Blanton Moves From the Waves to the Beach

Dain Blanton is compared to golf sensation Tiger Woods a lot these days. Some even call him the Jackie Robinson of beach volleyball.

Blanton is the only African American player to win a pro beach volleyball tournament and the only African American player competing full time on the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals tour.

Blanton, 25, doesn’t mind the comparisons one bit. In fact, he’s thrilled to be thought of as the Tiger Woods of the beach.

“There are similarities in that both he and I are the first to do something in our sport,” Blanton said. “But there is a big difference; he’s in an established sport and can make a lot more money.”

Blanton will never make the millions that Woods already has made, but he’s doing well in a sport with no guaranteed contracts, huge purses or big-time exposure.

In only his third full season on the AVP tour, Blanton has earned $210,199 in prize money ($81,685 this year) and he has financial deals with a sunglasses and clothing company.

Blanton has quickly ascended through the AVP ranks, going from No. 29 in 1995 to No. 10 this season.

“He improved drastically last year,” said AVP veteran Mike Dodd, a silver medalist in the Atlanta Olympics. “He really made a statement and separated himself from a lot of the other young guys. He’s fun to watch.”

At the 48-team U.S. Championships in Hermosa Beach today through Sunday, Blanton and partner Canyon Ceman are seeded fifth. Kent Steffes and Jose Loiola, who have won most of the tournaments this season, are seeded No. 1.

Blanton sprained ligaments in his right ankle three weeks ago and says he may not be in full force even though a cast was removed a week ago.

But he’s excited to play in Hermosa because it was the site of the first tournament title of his career. He and Ceman beat top-ranked Steffes and Loiola in an exciting overtime final last month.

“It was really sweet because it happened in Southern California, in front of my peers and family,” Blanton said.

Blanton lives and trains in Santa Monica, but he grew up in Laguna Beach. He earned Southern Section honors in volleyball and basketball at Laguna Beach High and accepted a scholarship to play volleyball at Pepperdine because his only basketball offers came from Division II schools.

“If I stuck to volleyball I’d have the opportunity to have a better education, and that was real important to me,” said Blanton, who earned a degree in public relations at Pepperdine.

So he went on to become an All-American outside hitter who helped the Waves win the NCAA championship in 1992.

“He was a key to us winning the title,” Pepperdine Coach Marv Dunphy said. “He’s a real tough, stubborn and talented athlete. He came a long way in a short time.”

Dunphy says Blanton is the ideal player for the beach tour because he’s not spectacular in any one area but is good in many.

“He’s a complete player,” Dunphy said.

It’s a good thing, because Blanton never considered extending his indoor volleyball career past college. The U.S. national team was not appealing and neither were the European professional leagues.

Even before completing college, Blanton was eager to hit the sand, where he had played as a kid and watched many of today’s older pros compete for years.

“I just wanted to pursue my dream of playing on the beach,” Blanton said. “I love the game, and I love the lifestyle.”

Blanton would like to expose African American kids to volleyball, specially the beach game, by conducting free clinics. He recently participated in a clinic at which youths from Inglewood were given volleyball lessons at a Santa Monica beach.

Blanton explained to the kids how good grades and volleyball skills got him a free education at an expensive private college.

“A lot of kids don’t like basketball, and volleyball gives them another avenue,” Blanton said. “I was lucky to have grown up in Laguna Beach where volleyball is big, but most African American kids have no accessibility to the game.”

Blanton plans to change that and the lack of diversity on the pro beach volleyball tour.