Michael Dodd (born August 20, 1957) is an American retired professional

beach volleyball Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two to four players each on a sand court divided by a net. Similar to indoor volleyball, the objective of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's side o ...

player who attended

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CS ...

. With his partner Mike Whitmarsh, he won the silver medal in the men's inaugural beach volleyball tournament at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. Since winning silver in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, he has worked the Olympic Games of 2000 as a beach analyst and 2004 as an indoor analyst for NBC. In 2008, Dodd coached AVP stars Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal in the Beijing Olympics. Dodd also captained Team USA to a win over Brazil's best players in the inaugural AVP World Challenge in 2009. Born and raised in

Manhattan Beach, California Manhattan Beach is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, on the Coastal California, Pacific coast south of El Segundo, California, El Segundo, west of Hawthorne, California, Hawthorne and Redondo Beach, and north ...

and a

Mira Costa High School Mira Costa High School (MCHS, "Costa") is a four-year public high school located in Manhattan Beach, California that first opened 1950. It is the only high school in the Manhattan Beach Unified School District. The school's athletic teams are k ...

alumnus, Dodd won five Manhattan Open titles. In 2009, he became the first person to coach the men's and women's champions of the same Manhattan Open ( Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal, and Nicole Branagh and

Elaine Youngs Elaine Youngs (born February 14, 1970, in Orange, California) is an American former professional volleyball player who competed both indoors and on the beach. Youngs attended UCLA, where as a freshman she started on a team that went undefeated ...

). Dodd was named AVP Sportsman of the Year in 1994 and 1996 and AVP Most Inspirational Player three times in a row from 1995 to 1997. Since earning his AAA volleyball rating at age 16, Dodd has represented the

United States men's national volleyball team The United States men's national volleyball team represents the country in international competitions and friendly matches. The team is governed by USA Volleyball, and it has won six Olympic medals, with three of them gold. History As the birt ...

and played professionally in Italy, in addition to his AVP career as a player and coach. He is in the California Beach Volleyball Association Hall of Fame. In 2012, Dodd was inducted into the International Volleyball Hall of Fame. One of beach volleyball's all-time greats, Dodd won 75 titles in his illustrious 18-year career and a silver medal in the first Olympics to feature beach volleyball. He also played basketball while at San Diego State for four years; in fact, he was drafted by the hometown San Diego Clippers in

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

(9th round, 176th overall pick), but ultimately decided that playing competitive volleyball was his calling because basketball is too physical for him.

Awards and honors

* AVP Best Defensive Player 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997 * AVP Best Spiker 1989 * AVP Most Inspirational 1995, 1996, 1997 * AVP Sportsman of the Year 1994, 1996

References

External links

* *
Player profile at Goaztecs.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dodd, Mike 1957 births Living people Beach volleyball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics Olympic beach volleyball players for the United States Olympic medalists in beach volleyball Sportspeople from Manhattan Beach, California San Diego Clippers draft picks San Diego State Aztecs men's basketball players San Diego State Aztecs men's volleyball players American men's beach volleyball players Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics American men's basketball players 20th-century American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen Mira Costa High School alumni International Volleyball Hall of Fame inductees