Almost a Second Marriage
A partnership in beach volleyball is much like a marriage with the exception of you don’t buy your partner a nice diamond ring. Unless of course you really want to play with that guy or gal!
I have been very fortunate in the partners I have had. Dax and I essentially grew up together. He is much older than me (1 year) so he took the veterans roll. 
Dax and I have known each other since we were about 7 years old or so. We started playing when we were still in High School and our partnership was based more upon the friendship we developed over time than a purely business relationship. We got along together great because we have similar interests and were kind of growing up and learning the whole “AVP thing” together. We also shared the same family values and were both married which helped a couple of young guys on tour make the right decisions. In the end, he had a great opportunity to play with current gold medalist Eric Fonoimoana and in truth his game at that time had passed me by. We had a difficult 2001 with the rule changes, the AVP really struggling and going to Europe for 9 straight weeks. I think that it was the right decision as our performance on the court was starting to effect our friendship and going in different directions would be best for both our friendship and our volleyball careers. The one thing I will say is that if the court had not changed along with the rules, I think Dax and I were poised to be a dominant team. But we shall never know.
From there I played with Sean Scott for the next 4 years. I played professionally with Dax for 5 years but we had been playing together for about 6 years before that too. With Sean I was switching sides and going from the left side to the right. I struggled with that for most of the 2002 season. I figured it out by the 2003 season and played at a much higher level from there on out. Sean and I developed a good friendship as we travelled to AVP and FIVB events. We shared a lot of stories and good times and I still consider him a good friend to this day.
Playing with Phil the last 3 seasons has obviously been great. This is due much in part to our success. The reality is that when you are successful like Phil and I have been successful it becomes easy to get along. Doesn’t make sense to get annoyed with little things in the hotel room when you just won an FIVB Grand Slam or an AVP event. Not to mention that you are on such a high that almost nothing would bother you anyways. Phil and I have experienced very little in lows and have had very little in the way of winning droughts. I know we had a mid-season drought of about 5 or 6 tourneys in 2007 but much of that was on the FIVB. We have faced very little adversity over our 3 year partnership. I consider that a blessing and hopefully that will continue through the 2009 season and beyond.
All three of the guys I have played with are very mellow guys. In that respect they are very much like me. None of us are “high maintenance” guys. We are content with chilling in the hotel and reading a book or shooting the you know what. We don’t need to constantly be moving and doing something. Certainly I think it helps to be a Type B personality rather than a Type A when on the FIVB tour and maybe even on the AVP tour as well.
I consider Dax, Sean and Phil my friends. Regardless of what happens on the tour or has happened in the past, all 3 of these guys will remain my friend over the test of time. All of us have gone through a lot together and that is something that none of us will forget.
For more on Olympic gold medalist Todd Rogers, visit www.toddjrogers.com