Hatchett Finding Her Voice on the Court

For years, coaches have tried to encourage Marissa Hatchett to be more vocal on the volleyball court.

Although she remains less than gregarious, Hatchett has been making her voice heard lately in the Bud Light Pro Beach Volleyball League. The result has been two consecutive victories for Team Norelco in the last two tournaments, at St. Louis and St. Paul, Minn.

Hatchett, who played at Sunny Hills High and UCLA, also had a league-record 20 blocks to help Norelco to a victory in the first tournament of the season, in May at Clearwater, Fla., and she leads the league in blocks with 58.

“She has been so aggressive, it is unbelievable,” said Team Norelco Captain Samantha Shaver, who played at UCLA with Hatchett. “It’s like a different person.”

Hatchett will lead Team Norelco in a league tournament at 10 a.m. Friday at Huntington Beach.

The change in Hatchett has not been fundamental. Rather, it has simply been the surfacing of some of the intensity that lies beneath her always-composed exterior.

“I used to accuse her all the time of being lazy in practice and I would punish the whole team for it,” Sunny Hills Coach Ron Kasser said. “It doesn’t look like she’s working that hard, but she is. It took me a long time to figure that out.”

As a senior, Hatchett led Sunny Hills to its first Southern Section championship and was selected Division 3-A player of the year.

At UCLA, Hatchett led the Bruins back from a 2-0 deficit against Long Beach State in the 1991 NCAA final to win a second consecutive national championship.

“She can be very dominating and her presence is very well felt by the opponent and yet she never appears to want to be that way,” UCLA Coach Andy Banachowski said.

After finishing her eligibility in 1992 as one of the top blockers in UCLA’s history, Hatchett and former Bruin teammate Natalie Williams headed to the beach in Santa Monica one day to see if they had what it took to play on the sand.

It was their first time playing on the sand and they didn’t even have a beach volleyball. They stumbled around awkwardly on a remote court for a while before some UCLA fans recognized them. Hatchett and Williams fled the beach in embarrassment.

Determined, Hatchett returned and sought coaching from Anna Collier, who also coaches former Bruin Holly McPeak, one of the top WPVA players. Collier was struck by Hatchett’s reticence.

“I would always say, ‘What, Marissa, we’re playing silent volleyball?’ ” she said.

Hatchett responds to these comments with a knowing sigh.

“I have a great desire to do things, but just the way I express it isn’t the way that someone else [might]. I’m a very intense person, but I don’t grit my teeth and scream and yell,” Hatchett said. “I just like to focus on what I’m doing and the cheerleading thing I’ll leave to someone else.”

Hatchett’s ability to set her focus in athletics always has been noticeable. Her mother, Donna, saw it when Hatchett was 3 and determined to roller-skate.

“She kept falling down, but she kept doing it,” Donna said.

When Hatchett was 9, a counselor at a sports camp had to give Marissa a handicap in all the races, forcing her to wait a few seconds after everyone else before starting--even against the boys.

Hatchett began playing competitive club volleyball in junior high and was a three-time USVBA All-American selection.

Throughout her career, the only clues to Hatchett’s emotions on the court have been a little kick behind her back that indicates anger and a smile that shows elation.

Hatchett’s sister, Jamie, who played at USC from 1985-88, has a similarly placid on-court demeanor. Hatchett said their attitudes are derived from their father, James, who never showed much emotion when he played basketball at Cal State Fullerton, then called Orange State College, from 1961 to 1963.

“We’re a very mild-mannered family,” she said.

These days, Hatchett is finding it better to leave some of those manners at home.

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With a record $20,000 in prize money as a lure, the U.S. Open of Bodyboarding is expected to attract the world’s top bodyboarders next month in Huntington Beach.

“The money is one key element,” said San Clemente’s Jay Reale, “but the fact that this will be a Global Organization of Bodyboarder’s event makes it a true international contest.”

Last year, the bodyboarding portion of the U.S. Open was part of a national tour, which provided only $5,000 in cash prizes. As a result, many of the top bodyboarders did not compete since it wasn’t worthwhile to attend. But this year’s event is part of the world tour--with the prize money reflecting that--and Reale said it will be a “top-notch event.”

In addition, for the first time in U.S. Open history, women will compete in the bodyboarding event.

“This is excellent for the sport,” said Reale, who is ranked 17th on the world tour. “What people don’t realize is that women are just as good as the men. And when these women compete, it will definitely blow some minds.”

The U.S. Open of Bodyboarding coincides with the U.S. Open of Surfing, which runs Aug. 6-11 on the south side of the pier.

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After 6- to 10-foot surf at Reunion Island last week, competition at Jeffrey’s Bay in South Africa has come to a standstill with low surf delaying the competition.

Currently, Americans Kelly Slater, Taylor Knox and Chris Gallagher are still alive entering the quarterfinals. Slater, depending on whether he can make it to the semifinals, has a chance to unseat No. 1-ranked Shane Beschen of San Clemente, who was eliminated in the fourth round by Australian Shane Powell. Laguna Beach’s Jeff Booth, ranked 10th in the world, lost to Gary Elkerton of Australia in the second round.

In the women’s competition, Lisa Andersen of Ormond Beach, Fla., and Rochelle Ballard of Kauai, Hawaii, will surf with Australians Trudy Todd and Serena Brooke in the semifinals.

Competition must be completed by July 13, so no matter the conditions, surfing will resume by Friday.

On the Beach appears weekly during the summer. Witherspoon and Hamilton can be reached at (714) 966-5904.