Karch Kiraly Quotes
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In high school, some of the guys were really into music. When I first joined the team as a sophomore, I was blown away when we came out for our first home match. I'm getting goose bumps just thinking about it. The seniors would bring their whole stereo system. We started by yelling and stuff inside this little room just off the gym; then the coaches said, "Ready. Go!" We threw open the door and came running out. Even when I hear the songs now I get all jacked up.
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I still get excited just attending a final four, because the process is so long, so arduous, so challenging, that when it finally arrives, the adrenaline can't help but take over. I love the sense of accomplishment and camaraderie that the indoor game can engender.
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It was really an exciting time trying to find my way from being a boy to becoming a man being toe to toe and eye to eye with grown men, even though I was only 11 or 12.
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Practice like it's competition and compete like it's another day on the practice court.
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I played a kid's game, I got to do it at the beach, and I was able to support my family. I consider myself incredibly lucky.
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We play at the world's most beautiful beaches but in the world's most challenging conditions. It is not like you play one match and you go back to air conditioning. We do it all day long.
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I don't have to get myself pumped up or calm myself down. As we get into the later rounds of a tournament and there is more at stake, I have even more adrenaline. If we make the finals, it's just an extra opportunity to win a tournament at my age. That doesn't come along that often.
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Physically I'm not as strong as I was, but I try to make up for it mentally. It's a big challenge, and I relish it, competing with guys half my age.
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It's hard to give a career like this up, when I tell my wife I'm going to the office, and it's the beach.
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The indoor game is much more of a team game, having to work effectively with a group of 15 to 20 people, striving to improve every day, every drill, even every contact. The beach game is much more of an individual game within a team sport, much less about organized practices with coaches and much more about just playing the game.
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It's a serve and pass game.
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When you’ve done everything you can to train yourself for competition, you’ll sleep well when the tournament is over, win or lose.
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A lot of guys are out there with their iPods. I'm not one of them. I just never really got into it.
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I never did. I only prepared to win the next day.