The Burgess Volleyball Club
Thursday night at Burgess Gym in Menlo Park has played host to one of the longest-lasting volleyball groups in Northern California. The Club started in 1975 and some of the original players are still going strong (or at least they think they are). What used to be referred to as the best volleyball in the area is still safe to be called one of the better places to play. As some of the long-time members begin to retire, or get retired, we should update who's in the Club these days and some of the accomplishments of these players.
The core group of the Club are some of the original members of Just Volleyball and also the Kings Mountain Fog. Players with Just Volleyball have won the National Championship in their age group, as well as the Fog, which not only has claimed the National Championship more than once, but also the Huntsman World Senior Games in addition to winning the World Championships and are, at this writing, considered the best 50 and over team in the world. Nationals' accomplishments and All-American awards are listed later in this article.
A number of these players used to compete in the Open and now play in the seniors' division. Both Just Volleyball and the Fog have moved away from NCVA tournaments to weekend age-group specific tournaments and concentrate on national tournaments rather than NorCal events. That leaves defending the honor of Burgess Gym to some of the younger guys at the weekend A and AA tournaments these days.
Just Volleyball (JVB) won the Men's A Gold league and also the A Silver in the past. It was always fun to watch them walk into the gym at a weekend tournament and as they warmed up, you could see the young guys already counting up the wins. The kids would always win the hitting line war, but quite often would come out on the short end of the flipscore when game time rolled around. You always wished you could have put some of the JVB players' hearts and brains into the young guys' bodies. Some of the smarter players would sit back and try to figure out how the heck those old guys beat them, but many of JVB's opponents who were in their 20's and 30's just didn't get it, and never would.
There has been a string of celebrities who have graced the hallowed halls of Burgess over the years: Gary Redenbacher (of popcorn fame), Milt McColl (former SF 49er and Oakland Raider), Dave DeGroot (former UCSB All-American and ex-Cal coach), Craig Lauchner (currently a Club member and former national team member and All-American from Stanford), Brett Monello (Stanford), John Kosty (UCSB and the new head coach for the Stanford Cardinal), Bill Cole (Cal), Mike Fink (former pro player now living in Switzerland), Carlos Feitosa (Brazil and San Jose Diablos), Arnaldo Jagle (Brazilian and Israeli National Teams, played with JVB at more than one National Championship), Kjell Nielsen (great outdoor player and NorCal AA standout) and Phil Melese (one of the all-time best players in the region). Other guest stars on occasion have included Martin Ume, Kelly Ng, Dave Zimman, Gary Wakai, Bob Grady, Sam Jamieson, Karlis Celle, Tom Schultz, Clint Makino, Ron Kreutner, Steve Feller, Dave Litz, Eric Plett and Johnny Henderson. Rob Patrick (now at UT) used to come play when his coaching at Stanford allowed. Recently Craig Buell from Stanford has visited. And let's not forget Vahe Petrosian, who is considered by some the best 65+ year old player in the country. And yes, he can still compete with the young guys.
There have only been four members elected to the Burgess Hall of Fame. Jim Pinkerton (All-American with JVB who was selected on his 50th birthday and is still playing in the Club), Mike Falco (Coed All-American who was forced to retire from volleyball because of an injury), Scott Geenen (All-American with JVB and one of the founding fathers/original members of the Burgess Volleyball Club. They say if you can only play one game of volleyball in your life, play it with Scotty) and Eric Winston (All-American with JVB who moved to Utah). The first Thursday of every month is JP Night in honor of Jim and the winning team that night receives a free pitcher at the Oasis. In honor of Mike, first time guests are under a Falco Scholarship and get to play for free. To honor Scotty, he gets to start the hitting lines each night by being the first to spike a ball. And there always seems to be at least one toast to Eric, or at Eric, over at the Oasis after the Club.
Some former members: Tony LeFebre and George Reddan moved out of the area. We miss seeing those guys, along with Shane Fields and Len Sherman, who retired. Tony could beat you in a lot of different ways. George was also a very good all-around player and one of the premier back-row players in the region, bar-none. George has traveled from Idaho to join up with the Fog at the Huntsman Games while Tony has put in some fine games as libero for the Fog at the Nationals. Len was a fine setter and a very supportive teammate while Shane could hit a real heavy ball when he was healthy. Long-time member Eric Bell retired due to various injuries and family obligations. Eric was always known as a good jumper, good server, good competitor and still coaches part-time.
Current members of the Burgess Volleyball Club include the previously mentioned Jim Pinkerton and Scott Geenen; Dave Brodhead (that last sideout was provided by Dave's 17,465th career tool off the blockers' hands); Paul Mannheimer (Paul's in the Club because he is a terrific passer and digger, good all-around player and he has a nice family); Major Moise (member of Just Volleyball, opponents have had to deal with his serve and cross-court attack for a long time, though he moved out of the area a while back, Major still comes to visit from time to time); Greg Close (the glue that keeps the Fog together, responsible for much of the success of the senior teams in this region, currently on hiatus traveling and living in Hawaii); Ken Toy (great athlete, keeps the old guys working hard, and now that a few years have passed, does the same thing to the real young guys); Michael Graham (great all-around player, continues to receive awards and accolades for his setting accomplishments with the Fog); Terry Troy (he can hammer with the best of them and outlift most); Ron Young (who has retired but it was said two-thirds of the earth's surface was covered by water, the other third by Ron Young); Scott Bridge (he can do it all: set, hit outside, used to block middle when he was younger and he can still lead the way at the "O"); Dave Unietis (outside hitter for the Fog who has led them to many victories and gaining fame at the Nationals as one of the top opposites around); Phil Coyle (coach, teacher and all-around player--the kind of guy you want on your team); Craig Lauchner (former All-American at Stanford and a member of the US National Team, Craig can set, hit outside or block middle--still one of the best players ever in Northern California); Rick Hoopes (former high-jump champion and middle blocker who can hang with the young guys and still one of the best choices to have on your side of the net); Kirk Anderson (who considers himself the luckiest guy in the region for getting to play with these guys every week--plus he owns all the volleyballs so they have to let him play); Ralph Conway (fills whatever role you need on your team and will play the game a foot higher than you expect him to); John Hindenach (JVB middle blocker who used to toy with the young guys; well-known all over the country as one of the true gentlemen in the game of volleyball); Max Kernaghan (doesn't play at the Club anymore but we still get to see those good hands of his at the age-group tournaments); Ric Munds (in his prime, Ric could hit outside with anyone in the region and still can bring it); Doug Menke (talented and athletic middle blocker--where else would a Deadhead play except middle for 6 Rivers and the Fog?); Jimmy Fong (one of the legends in this region, his influence touched many. Continued to coach and teach even after his Club days and playing career were cut short due to injuries); Mal Taylor (a key member of JVB and a former coach, Mal is a great guy to play with and understands the mental aspects of the game as well as any. He's cutting back on his playing these days and he's missed); Frank Fredericksen (one of the outside hitters for the Fog who can beat you in the backrow as well as at the net); Eric Winston (somehow he beats you; you don't know how and you don't know why, but he still does it and does it well--moved to Utah--someone's gain, someone's loss); Peter Bins (one of the better athletes at the Club and a very good middle blocker and hitter, brings a lot of enthusiasm to the Thursday games); Sean Graham (can play any position well, just ask him--he adds a lot of energy when he's healthy); Robert Markert (member of JVB, it was fun to watch a guy get better as he got older, and he was very good to begin with); Ivan Posva (one of the European guys who has brought up the level of the Club--solid middle player who can dominate a game); Mike Fitzner (another player from Europe who could bring some serious left-handed heat until he left for Microsoft up in Seattle); Olivier LeChenne (a nice man and a good ball player who can do it all--his training in Europe has given him some great ball-handling skills); Aini Nollendorfs (for many years one of the best middles in the region--he can still play with any 5 players at the Club and make them contenders--hoping he can stay healthy for an extended period of time these days); Jeff Couthren (hard hitter, good passer, brings a lot of energy and fun to the Club and also importantly, to the Oasis afterwards); Bryan Garbo (from Cal Poly, talk about a talented young guy who could bring the energy level up when he walked into the gym--good hitter and great passer--moved up to the City and the Club has to share him with his family these days); Brian Fitzpatrick (another former Cal Poly player, great all-around talent who everyone wants to play with--can he keep his knees healthy is the big question); Dylan Herrick (UOP grad, one of the hardest hitters around and although he moved up to SF and we rarely see him, we can still hear him rattling the bleachers up there on some of his hits); Chuck Fannin (long-time player at the Club whose 6'10" presence at the net goes hand in hand with being of the truly nice guys around, thank goodness); Robert Hundt (one of the Euro players, Robert played in the Bundesliga in Germany. What's the German phrase for "A huge force at the net?"); Mike Biagini (one of the NCVA AA captains, good outside hitter, fine passer and an even nicer guy); Mario Ruiz (former collegiate setter in his younger days and then with the Cal Men's Club team recently, Mario is off studying in Chicago and we hope he returns soon); Matt Piazza (former UC Santa Cruz middle who has helped bring more talent and fun to the Club in recent years) and our newest member Matt Harrell (former UC Davis middle who is making sure everyone reaches high when they try to hit cross court, Matt can play the game well above the net).
