USA Volleyball tabs 3-time Olympic medalist April Ross to head beach coach with LA Games looming
USA Volleyball has named three-time Olympic medalist April Ross as head of coaching for the beach national teams, turning to one of the country's most successful beach volleyball players after the Americans had their first-ever medal shutout in Paris.
The national governing body said the southern California native will work to improve the performance of 'our top American athletes on the international stage' as it looks ahead to hosting the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
'I'm honored to join USA Volleyball in this new role and look forward to working with our coaches and athletes to continue the legacy of success on the international stage,' Ross said. 'I've always believed in the power of collaboration, and I'm excited to be part of a team that shares that vision.'
Ross, 42, won a silver medal in London, a bronze in Rio de Janeiro and a gold medal in Tokyo — with three different partners; she also won back-to-back NCAA indoor volleyball titles at Southern California.
'April brings a unique combination of elite-level experience, deep technical knowledge, and a passion for mentoring,' said Sean Scott, director of beach national teams. 'She's competed at the highest levels and understands what it takes to succeed. I'm excited to work alongside her as we continue to build a world-class coaching culture that supports our athletes' growth and prepares them to win at the highest level.'
The Americans dominated beach volleyball after the sport that was conceived on the coasts of Hawaii and California was added to the Olympic program in 1996, winning seven of the first 14 Olympic gold medals. But the haul has sputtered as the generation that included Ross and three-time gold medalists Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings aged out.
The U.S. women failed to medal in Paris for the first time since 2000; the American men have not medaled at all since 2008.
USA Volleyball said Ross will be based at the beach volleyball training center in Torrance, California, and work to improve the quality of coaching and training at all levels of the national team program.
'April's leadership and dedication to the sport are unmatched, and we are thrilled to have her in this new role,' USA Volleyball President and CEO John Speraw said. 'She is a true champion and a mentor who understands the value of collaboration and developing the next generation of elite athletes. We are confident that her expertise will continue to elevate U.S. Beach Volleyball on the global stage, especially as we look ahead to LA 2028.'
___
AP sports:
https://apnews.com/sports
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
What is even going on here?
What is even going on here? Show Caption Hide Caption Soccer fans worry over the threat of ICE at FIFA Club World Cup Ahead of the kick-off of the FIFA Club World Cup, fans discussed fears of ICE raids impacting the soccer tournament. As U.S. President Donald Trump spoke about immigration, banning transgender people from playing sports and the possibility of war with Iran, Weston McKennie and Tim Weah stood uncomfortably just behind him. The preceding sentence is a real thing that occurred on Wednesday afternoon in Washington D.C. It may be worth reading a couple times, because the entire Oval Office scene seemed like a fever dream. But it wasn't. The U.S. men's national team pair, along with several of their Juventus teammates, visited the White House ahead of their FIFA Club World Cup opener against Al Ain later on Wednesday at Audi Field. Juventus club executives, former player Giorgio Chiellini, head coach Igor Tudor and — in yet another White House visit — FIFA president Gianni Infantino also were present for the bizarre scene. Sports teams visiting the White House isn't necessarily out of the ordinary. Championship teams across American sports are typically invited to celebrate their achievement with the president. But seeing Trump take on some of the biggest political talking points of the day with a team of soccer players behind him? That was odd, to say the least. As the fourth place finisher in Serie A stood behind him, Trump spoke about border crossings, the contentious interview between Sen. Ted Cruz and Tucker Carlson, and whether he was about to start World War III by attacking Iran. Trump even tried to goad some of the players into taking on one of his favored issues: banning transgender people from playing sports. The president asked the players behind him if they thought a women could make their team. Cue nervous laughter and silence. To his credit, Juventus general manager Damien Comolli finally broke the tension by answering that Juventus had a good women's team of its own. "See? They're very diplomatic," Trump said. Trump asks the Juventus players standing behind him if women could make their team and tries to bait them into endorsing his transphobia — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 18, 2025 Just another day in our nation's capital.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Brian Norman Jr. vs. Jin Sasaki live results, round-by-round updates, ring walks, start time for WBO title fight
WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. makes the second defense of his title against Japan's Jin Sasaki at the Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan. Uncrowned has Brian Norman Jr. vs. Jin Sasaki live results, round-by-round updates, highlights, ring walks and start time for the Norman vs. Sasaki fight card on Thursday morning at the Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan. Brian Norman Jr. defends his WBO welterweight title against Japan's Jin Sasaki in the 12-round main event. Norman Jr. (27-0, 21 KOs) was one of Uncrowned's Top 25 Under 25 in our recent ranking of up-and-coming combat sports stars. The young American upset Giovani Santillan with a 10-round knockout to win the WBO interim welterweight title in May 2024. He then was upgraded to full WBO champion following Terence Crawford's decision to relinquish the belt this past August. Norman, 24, has made one successful defense of his championship: A third-round stoppage win over Derrieck Cuevas in March on the Mikaela Mayer vs. Sandy Ryan 2 undercard. Advertisement Sasaki (19-1-1, 17 KOs) has won eight of his past nine fights since moving up to welterweight after losing his unbeaten record to Andy Hiraoka in 2021 down at super lightweight. (Hiraoka is currently the mandatory to Gary Antuanne Russell's WBA 140-pound title.) Sasaki, 23, was last in action on the Naoya Inoue vs. Ye Joon Kim undercard this past January, winning a competitive unanimous decision over Shoki Sakai. The Norman Jr. vs. Sasaki main card starts at 4 a.m. ET on ESPN+, with main event ring walks expected around 7 a.m. ET. Follow all of the action with Uncrowned's live results and play-by-play of the main card below. Main Card (4 a.m. ET, ESPN+) WBO welterweight title: Brian Norman Jr. vs. Jin Sasaki Advertisement IBF light flyweight title: Cristian Araneta vs. Thanongsak Simsri Welterweight: Sora Tanaka vs. Takeru Kobata Featherweight: Yuya Oku vs. Reiya Abe Featherweight: Ren Ohashi vs. Guangheng Luan Super middleweight: Yuito Moriwaki vs. Ha So Baek Lightweight: Seiya Yamaguchi vs. Ryosuke Kiuchi
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Lincoln Riley Catching Heat After Marcus Freeman's USC-Notre Dame Comments
Lincoln Riley Catching Heat After Marcus Freeman's USC-Notre Dame Comments originally appeared on Athlon Sports. With the landscape of college football frequently changing, certain aspects of the sport have also begun to look different over the past few years. Advertisement Whether it's the expansion of the College Football Playoff, the wild west that is NIL and the transfer portal or conference realignment, the sport looks infinitely different than it did five years ago. One of the casualties of realignment has been historic rivalries, as programs such as Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are no longer playing, and they aren't the only one who have faced that fate or eventually will. As fans look ahead to the next few years, one historic college football rivalry that seems to be on pace to cease to exist is USC and Notre Dame. The two programs have played every year since World War II outside of the COVID season, yet the partnership is only scheduled through 2026. In a recent interview with Joel Klatt, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman made it clear he doesn't want the game to come to an end, but expressed "it takes both parties to tango." Many fans took this as a nod at USC coach Lincoln Riley who hasn't been vocal about continuing the rivalry at all, with many imploring Riley to help save the rivalry. Advertisement "Freeman understands rivalry games and why they're important. That coward in LA doesn't get it, and would rather have a soft schedule," wrote one user. "Marcus Freeman keeps showing Lincoln Riley how easy it is to talk about the USC-Notre Dame rivalry," chimed in another. "One coach is vocally and emphatically committed to playing the rivalry. One coach skates around the question constantly. The easiest case of good guy/bad guy I've ever seen," added a third. USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley and Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman.© Matt Cashore-Imagn Images Earlier this month Riley was asked about addressing the future of the game by On3's Pete Nakos, and seemingly dodged the question with a vague open-ended statement. Advertisement "We will at the appropriate time," said Riley. There is still some time before this rivalry ultimately ends, but clearly Notre Dame is making it known they aren't the ones holding up the process. Related: Former USC Commit Raves About Meeting With Ex-Trojans Head Coach This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 18, 2025, where it first appeared.
