Gold Standard

By USC Athletics Black History Month

February 13^th, 2020

Trailblazers forge paths without knowing the final destination. They introduce society to an updated version of human potential with no limit in sight. They leave bread crumbs for people to follow. They raise ceilings for others to break.

“There hasn’t been an African-American male to win a major [beach volleyball] tournament since me,” Dain Blanton said in a tone tinged with disappointment.

“That’s crazy. It’s been 23 years.”

USC beach volleyball’s head coach was the first to do it at the 1997 AVP Hermosa Grand Slam, and remains the only.

Blanton fell in love with the game when he was a little boy lost in a sea of spectators at the AVP Laguna Beach Open in his hometown. Hundreds of fans arrived the night before to secure their seats on the sand, and the sun blazed down as an intense competition took place on one of the world’s best beaches. The energy captured him, and he knew he’d be on that court one day, even if he had to work harder than others did.

“If I put the effort in, I can get to here,” Blanton said as he raised his hand high above his head. “Rather than, ‘Oh, I’ve only been given this much talent so here’s my top end.’” Blanton kept his hand below his collarbone. “Once you have that mindset that anything is possible with work, that’s when everything switches.”

It’s a growth mindset that Blanton employed when there was only one match left at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Ninth-seeded USA had already stunned the world by making it to the finals, and Blanton warmed up his mental game for the last time.

His earphones were in, blasting the background music to his own highlight reel that rolled through his head. He imagined sprawling across the sand to pick up the ball and putting it away as the beat dropped. Over and over again, his perfect technique helped him make spectacular plays in his mind.

He then went out and did it in front of thousands of spectators on Sydney’s Bondi Beach to upset No. 1 Brazil alongside partner Eric Fonoimoana, and bring home the gold.

Four years later, Blanton played in Athens to become the first ever two-time male beach volleyball Olympian. He also remains as the sport's only African-American Olympic gold medalist.

Visualization exercises have been key to Blanton’s routine since he began playing professionally in 1994. It’s his way of constantly putting effort in to improve his game. But Blanton knows he was one of the lucky few who grew up by the beach, with the opportunity to pursue beach volleyball.

To combat children’s lack of access to beach volleyball, Blanton started “Dain’s Day at the Beach” in 1997, a charity that partnered with the local YMCA or Boys and Girls Club at AVP tour stops to introduce youth to the sport. It hit close to home for Blanton, who learned to play sports at the Boys and Girls Club of Laguna Beach. He set up a clinic to teach children the fundamentals before inviting them to watch him play in a tournament on center court, where the stands were big, the crowds were bigger and the energy was electric.

The goal was to give those kids the same feeling that Blanton had as a young boy. But when he would leave on tour, there wasn’t enough coaching or equipment to sustain interest in the sport.

“I was trying to introduce more minorities to the sport. It’s a tough sell because it doesn’t get the exposure [or] have the access, so it’s concentrated towards the nicer weather and the beach,” Blanton said. “Which makes sense for beach volleyball, whereas indoor can be played anywhere.”

He’s seen more diversity on the women’s side, but Blanton believes it can be better as a whole. Especially for men, the numbers of an NBA deal, for example, often overshadow the allure of beach volleyball.

Blanton’s growth mindset reminds him that better diversity, access and exposure can be achieved with hard work.

“I just haven’t cracked the code,” he said.

But trying something new has never fazed the Olympic gold medalist, who eventually became a successful broadcaster and motivational speaker. Even after spending five years as the Los Angeles Clippers’ sideline reporter, where he flew luxury charters and stayed at the Ritz, Blanton says that he finally has his dream job –– standing barefoot in the sand at the helm of USC’s beach volleyball team.

“Even before I got this job, I said, ‘If I could pick a job, it would be this one,’” he said.

In the four years that Blanton volunteered as an assistant coach with the team, he won back-to-back-to-back national championships and quickly felt at home around USC’s high standard for excellence. It’s exactly what he wants for his team, and for beach volleyball.

“I love that I was a pioneer in the sport, but it’s unfortunate I couldn’t spark more participation, because for a sport to be really successful it has to be diverse. The more people playing the sport, the better for everybody and the more reflective it is of the world that we live in,” he said. “It’s unfortunate that there hasn’t been someone to follow me.”

Dain Blanton has raised a ceiling, and he hopes that someone will come crashing through.

Blanton begins his first campaign as USC's head coach on Feb. 29 when the Women of Troy open the 2020 season at the Hilton Head Island Invitational. Click Here to learn more about USC Beach Volleyball.