[01:57:31] Dain Blanton: Exactly. So.
[01:57:32] Gabby: Well, Dain Blanton, thank you for your time. Thanks for coming up here. I know you’re getting ready to go to the Olympics. And I just want to say as somebody, uh, again, who’s watched you, you know, from the side for a really long time, I just admire, uh, all that you have put together, uh, because it shows the level of consistency that for me, if you want to talk about gold medals, that is the most interesting thing, somebody who can, is continuing.
and continuing to learn and to, and to do great work at whatever they’re doing. So I really appreciate you. And, uh, and you’re the reminder that, you know, athletics is so important, I think, and winning, it’s great. But when you can be a champion person, it’s like, that’s, now we’re really talking about something interesting.
So I, I think, uh, you’re just a stellar example. So thanks. And thanks for your time.
[01:58:29] Dain Blanton: I appreciate it. Thanks for having me up here and have fun with
[01:58:32] Gabby: the family in Paris.
[01:58:33] Dain Blanton: And then we can’t make it I think when I first walked up and really got looked at the surroundings. I was like, I haven’t been up here in 20 some years.
Yeah, like you said, it’s probably been you’ve been here about 26 years. Yeah. It’s like paradise up here. So it can be, or it can be like hell too. We, we have to make it less than that time for our next visit.
[01:58:56] Gabby: You got to bring your team up.
[01:58:57] Dain Blanton: Absolutely.
About Dain Blanton
