A mother’s touch

Mike Sciacca

Linda Hanley is used to following a schedule.

There it was, for all to see on this overcast Saturday morning, a

large tote board, which told those in attendance at the Assn. of

Volleyball Professionals’ Huntington Beach Open, which teams were playing

each other at the south side of the Huntington Beach Pier.

Of all things, Hanley and her teammate, Lisa Arce, were scheduled to

play the sister tandem of Katie and Tracy Lindquist, who grew up and

played in Huntington Beach.

“We were ready to go against the hometown favorites,” Hanley said

after she and Arce defeated the Lindquists, 21-16, 21-11. “They impressed

me.”

Hanley’s schedule was indeed full that day, as she and Arce went on to

play two more matches, gaining a split.

She and Arce finished the three-day women’s tournament tied for third

place, and the two will split $5,825.

That money will come in handy for Hanley during her regular, weekly

schedule, which consists of playing the role of wife and mother of two.

“It certainly adds to the household income,” she said. “It’s great to

get paid for something you love to do.”

Hanley is 1978 graduate of Laguna Beach High School, where she was a

talented athlete who, as a freshman, was the No. 1 girls’ tennis player.

She gave up the sport the following year, to concentrate on volleyball.

“I had to convince my parents that this is what I wanted to do,” she

said. “They thought I was crazy but it turned out for the best.”

Hanley, who went on to star at UCLA, has been playing on the

professional volleyball tour for more than 20 years.

Her two sons, Matthew and Turner, are 11 and 9, respectively.

“Without a doubt, being a wife and mother has been the best thing that

has happened to me,” she said. “My support system is incredible.”

She has been married to John Hanley for 12 years. He knows the ins and

outs of the game. He also enjoyed a career on the professional tour

before going on to study architecture.

Linda Hanley says she is able to juggle the daily aspects of

motherhood with a practice schedule that consists of three or four days

per week on the sand, because of her husband.

“John’s very much a hands-on father. He really relishes being with the

kids,” she said.

The AVP tour makes stops throughout the country, but Hanley says her

boys don’t make the road trips. Her husband, however, does on occasion.

“When we do it’s like a mini-honeymoon,” she said with a smile.

Hanley won her first pro tournament in 1979. She left the game in the

late 1980s and worked as a sales rep for Quicksilver for nearly 10 years.

“It was a great job,” she said.

But she was ready for a comeback.

“I think the main reason I was able to make that comeback to the sport

was that I o7 didf7 take a break,” she explained. “So many players

tend to get burned out playing for so long.”

Hanley was with the Women’s Professional Volleyball Assn. in 1993 when

the AVP wanted to expand. She was one of eight or so women, she said, to

go with a tour that would provide more money and exposure.

The split between the WPVA and AVP, she said, split the sport.

“Linda is one of the greatest women beach volleyball players in

history and an incredible role model to the younger players on the AVP

tour,” said Leonard Armato, co-founder of the AVP.

When Saturday’s matches were complete, festivities continued down at

the Huntington Beach Pier. But Linda Hanley, who took time to enjoy

visits with other athletes, had a schedule to adhere to: this soccer mom

was heading home.

“Being a mother has made me realize just how important it is to teach

my boys the simple qualities of being honest and compassionate,” she

added.