It’s the Ideal Habitat for Becker : Volleyball: As a senior at Mater Dei, he was a player without a program. But he’s found his niche with U.S. Olympic team.

Nick Becker compares making the U.S. Olympic volleyball team to Social Darwinism, a theory in which people who survive are those best adapted to their environment.

So in order to survive, you must first have an environment in which to thrive.

And for Becker, that hasn’t always been the case.

Becker was looking forward to his senior season with the Mater Dei High team in 1986. But before he could pound a kill, Mater Dei had already killed the program.

Instead of impressing college scouts that spring, Becker was playing pickup basketball games in nearby parks and at the Balboa Bay Club.

“School officials never gave us a clear explanation for cutting the program,” Becker said. “Mater Dei has a great athletic program, but volleyball was always at the bottom of the totem pole.

“Maybe the drill team needed new uniforms or something. There’s such an emphasis at Mater Dei on football, basketball and baseball, as well as the band and the drill team.”

Becker was bitter about the decision.

“Real bitter,” he said. “That was the reason I wasn’t offered any (college) scholarships that year.”

Becker enjoys telling the Mater Dei story now, adding that he doesn’t carry much of a grudge against the school anymore. The Monarchs later revived the program, and made the Southern Section playoffs in 1991.

But those bitter feelings six years ago may have provided Becker with enough motivation to make the Olympic team. He was a walk-on at USC, overcame two knee operations and helped the Trojans win NCAA titles in 1988 and ’90.

He joined the U.S. national B team after graduating with an economics degree in 1991. The B team, made up mainly of college players, won a silver medal at the World University Games that summer.

By September, Becker was training with the national team.

By June, he had made the 12-player Olympic roster, beating out some players who had as much as three years’ experience with the team.

Included in that group was his roommate, Dan Hanan, a former Edison High standout who was among the last players cut.

“It’s tough,” said Becker, who shares a Pacific Beach apartment with Hanan. “Dan’s a great guy and a great roommate. He has improved a ton since he has been here. I hope he comes back (in 1993). I think he has a great future.”

Becker, a 6-foot-4 outside hitter, is one of four former USC players on the Olympic team. He grew up in Newport Beach before moving to USC, just as two-time gold medalist Steve Timmons did.

While at USC, Becker heard stories of Timmons’ intensity and work ethic in practice.

When Timmons and several other veterans returned to the national team in April, Becker saw it first-hand.

“All those guys bring something to the court every day,” Becker said.

Becker discovered he had a lot of room for improvement when he began training with the team in San Diego.

He was a solid passer and hitter in college, but his blocking and aggressiveness at the net needed work. A reserve, he’s expected to spell starters Bob Ctvrtlik and Scott Fortune.

“Passing is still my role on the team,” Becker said. “But I came in and had to prove myself as a blocker, and that I could carry a bigger load.

“I was happy when I made the team, but I was pretty low-key about it. It’s great to be going to Barcelona, but there’s something to be said about winning the whole thing.”

Becker will celebrate his 24th birthday July 30 in Barcelona, four days after the United States opens Olympic play against Japan.

Becker has been playing volleyball nearly half his life. He’s the only one of Nick and Maria Becker’s three children to play the sport past the high school level.

Short and thin, he participated on Mater Dei’s freshman-sophomore team in his first two years. He played with the Balboa Bay Club after his sophomore year, and started on the varsity as a junior.

Then he began growing.

Becker, 5-7 as a freshman, grew to 6-2 by his senior year. He weighed only 170 pounds, and his lanky body led some people to think he was uncoordinated. He blames the growth spurt for the knee problems he had later in his career.

“I grew way too fast,” he said. “My body never had a chance to catch up.”

Soccer was the only sport Becker played as a senior. He earned All-Southern Section and all-league honors as a halfback.

But he knew his future was in volleyball, and he had hopes of getting at least a partial scholarship if he had a strong senior season.

He got neither.

With the volleyball team cut, Becker had no place to showcase his skills.

UC Santa Barbara, Cal State Long Beach and George Mason showed interest in him, but offered no scholarship money.

Becker considered transferring to Newport Harbor at the start of his senior year, when he learned that the volleyball program had been cut.

“I gave it a lot of thought,” he said. “But I knew I wanted to graduate from Mater Dei. That’s where I had spent the first three years.”

Becker enrolled at USC, following his older sister, Monica, and he walked on the volleyball team. He sat out his first year after undergoing arthroscopic surgery to repair torn cartilage in his left knee.

He was a role player the next two years, serving and playing back-row positions before landing a starting job at outside hitter on the Trojans’ 1990 national championship team.

Becker and the Trojans barely missed a third title in four years. They lost to Brent Hilliard and Cal State Long Beach in the 1991 NCAA finals.

Now, Becker and Hilliard are teammates on the Olympic team, younger players learning as much as they can, and waiting for a spot in the starting lineup.

“Being around the veterans makes you a great player,” Becker said. “You’re forced to make better plays when you’re around them.

“That’s why it’s like Social Darwinism, only the strongest will survive. Either you get better, or you won’t make it.”