Al Scates - Part 1

Al Scates Part 1 Interview:   The  Beginning.  

 Coach Scates discusses:

- His Early years growing up in his family with a truck driver dad  who was an alcoholic and how it impacted him as a child and for the rest of his life,    his start in the sport of  volleyball, seeing Gene Selznick for the first time at State Beach,  how amazing Gene was as a player and one-of-a kind personality and the entourage he drew,  playing with Sharon Peterson in a mixed indoor tournament at Santa Monica College, playing on the beach with Walt Schiller, and Bob Mendoza to "cut his teeth" as a rookie., the best hitters he saw in that era indoors:  Bill Olsson, Ivans Bugajenkov of Russia, & Ernie Suwara,  his respect for coach  Colonel Burt DeGroot and his SMC teams, some funny stories of Keith Erickson playing for him when he thought Basketball Coach Wooden and the Athletic Director Wilbur were going to fire him for letting Erickson play volleyball for UCLA despite Coach Wooden's strict orders NOT to let basketball stud Erickson play, and how Coach Scates got his job as the official UCLA Volleyball coach ( coaching for free as he was trying out for the '64 Men''s Olympic Volleyball team and couldn't accept a coaching salary ) and how the UCLA Athletic Director at the time  said:  "In that case son, Your're HIRED!"   The rest, as they say, is history!   :)

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