April Ross Video Interview, U.S. Olympic Beach Volleyball Star

The U.S. Olympic volleyball pair of April Ross, 30, and Jennifer Kessy, 35, was not expected to make it all the way to the finals game, let alone appear in the London Olympics. In fact, the pair had missed out on qualifying for the Olympics in 2008. “Missing out on 2008 really created a determination in me and gave me a ton of motivation to make the 2012 Olympics, and I think maybe made it seem more valuable,” Ross told Uinterview exclusively. “I saw how easily it can slip away, and I think it has helped me relish every moment since we’ve qualified.”

Ross and Kessy went on to win a silver medal at the Games, losing their gold medal showdown to reigning Olympic icons Misty May-Treanor, 35 and Kerri Walsh Jennings, 34 (21-16, 21-16). Still, it was an impressive showing and confirmation that their intense training to prepare for these Games was invaluable. “We looked at everything we did as far as how we practice, how we train, and one of the big things is how we eat, and we changed our diet a lot,” Ross told Uintervew. “Cut out a lot of carbs, cut out a lot of sugars, started eating more natural, more organic.”

Ross has succeeded on every level of competition. In high school, she was chosen as the Gatorade National Player of Year for indoor volleyball. At USC, she helped the Trojans win back-to-back national championships and was First Team All-American in 2001 and 2002. Despite the fact that she has excelled at both, Ross feels that beach volleyball presents more of a challenge for her than indoor volleyball once did. “It’s more you have to think for yourself on the beach. You don’t have a coach on the sidelines, yelling at you, telling you what to do, subbing you out if you’re not playing the way he wants you to,” she told us. “If you’re not playing good enough to win, you gotta figure it out, you gotta figure out how you’re gonna do something to beat the opponent.”

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