Some other former Club Members: Roman Darewych played at the Club for a few years. He was from Canada and now has moved to Australia. After Roman began playing with us, we noticed how each week he seemed to play better and better. After a while we all came to the conclusion that we just didn't realize how good of an all-around player he was when we first met him. Roman was one of the most well- liked players ever at Burgess (right up there with Christoph from Germany, a great middle blocker) and we all miss him. He could play some ball and even more importantly, hold his own at the Oasis. Amar Varma was working his way up the guest list to join the Club until he took a job in Canada. We enjoy his occasional visits.
Current guests include Robin and Mike Geenen, who we hope to have join the Club eventually. Other guests these days are Joerg Bertholdt, Mark Gallo, Mitch Ahiers, Plat, Steve Lin and other talented, young guys who will probably be running Burgess in the future. Where's Jason Tripp when you need him? A good guy and skilled player who is busy following his coaching career, but we sure like it when he stops by.
Each week, it's games for fun on Thursdays at Burgess. During the summer, the Club turns into the IVL Men's Open League. The best ball around outside of a Men's AA tournament. During the rest of the year, guests can play at the Club but they need to be brought by a Club member. The Club went to rally scoring when the rules changed and although it took a while to get adjusted (we miss those great comebacks) it has eliminated those long games that held up both courts. Every Thursday, the members can sign up with whoever they want to, or whoever will have them. Some people float around, some play with the same team each week. With two courts at Burgess Gym, there's a winner's court and a challenge court. Although it's all for fun, games can be pretty competitive especially when there are 5 teams. No one wants to lose on the challenge court because you have to sit out. The best thing about the Club is that it's good volleyball without people being jerks about it. Not to sound old-fashioned, but that seems to be the exception rather than the rule these days.
Some of the members say it's the spirit of the Club that has kept it going all these years, and others say going to the Oasis Restaurant in Menlo Park afterwards has been the key. Cornelius took care of us for many years, then it was Bobby, then Francisco, and now it's Bobby again. I do know one thing and that is I wish there were more opportunities for people to play in something like the Burgess Volleyball Club. The sport of volleyball would only be better for it.
The KINGS MOUNTAIN FOG pulled off the trifecta in 2005, winning the USA Nationals in Denver, the Huntsman World Senior Games in St. George and the World Championships in Edmonton defeating former World and Olympic Champion Poland in the finals.
2001 Silver Medal
2002 Gold Medal
2003 Gold Medal
2004 Gold Medal
2005 Bronze Medal
2006 4th Place
2001 Gold Medal
2002 Silver Medal
2003 4th place
2004 Gold Medal
2005 Gold Medal
2006 Silver Medal
2005 Silver Medal
2006 Silver Medal
Michael Graham has been named MVP on more than one occasion. Also selected to the All-American team from among the Burgess Club players: Dave Unietis, Rick Hoopes and Greg Close.
2003 Silver Medal
2004 Gold Medal
2005 Gold Medal
2004 Silver Medal
2005 Silver Medal
A summary of JUST VOLLEYBALL'S recent move into the 55's and 60's, after having been one of the two most successful age group teams in the 45's and 50's.
2000 Gold Medal
2001 Silver Medal
2002 Silver Medal
2003 Gold Medal
2004 Silver Medal
Jon Stanley has won the MVP twice while playing with Just Volleyball and the following players have all been selected All-American at one time or another: Scott Geenen, Robert Markert, Major Moise, Jim Pinkerton, Vahe Petrosian, Mal Taylor and Eric Winston.
2002 First Year (coach: Phil Coyle)
2003 Bronze Medal (coach: Phil Coyle)
2006 Gold Medal (coach: Kim Oden)
All-Americans for the 40's have included Aini Nollendorfs, Craig Lauchner, and Joerg Bertholdt.
[Next (IVL Home Page)] [Prev (Who Runs the IVL?)] [IVL Home Page] [Gremlins, Unlimited]
Industrial Volleyball League, Inc.
Kirk Anderson, Director
947 Emerald Hill Road
Redwood City, CA 94061
650-365-2666 9am-5pm M-F
650-367-0881 (fax)
ivlinc@aol.com
The IVL Home Page is provided by Paul Sander