All we can say is Taylor Crabb from Long Beach State University is an inspiration to volleyball players who are 6 FEET & UNDER!
The junior outside hitter who went to Punahou high school in Hawaii just like US President Obama, pro beach volleyball players Stein Metzger, Kevin Wong and Mike Lambert, is currently the 19th best scorer (kills) in the history of LBSU men’s volleyball.
As of April 1st, 2013, he has 1,015 kills.
In an interview released by foxsportswest.com, Taylor shares his secrets on how to become an effective player at only 183cm.
“I feel I need to be a lot more disciplined as a smaller player, especially with the more physical aspects in volleyball, like blocking and hitting. With hitting, some of the bigger stronger guys can get away with just hitting it as hard as they can, hard at the block but me not so much. I have to be smart when I know I can’t beat the big block. So it’s actually helped me to become a better all-around player because I cant just get away with hitting it hard. Now I have more skills and shots to help me all around.
But its not about how tall you are, it’s about how cerebral you are. Someone once told me ‘the game is played between the ears. Once I get my first kill in a game, I don’t care who is in front of me. At the same time it’s enabled me to be quicker and faster than the bigger guys, which helps a lot on defense and my arm speed for my swing.”
He also reveals how his dad, a former volleyball player & beach player, influenced him to play the sport.
“It ran in the family [volleyball], it was everywhere in my life. My dad would take me down on the court to warm up with him from when I was 3-8 years old when he would play in the University of Hawaii alumni game. My dad was my club coach every year since I was 10. He was also my JV volleyball coach and my senior year assistant coach. My dad was never one of those parents who was pushing their child to do something they didn’t want to. He let me play the game and let the game come to me. But every now and then he would give me one or two tips and that one tip I would take to heart because I knew how knowledgeable he was.”
Finally, his advice for players his height or shorter.
“First thing I would tell them is that you don’t need to be the hardest hitter to be effective. You need to be the smartest. I’ve grown up and figured out that the game is more cerebral than physical abilities. Because I’ve been playing since I could walk and watching it since I knew what it was, I have been able to learn the game very fast … And of course with great coaches, mentors and idols.”
Extra! Extra! Extra!
Why did he pick Long Beach over USC, UCI, UCSB and UH?
“I felt it was a good fit for me because it felt most like home for me. My brother was here and I was real close to some of the coaching staff that was here. I knew Alan [Knipe] was coaching the national team and was coming back for my last two years. I thought that would be great for me to become a better player and take my game to another level.”
His main goal?
“My goal more than anything is to win a National Championship. That’s been my goal from day one when I came here. That’s the only goal I have my eye on.”