Two-meter man Bailey emerges for Team USA

Steve Virgen

Four years ago, Ryan Bailey thought himself to be more of a

cheerleader at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.

Times have changed and Bailey no longer watches in awe of Chris

Humbert. Instead, he has all eyes on him as the difference-maker, a

two-meter man for the U.S. Olympic men’s water polo team.

Humbert, who was voted the best two-meter man in the world by

Water Polo Magazine following the 1996 Olympics, started ahead of

Bailey in 2000, when Bailey was 24. But 2004 is Bailey’s show and he

said he is excited to be depended on as a scorer.

“I have to step up now,” said Bailey, one of five UC Irvine

products who will be representing the U.S. in the Olympics for water

polo Aug. 15-29. “I feel a little more pressure now, this time in the

Olympics. That’s good. It’s going to be a lot more fun. It’s going to

be a great experience.”

Bailey, who is 6-foot-6, 250 pounds, said he is confident he can

emerge at the Olympics. He said he is in the prime of his career.

“I’m in the best shape of my life,” Bailey said. “I’ve heard that

water polo players hit their stride at 28. I just feel confident.

We’ve been putting in a lot of work and a lot of time. I’m excited

for the Olympics.”

Bailey has been waiting for an opportunity to shine on a larger

scale, such as the Olympics, since he was a child. Considering his

size, and his genes, it seems as if he was made to make a big impact.

“I come from a big family,” said Bailey, alluding to the size of

each family member. “My dad, Dan, is 6-2. He played football and

wrestled at the University of Utah. My brother, Joe, is 6-3 and he

did the shot put at UCLA. He was a four-time All-American.”

Bailey’s mother, Kay, is 5-9.

“She golfs,” Bailey said. “She claims all of the athletic talent

in the family comes from her.”

Bailey seemed to be on the same path as is father excelling in

football at a young age. Yet, when Bailey was a freshman at Long

Beach Millikan High, he had to decide between football or water polo,

as they are played in the same season.

“I said, ‘I’m playing water polo,’” Bailey said. “That’s when I

made up my mind that this is what I’m going to do.”

Bailey gained notoriety while playing for the U.S. men’s junior

team, and when it was time to be recruited for college, USC, UCLA,

Long Beach State and Cal Berkeley came calling. UCI and Ted Newland

did as well.

“I fell in love with Newland the first day,” Bailey said. “He told

me, ‘If you want to go and party, you can go somewhere else. If you

want to work hard and be the best you can be, this is where you want

to be.’ I thought: this is the place for me.”

Newland was excited to have Bailey, though considered him a bit of

a project since he did have some deficiencies.

“He couldn’t swim hardly at all when he first came to Irvine,”

Newland said. “But he worked hard at it. He worked hard at

everything. He spent a lot of time in front of the cage. He lifted

weights and just got big. He’s a really huge kid.”

Bailey, who was a three-time All-American at UCI (1994-98), has

continued to work with Newland on his Newport Harbor Water Polo

Foundation team, which also includes Dan Klatt, Omar Amr, Genai Kerr

and Jeff Powers, UCI products who are on the U.S. Olympic men’s water

polo squad.

Newland’s team won the Premier League and the American Cup this

past year, as Bailey continued to shine.

“I think he is one of the better two-meter men in the world,”

Newland said. “When they played Spain in Long Beach last month, the

Spain players sat on top of his head. They tried not to let him move.

But he never stopped working.”

U.S. Olympic Coach Ratko Rudic said Bailey is the strongest player

on his team. Rudic said Bailey’s strength leads to several drawn

exclusions and his power usually makes a difference against the teams

that will be in the Olympics.

Though Bailey continues to fulfill the team’s needs, Rudic stopped

short of saying Bailey is among the elite, yet Rudic did so at the

expense of his team.

“I don’t do these rankings for players,” Rudic said. “I have 13

players on my team and he’s among the top 13 players. He’s only as

good as his team. He can definitely compete with anyone.”

Rudic’s stressing of teamwork has been appreciated by Bailey, who

said the team concept has been better, and certainly different from

four years ago.

“We have a really good feel for each other,” Bailey said. “[In

2000] we had a great team, but it’s different this time. We’re just

closer.”

When the Americans compete they will depend on Bailey to score.

They also expect him to position himself in set, forcing other teams

to run a zone defense and that will free up his teammates, he said.

“My strength is probably my strength,” Bailey said. “I can hold my

own in there. I do whatever I can to help my team. I’m not a great

swimmer. I make it up with smarts. It’s a team game and I have to

play my part. I have to draw exclusions, score, not get

counterattacked.”

The Americans finished sixth in the 2000 Olympics, but with an

improved Bailey and what Bailey called, “a more unified team,” Team

USA has an outside chance of finishing with a bronze. Hungary, last

year’s gold-medal winner, and Serbia and Montenegro are the

favorites, but since the U.S. team has had success against them in

the past, the Americans remain hopeful of what they can accomplish.

“We are the darkhorse for sure,” Bailey said. “Who knows. Once you

get there anything can happen.”