Hambly Humble About Volleyball Future

A future in the Olympics and a career in professional volleyball likely lie before him, while an outstanding college career now lies in his wake.

But Kevin Hambly wonders if he’s worthy.

More than a month after the Royal High alumnus learned he was a first-team All-American selection by the American Volleyball Coaches Assn. and Volleyball magazine, Hambly still has trouble believing he’s that good.

“I kind of can’t grasp it--like I wasn’t good enough, maybe,” he said.

Hambly was plenty good enough. The 6-foot-7, 205-pound senior middle blocker led Brigham Young in five offensive categories during the 1995 season. He had 425 kills in 91 games.

But what makes Hambly uneasy about his status is he’s still learning the sport. Until his senior year at Royal, Hambly played volleyball merely to stay in shape for basketball, his first love.

But by the time of his graduation in 1991, it was clear no basketball recruiter wanted him as an oversized guard or an undersized forward. His future was in volleyball.

“The All-American honor means a lot,” he said, “because I look at all the other guys that made it.”

Many past honorees now play for the U.S. Olympic team, or cash in on the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals beach volleyball tour. Those athletes became Hambly’s role models after he reluctantly gave up on his dream to play college basketball.

Somehow he can’t see himself rising to their elite status.

Said Hambly, “It’s kind of a shock.”

Royal Coach Bob Ferguson, who persuaded Hambly to play in high school, thinks he’s good enough to soon be playing with those role models.

“He’s got an opportunity to take it beyond, whether it’s the pro league in Italy, the Olympic team or beach volleyball, because he’s very mobile for someone 6-7 and can play all aspects of the game, not just kill and block,” Ferguson said.

“By the time he was a senior [at Royal],” Ferguson added, “he was playing in the back row, playing defense for us. Kevin would go get it, wherever it was.”

Ferguson’s right. Hambly averaged a nation-leading two blocks a game, but just as impressive were his 117 digs. He was fourth on the team in that category.

But Hambly is not so keen on his game.

“I wasn’t that good my senior year [of high school],” he said. “I have a long way to go still. Parts of my game are really good, but parts are really bad, like my back-row defense and my serving.

“I’m inconsistent in those things. Sometimes I’m on fire with my jump serve and other times I can’t keep it in the gym.”

And when it comes to pondering his future in this growing sport, Hambly is noncommittal.

He spent the past two summers in the front row of the USA “B” Team, which played tournaments in Europe. In 1993, he competed in the U.S. Olympic Festival. But Hambly said those experiences had no bearing on his chances to make the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.

“[The ‘B’ Team] is really a college all-star team, so it’s hard to say,” he said. “I really haven’t had a strong sense of it, and I haven’t had a chance to work out with the ‘A’ Team.

“But I was always kind of looking past BYU and hoping to make it a career. People told me I could probably go beyond BYU, and I believed it. So I’m going to make it a goal.”

Hambly appears to have the athletic talent, and, at 22, he still has plenty of time to develop. A more realistic goal, he said, is to shoot for the 2000 Olympics and to play part time on the AVP Tour in the interim.

He plans to play in an AVP qualifying tournament in Chicago later this month.

His top priority is to graduate from BYU next year with a degree in recreation management. He also has signed on as a graduate-assistant coach for the Cougar men’s team next season.

“If I don’t end up playing somewhere, I want to coach,” Hambly said.

“I want to be in volleyball for a long time.”