Phenom: Who or what influenced you to begin playing volleyball?

Brad Lawson: Probably my parents. My dad played volleyball at Trinity College (Conn.) For the school’s club team. He later moved to Hawai’i and started playing a lot of beach volleyball, so when I was born I was always down at the beach with him. I was always around him, always playing. I was always off playing with my friends on the side, and that kind of got me started with the whole sport of volleyball.

Then, when I was 12 years old, I tried out for my first indoor team at the Outrigger Canoe Volleyball Club in Honolulu. I didn’t end up playing because I was overwhelmed. A lot of the guys, such as the Shoji brothers, Spencer McLachlin and some of the other guys that are on Stanford’s team with me now, had already been playing for a couple of years, and they were really good. That was my first exposure to team volleyball. The next year I really liked it, so I tried out and I joined the younger team at the club. That’s when I competed for the first time at JO’s; it was for 14-Under, and I think I was 13.

P: Were there many opportunities available for you, as a youth, to play volleyball?

BL: Yes. In Hawai’i, volleyball is a big thing, so whether it was at the beach, on a club team or in high school, I always had a lot of exposure to volleyball growing up. I was really fortunate in that sense.

P: Did you participate in other sports as a youth? What made you decide to stick with volleyball?

BL: I played soccer and baseball as a little kid. I played soccer up until the seventh grade, and when I was in high school, I participated in canoe paddling for one year in the ninth grade. Volleyball was definitely the most exciting of all the sports that I tried. It was the most fun team game.

P: What made you decide to play collegiate volleyball? Was that something you always envisioned or thought about growing up?

BL: I don’t know; it wasn’t really a surprise. In seventh or eighth grade I wouldn’t have guessed that I’d be playing volleyball in college, but I developed my skills and had a lot of good coaches in Hawai’i who really helped develop my game. By my freshman or sophomore year of high school I Thought, “I think I can do this in college.” I pursued that thought and ended up getting accepted into Stanford, so everything worked out nicely.

P: What has your experience been like as a collegiate volleyball player?

BL: It’s been amazing. Winning this year was a dream come true for me and mostly for our seniors. They put in four years of hard work to get from worst to fi rst, and that was a dream come true. It’s been a lot of fun getting to that next level. College is a whole different game than high school; being exposed to some of the best players in the country and being able to play against and learn from them and being coached by one of the best coaches in the nation. It’s really been a great experience so far!

P: What are you looking forward to in your next several years?

BL: I’m looking forward to competing for another national championship, hopefully. I’m looking forward to just becoming a better player and becoming stronger; just getting ready for volleyball after college. I know it’s a dream of mine to play professionally or play in the Olympics.

P: What is the most memorable experience you’ve had, either as a youth or collegiate volleyball player?

BL: As a youth, I would say it would be winning the state championship my senior year. We played Punahou, who we hadn’t beaten a single time in four years, and we finally got a win off of them. That was a pretty incredible experience!.Obviously winning the national championship at Stanford this year has been my most memorable collegiate experience. You can’t beat that!

P: What advice would you give to young players who are interested in the sport of volleyball?

BL: Work hard and enjoy what you do, and that will take you a long.