Sean Rooney Featured by USA Volleyball
4/29/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
by B.J. Evans
USA Volleyball
reprinted with permission of the author
April 25, 2008
Former beach volleyball player Sean Rooney knew he had really left his previous life behind when he was playing indoor volleyball for a Russian professional team this winter.
Rooney, 25, hasn’t had much time to recover from his time playing for Dinamo-Yantar in
After the Four Nations Tournament in Germany (May 11-13), the U.S. Men will face Argentina at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Exhibition for Volleyball on May 27 at the Bren Center in Irvine, Calif.
The team will travel to Winnipeg for the Pan American Cup on June 2-7 before beginning the grueling six-week (seven if it competes in the final round) 2008 FIVB World League series, which will include U.S. stops in Hoffman Estates, Ill. (June 20-21 against Bulgaria), in Green Bay, Wis. (June 27-28 against Finland), and in Bloomington Ill. (July 11-12 against Spain).
As luck would have it for Rooney, it is the second year that the team will be playing near his hometown of Wheaton, Ill., a suburb of Chicago (Hoffman Estates is also outside Chicago), where he played volleyball for Wheaton-Warrenville South High School.
“The way that has worked out for me and my family is great,” Rooney said. “I don’t have a whole lot of time to make it back to see them. It’s great to be able to play in front of friends and family.”
In 2001, Rooney left
“It seems pretty far back, especially after spending time in very different locations in Europe and
After leaving Pepperdine, Rooney played two seasons on the AVP’s beach volleyball tour and found some success. But with the 2008 Olympic Games on the horizon, Rooney joined the U.S. Men’s National Team at the beginning of 2007.
The transition was not easy and it was about a lot more than trading bare feet for shoes. Although Rooney had played two seasons of professional volleyball in
“I had never played at such a high level before,” Rooney said. “Part of it was serve-receive. When you are facing some of the best servers in the world, there is not a lot of room for error.”
“Sean has always been a very physical and talented volleyball athlete,” McCutcheon said. “But to play successfully at the international level, he had to improve his technique so he could be a little more consistent.
“The thing that’s good about Sean is that he’s very coachable. You can tell him to do something and he will implement it right away. That’s a big part of why he has improved so quickly.”
Rooney’s first big breakthrough came at the 2007 Pan American Games in July in
Rooney had to sit out the NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship in September in
Rooney’s best tournament so far came at the 2008 NORCECA Olympic Qualifier in January in
Rooney does not know yet whether he will be on the U.S. Men’s Team that competes in
“When I came back indoors, I missed the beach a little,” he admitted. “But I’ve reconnected with indoor. There is so much to learn. I’m really excited for this year and the coming years.”
Get more information on the U.S. Men competing in the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Exhibition for Volleyball at www.usavolleyball.org/VolleyballNews/news.asp?id=2145.
