Kevin Hansen

Barry Faulkner

Hanging with future leaders in their respective fields, and soaking

up wisdom from a faculty that includes 17 Nobel Prize winners, one

might find it surprising that the biggest lesson Kevin Hansen has

learned at Stanford University might have come this season on the

volleyball court.

“Throughout my athletic career, I’ve been blessed to have never

been on a losing team,” said the former Corona del Mar High standout

whose prep teams competed in five CIF Southern Section title contests

during his seven combined varsity volleyball (four) and basketball

seasons. CdM won two section volleyball crowns during his tenure.

That trend included his first two seasons with the Cardinal.

Stanford was 17-12 last year and 16-10 the year before, each time

earning a top-five national ranking and advancing to the Mountain

Pacific Sports Federation playoffs.

But while this season’s team is ranked No. 12, the Cardinal,

decimated by graduation last spring, enter Friday’s MPSF match at UC

Irvine struggling at 6-11.

“We had a fair amount of success the last two years, but this year

has been mentally challenging to go game after game, match after

match, without coming out on top,” the 6-foot-5 redshirt junior

setter said.

“It has been discouraging, but I’ve had to work on being a

positive leader for our team. My parents have been at every match and

when we get together afterward, they emphasize that this season is a

character builder for me. I’ve found that has really been true. My

whole life, I’ve never really been faced with that much adversity.

I’ve had huge blessings. I go to Stanford! But, in the real world,

not everything is going to go well for you and you’re going to have

to learn how to bounce back and not get down when that happens.”

Hansen, a three-year starter who ranks third on the school’s

all-time assists list with 3,323, said he has had to dig deep to find

consistent motivation to perform.

But his coach, Don Shaw, said Hansen’s unwillingness to accept

defeat has been a constant positive.

“His competitiveness really stands out,” Shaw said when asked to

assess Hansen’s strengths. “He is always so competitive and into it.

That really soaks in with the rest of his teammates.”

Those teammates include William Clayton, a redshirt sophomore out

of Newport Harbor High who recently became a starting outside hitter,

and Eric Jones, the Newport-Mesa Player of the Year last spring at

CdM who is redshirting this season.

Hansen, who will graduate with an economics degree in June, said

he has secured enrollment in a communications master’s program that

will enable him to compete in his final season of eligibility in

2005.

“If this was my last year, it would have been really hard to find

the motivation to get better and improve every day in practice,” said

Hansen, the 1999-00 Newport-Mesa Boys Athlete of the Year. “We have

some guys playing this year who have not had a lot of college

experience. It has been good to build relationships with them as we

look ahead to next season.”

Surrounded by new faces, Hansen has had to work even harder to

learn his hitters, as well as chase down passes that are far less

accurate than those delivered by former veteran lineups.

The absence of seasoned hitters has also prompted Hansen to be

more aggressive at the net, a role he has relished.

“The coaches have told me to be more of an offensive threat,”

Hansen said. “When I’m in the front row, I try to attack more, which

means dumping the ball [pushing it downward over the net instead of

setting a teammate] or hitting the ball.”

Hansen said a lack of proven hitters has placed an increased

premium on serving more aggressively. And he is also working to

improve on his blocking, an aspect of his game both he and Shaw

believe could use some polish.

But Hansen, who remains active in basketball by starring in

intramural competition for his fraternity team, said his overall

experience at Stanford has exceeded his expectations.

“It is just special to be on campus and be a part of the athletic

program,” Hansen said. “And to have been a starter for three seasons

has been surreal.”