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Monday
Evening QB
FANTASY sports camps are supposed to be just that. You pay a few bucks to pretend you're a real player for a few days. Then you go home with aching muscles and a few fun memories. Thanks for the
hustle, RussellAnd that's that.
Someone forgot to tell Russell Lockwood it was just pretend.
In the summer of 1997, Lockwood arrived at the University of Hawaii's men's volleyball fantasy camp with a big bushy mustache and even bigger dreams.
Deep down, he knew he could be much more than a bogus 'Bow for a week.
At barely 6-feet and with little experience, Lockwood figured he needed every edge possible for the coaches to take him seriously. Even facial hair.
"If I grew it out, I'd have a better chance of making the team because (assistant coach) Tino (Reyes) had one," Lockwood joked last night at the team banquet.
TODAY, Lockwood has less hair on his entire head than between his nose and lip three years ago. But the dreams live on for the Rainbows' lone senior.
The quiet defensive specialist, or libero, is a key to UH's postseason.
Hawaii's rebuilt block has improved over the course of the season. But it will have to deal with strong-hitting USC on Saturday in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation playoffs.
So Lockwood's diving digs and impeccable passing -- and his calming influence when things begin to go wrong -- could determine if the Rainbows advance.
If you still need to be convinced of the value of this walk-on who doesn't serve, hit or block, listen to his teammate, Torry Tukuafu.
"No one I have ever met works as hard as Russell Lockwood," the middle blocker said last night. "I strive every day to be more like him."
Whether it's digging kill-shots in matches or shagging the last balls after practice, Lockwood is always making things easier for his teammates and coaches.
Taking one for the team has always been part of Lockwood's game. It's how his baseball career ended, steering him toward volleyball.
DURING winter ball of his high school junior year in Monterey, Calif., Lockwood's right elbow was hit by a pitch. It wrecked the shortstop's throwing arm, as well as his aspirations of a future in baseball.
As a senior, he went out for volleyball. With few scholarships available for 6-foot hitters with one-season's experience, Lockwood went to junior college after graduation.
He went to the Hawaii camp mostly on a lark, but also with the idea of maybe, just maybe, making the team.
Two weeks after returning home from the camp, Lockwood came back to Hawaii.
"The coaches remembered me," he said. "They gave me an application for school."
No one expected him to be much more than practice fodder, but Lockwood contributed in matches, even before this year and the advent of the libero position.His teammates, coaches, family, and many fans turned this weekend into a continuous episode of Everybody Loves Russell.
"It's been real emotional," he said. "But I'm hoping that emotion can stay with me when we play (Saturday in Los Angeles)."
Next time you start to think about the negatives in college sports, remember Russell Lockwood -- and how a fantasy can come true, even for the ultimate underdog.
Dave Reardon, who covered sports in Hawaii from 1977 to 1998,
moved to the the Gainesville Sun, then returned to
the Star-Bulletin in Jan. 2000.
E-mail dreardon@starbulletin.com