A “Hands-On” Experience

At this time last year Oliver Deutschman was having a blast as captain of the Crossroads High volleyball team, where he was the king of the court and the top recruit in the nation at his position. He was recruited by virtually all of the top Division I schools but committed to UC Santa Barbara after visiting the campus and meeting the coach. Now, the 6-5 setter who is used to being on the court for every point, is forced to watch most of the action from the bench–a place he is unaccustomed to being and doesn’t plan on staying for long. Still, Deutschman is loving college life and has no regrets about his decision to go from one beach town to another. “I know I chose the right school,” he said. “Our starting setter [Vince Devany] is like my best friend and it’s been fun rooming with Evan. We get along really well.” Evan Mottram, a freshman libero who is red-shirting this season, was Deutschman’s teammate on the Pacific Palisades Volleyball Club’s “Pali 18 Kaepa” squad that won the U.S. Junior Olympics gold medal in 2008 and the bronze medal in 2007 and 2009. Although proud of his many past accomplishments, Deutschman, a lifelong Palisadian, is focused solely on the present: “I’m just trying to work as hard as I can and learn as much as I possibly can,” Deutschman said. “Hopefully I can earn the starting spot next year and, if not, by my junior year for sure.” The biggest difference Deutschman sees from high school to college is the speed of the game: “It’s so much faster,” he admitted. “You have to do a lot more moving around, the serves are a lot harder and mentally it’s a lot more challenging, too.” Deutschman began honing his volleyball “touch” on the beach growing up and indoors playing for his hometown Pacific Palisades Volleyball Club. In 2006 he was the centerpiece of Pali’s 15-1s Blue team, which included fellow Pacific Palisades residents like Matthew Bagnard, Matt Hanley, Jacob Sachse and Mason Wojciechowski. Deutschman almost single-handedly led Crossroads to victory over reigning City Section champion Palisades High last spring, but the Dolphins rallied to win in five sets. Busy taking classes (he aspires to work in sports management), practicing, studying and watching the Los Angeles Lakers, Deutschman has no time to be homesick. “I’ve been back [home] I think three times,” he said. “Like when we played UCLA at Pauley Pavilion.” In volleyball, the setter is responsible for executing a number of plays and Deutschman has set about establishing himself as the program’s future at that position. “Oliver has been doing great,” UCSB’s second-year coach Rick McLaughlin said. “He’s ultra competitive and he brings that to practice every day. For someone who is used to being the guy running the show, he has accepted his role really well.” Deutschman has played only sporadically this season for the ninth-ranked Gauchos (12-15), who need to win their last two matches against visiting No. 5 Hawaii Friday and Saturday to secure a berth into the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament. “They are a lot alike,” McLaughlin said of his two setters. “The advantage Vince [Devany] has is that he’s played with the other guys for two years so they are more familiar with him. Oliver just doesn’t quite have the experience yet, but he’s learning–and learning fast.” Regardless of how the rest of the season plays out, McLaughlin said his prize pupil may not have to wait long for his opportunity to take over the reins: “Going into next season, he’ll be right there competing and it wouldn’t surprise me if he’s starting a lot of matches. His day is coming.” A recent example of McLaughlin having faith in his freshman’s skills came during last Wednesday’s match at then fourth-ranked Cal State Northridge, when he inserted Deutschman into the lineup after the Gauchos fell behind in the third set. “Vince [Devany] was struggling and the offense wasn’t clicking like it should so I brought Oliver in to see if he could get us going,” McLaughlin said. “He played extremely well and showed a lot of poise while he was in there.” Yes, Deutschman was born to lead, not follow. He brings a positive attitude to the gym every day that seems to rub off on his teammates and everyone in the UCSB program has taken notice–from the coaching staff on down to the other eight freshman on the roster. “Oliver is the quintessential team player–he doesn’t have a selfish bone in his body and that’s what you want in your setter,” McLaughlin said. “He has been everything we thought he would be.” sports@palipost.com