Key Points, Top Takeaways and Memorable Quotes -
“Irrespective of what your political opinions might be, nevermind, what they are, it’s always great to see, like leaders, natural leaders.” 7:16
“Being an Olympic Gold Medalist and player, I like winners. Even in politics, I like winners, both sides. You don’t have to like someone’s politics to like how good they are.” 7:42
“So there’s really only two reasons why you lose a volleyball match; you’re better and you lose or they’re better and you lose.” 19:30
“If you want to be the world’s best beach volleyball player, I say it all the time, ok, you hit it where they’re not.” 27:07
“So you wanna get 25% better, stop looking at the ball.” 28:21
“You’re not trying to dig the ball, you’re trying to get in the right spot.” 29:31
“There’s nothing that happens to you that's not normal and natural.” 32:35
“If you try to run away from that, you’re kind of running away from yourself, and I don’t know if that’s gonna work.” 35:57
“It’s not what happens to you, it’s how you interpret it that will get you in trouble all the time.” 40:17
“My dad got me to the coaches that were gonna make me better.” 46:03
“Competitive greatness is wanting to be there at that moment.” 55:36
Guest Bio -
Kent Steffes is one of beach volleyball’s all time greats. Hw earned the AVP No. 1 ranking at age 22, the youngest player to do so in the history of the sport. Steffes and Karch Kiraly won the inaugural beach volleyball gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics. Steffes' career lasted from 1988 until 1999, and in 2020 was inducted into the USA Volleyball Hall of Fame as All-Time Great Male Beach Player Award.
Steffes graduated from UCLA in 1993 with a bachelor's degree in economics. In 2000 he enrolled in the Graduate School of Business at Stanford, where he graduated in 2002. He has two children and lives in Los Angeles where he writes and works in the financial industry.
Steffes is the co-author of the book Kings of Summer: The Rise of Beach Volleyball, which chronicles the rise of beach volleyball from a 1970s rebel culture to inclusion in the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.
Show Notes -
0:00 - WIMTS Intro
0:32 - Introducing Kent Steffes
0:53 - Welcome to Kent
1:24 - AVP Beach Volleyball in Fresno During the 90’s
3:59 - Background in California Politics
7:52 - Attributes of a Winner & Role of MainStream Media
11:26 - Where Do You Get Your News?
13:40 - 1996: 1st Year for Beach Volleyball in the Olympics
15:45 - Two Best Friends Become Mortal Enemies
21:42 - Playing with Karch Kiraly & How to Raise a Champion
23:30 - My Kids Play Softball & Football
24:02 - Training Competition with Your Kids
32:04 - BB Commercial
32:13 - Preparation & Acceptance of Anxiety
41:28 - Sports are Challenging & Teach Us How to Handle Adversity
42:50 - Fascinated with Winning
44:53 - Role of Better Coaching
48:58 - Concept of Ego Death
50:59 - Playing Free & Practicing
56:13 - Miles Partain & AVP Ranks
57:53 - Stanford Business School & Beach Volleyball Business Plan
1:03:20 - Beach Volleyball Player Personalities
1:06:37 - Business Plan Can Work for Any Olympic Style Sport
1:09:14 - Streaming of Beach Volleyball & College Sports
1:13:10 - Kent’s Ideal Sports Podcast & Sports Lessons
1:15:09 - One Piece of Advice
1:19:30 - Where Can People Find You?
1:20:52 - WIMTS Closing
Links & Where to Find Kent -
Book: Kings of Summer by Kent Steffes & Travis Merwhirter
News Sources: Colonel Cassad; Telegram; The Sacker; Mood of Alabama; The Son of the New American Revolution
FB - @Kent Steffes
Email - Kent@kentsteffes.com
Phone - 310.991.5368
