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Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
USA Volleyball tabs 3-time Olympic medalist April Ross to head beach coach with LA Games looming
FILE - April Ross, of the United States, celebrates a play during a women's beach volleyball Gold Medal match against Australia at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 6, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File) FILE - April Ross, of the United States, dives for the ball during a women's beach volleyball Gold Medal match against Australia at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 6, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File) FILE - April Ross, of the United States, dives for the ball during a women's beach volleyball Gold Medal match against Australia at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 6, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File) FILE - April Ross, of the United States, celebrates a play during a women's beach volleyball Gold Medal match against Australia at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 6, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File) FILE - April Ross, of the United States, dives for the ball during a women's beach volleyball Gold Medal match against Australia at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 6, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File) 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. Advertisement '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. Advertisement 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:
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Harry Kane is about to end his long wait for a trophy with Bayern Munich after a career as runner-up
FILE - New Bayern Munich player Harry Kane, left, poses besides Bayern CEO Jan Christian Dreesen after a news conference at the Allianz Arena stadium in Munich, Germany, Sunday, Aug. 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, file) FILE - Bayern's Harry Kane celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Moenchengladbach and Bayern Munich in Moenchengladbach, Germany, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, file) FILE - England's Harry Kane walks through the Italian players to receive his runner-up medal following their loss to Italy in the Euro 2020 soccer championship final at Wembley stadium in London, Sunday, July 11, 2021. (John Sibley/Pool Photo via AP, file) FILE - England's Harry Kane walks past the trophy after the final match between Spain and England at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, July 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez, file) FILE - Tottenham's Harry Kane walks past Liverpool's players as they celebrate after winning the Champions League final soccer match against Tottenham Hotspur at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid, Saturday, June 1, 2019. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, file) FILE - Tottenham's Harry Kane walks past Liverpool's players as they celebrate after winning the Champions League final soccer match against Tottenham Hotspur at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid, Saturday, June 1, 2019. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, file) FILE - New Bayern Munich player Harry Kane, left, poses besides Bayern CEO Jan Christian Dreesen after a news conference at the Allianz Arena stadium in Munich, Germany, Sunday, Aug. 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, file) FILE - Bayern's Harry Kane celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Moenchengladbach and Bayern Munich in Moenchengladbach, Germany, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, file) FILE - England's Harry Kane walks through the Italian players to receive his runner-up medal following their loss to Italy in the Euro 2020 soccer championship final at Wembley stadium in London, Sunday, July 11, 2021. (John Sibley/Pool Photo via AP, file) FILE - England's Harry Kane walks past the trophy after the final match between Spain and England at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, July 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez, file) FILE - Tottenham's Harry Kane walks past Liverpool's players as they celebrate after winning the Champions League final soccer match against Tottenham Hotspur at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid, Saturday, June 1, 2019. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, file) World soccer's great runner-up is finally about to lift a trophy. Harry Kane is on the verge of winning the German league title with Bayern Munich and he could seal the deal on Saturday. After a career filled with individual top scorer awards and a host of runner-up medals — the Champions League, two European Championships, two English League Cups — it will be the first major trophy of Kane's career. Advertisement A player who's often talked of putting the team above himself will finally get his reward. 'If it's me scoring a couple of goals, I'll take that for sure, but if it's someone else, I'm not going to worry too much,' Kane said this month. "All those kinds of individual achievements are what you think about after it's done.' Bayern has an eight-point lead over second-place Leverkusen with four games to play. The title could be confirmed Saturday if Bayern beats Mainz and Bayer Leverkusen doesn't beat Hoffenheim. 'No one deserves it more than him,' Bayern's honorary president Uli Hoeness told broadcaster Sky on Wednesday. Advertisement Why hasn't Kane won a trophy before? There's been bad luck along the way and Kane's trophy drought has sometimes brought mockery from opposition fans. At Tottenham, it often seemed like Kane and Son Heung-min were working wonders with a team which couldn't match rivals' budgets. Tottenham has been in sharp decline since its all-time top scorer left. There have been tough days, especially when Kane was limited by an ankle injury in Tottenham's 2-0 loss to Liverpool in the 2019 Champions League final, or England's penalty shootout loss to Italy at his home European Championship two years later. Advertisement Kane could have won a trophy hours after signing for Bayern for a fee of potentially over 100 million pounds ($110 million at the time), but the team lost the German Super Cup on his debut. Months later, his club lost the league title to Leverkusen in a major upset. Things have improved this season under new coach Vincent Kompany but Bayern was knocked out of the German Cup by Leverkusen in December and eliminated from the Champions League by Inter Milan last week. Why does Bayern suit him so well? When Kane moved to Germany in 2023, it was a shock. He'd been at Tottenham since he was 11 and once seemed set to spend his entire career there. Advertisement Kane is captain of the England national team, whose players typically tend to stay in the Premier League. He's also a big cricket fan, and was leaving that sport's birthplace for a country where few have ever heard of it. Kane settled in well after initial delays moving his family to Bavaria — his fourth child was born a week after he signed with Bayern — and has been taking German lessons. He fits Bayern well, too. Just like club great Robert Lewandowski, who left for Barcelona in 2022, Kane provides the center-forward focus which provides the structure for other players like Jamal Musiala and Michael Olise to operate around. Kane's putting up impressive scoring numbers. He scored his 60th Bundesliga goal in his 60th game last week, reaching that mark faster than anyone before him. ___ AP soccer:
