Two local volleyball players vie for Olympic team
In exactly 424 days, one men's volleyball team will stand atop the three-tiered podium at Earls Court in London and bow toward royalty just enough to receive their hard-earned Olympic gold medals.
If all goes right, Wheaton's Sean Rooney will claim his second such medal on that Aug. 12, 2012, night — and Carol Stream's Andy Hein will be right beside him claiming his first.
Rooney and Hein, who won the 2005 NCAA title together at Pepperdine, are among the 35 players on the national team vying for the right to represent the United States in London.
While the Olympics might seem far away, the battle to be among the 12 players on the U.S. roster is well under way.
Each weekday at the sprawling American Sports Centers in Anaheim, Calif. — just across I-5 from Disneyland — the players on the men's and women's teams are in a constant fight to edge ahead of their peers.
“When everyone's back, it's definitely a full gym,” Hein said.
“You have two courts going at a time. It's a pretty competitive environment. Every guy is fighting to be seen, in a way. You have to put a string of good days together.”
The 28-year-old Rooney, a 2001 Wheaton Warrenville South graduate who served as a sub on the 2008 gold medal team, looks like an excellent bet to be one of the team's four outside hitters after putting a string of excellent years together.
Between his play for the United States' World League team — he's on the roster for Friday's and Saturday's games against Poland at the Sears Centre — and his wintertime play in such venues as Milan, Moscow and Siberia, the 6-foot-9 Rooney has built a worldwide reputation and a nice living.
“It's an exciting time to be part of this game,” Rooney said.
“Ten years ago the maximum you could make was $100,000. There are players out there that make seven figures. I'm somewhere in the middle.”
While the coin is nice, Rooney is more about the medal … and he's aching to get back on the court.
He has been sidelined for several weeks due to tendinitis and bursitis in his right shoulder, which might keep him from suiting up this weekend.
“It's the longest I've gone without playing since I was at Wheaton Warrenville South,” Rooney said.
Hein, meanwhile, finds himself in Gatineau, Quebec, this week headlining the United States team that's playing for the Pan Am Cup.
It's another step in the 26-year-old middle blocker's “gradual process” toward making the nation's best squad.
While the 6-foot-11 Hein was lucky enough to be invited to join the national-team program a few days after wrapping up his college career in 2006, he didn't start making international trips for another year or two.
With so many good middle blockers on the team (and only three spots on the Olympics roster), Hein hopes to continue his progression on the depth chart.
“He's gotten a lot stronger in the last couple years,” Rooney said.
In his spare time, well, Hein doesn't have much spare time.
In addition to doing volunteer work for a Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter, the 2002 West Chicago graduate has been planning his wedding in August.
“I've been blessed to make a living off a sport,” said Hein, who also spends his winters playing all over the globe.
“I've been really blessed to afford a standard of living in California.”
lwillhite@dailyherald.com