ΓΙΑΤΙ ΕΜΕΙΣ ΕΝΗΜΕΡΩΝΟΥΜΕ...ΑΥΤΟΣ ΕΙΝΑΙ Ο Paul Lotman...ΘΑ ΕΡΘΕΙ;

ΣΑΣ ΔΗΜΟΣΙΕΥΟΥΜΑΙ ΤΟ ΑΡΘΡΟ ΩΣ ΕΧΕΙ ΚΑΙ ΧΩΡΙΣ ΜΕΤΑΦΡΑΣΗ ΓΙΑ ΝΑ ΜΗΝ ΠΑΡΑΠΟΙΗΣΟΥΜΕ ΚΑΤΙ ΧΩΡΙΣ ΝΑ ΘΕΛΟΥΜΕ:

Long Beach State senior outside hitter Paul Lotman wasn’t one of those can’t-miss prospects in high school.Technically, he wasn’t that much of a prospect. He ended up walking on to the Long Beach State team back in 2004 thanks to a reference from club coach Tim Johnson (a former Long Beach State player who coached Lotman on the Surf City club team).And his attempt at a college career almost ended before it even got started.“In the preseason we do this thing called a circuit as part of our conditioning,” said Lotman, who grew up 10 minutes down the road from Long Beach State in Lakewood, Calif. “We did things that were really hard on the body physically and mentally. I had no idea going into it. I was close to quitting. I didn’t think I could make it. My teammates and my family told me to stick with it and I did. I’m glad I stuck it out.”Five years later Lotman is still going strong, morphing from a relative high school unknown on the recruiting radar to a polished Division I men’s college player who is well on his way to earning All-American status this season. Lotman was a major reason Long Beach State started the 2008 campaign 12-1. Lotman hit .339 and averaged 5.95 kills per game in the team’s first 13 contests, helping the 49’ers soar to the top tier of the national rankings. “Paul is an interesting story,” said Long Beach State coach Alan Knipe, a former player at the school who was part of the 1991 NCAA title team. “I don’t know if I’ve ever had anyone who has made such an impact getting to the point Paul is playing at now. When he came in he was a good-sized kid who had a good platform to pass and played OK defense, but wasn’t real experienced. He had to get in shape and had to drop a considerable amount of weight. He got better and better and got into better physical shape.”The 6’7” Lotman estimates he’s dropped in the neighborhood of 30-40 pounds since arriving on campus. He’s now listed at 225 pounds.“I had no muscle, basically,” said Lotman, a graduate of Los Alamitos High School. “I lost 30-40 pounds over the course of five years. That’s helped me in pretty much every aspect of the game.”To the point now where Knipe raves about Lotman’s all-around game.“Paul is such a complete volleyball player,” said Knipe. “It is so hard these days to find guys who can bring so many tools to the team with good defense, good blocking, scoring points behind the end line, things like that. He’s so complete. He’s real solid in all of them. It’s not common. He can be a national team player. First and foremost he has the size to be able to block and he passes as good as or better than most liberos. Paul has a bright future.”Lotman agrees with the complete player tag to an extent.“I think I would consider myself an all-around player,” said Lotman, an all-MPSF honorable mention pick in 2007 (4.51 kills; .308 hitting; team-highs in digs and aces). “But I wouldn’t say I’m great in all categories. I would say I’m good in most of them.”The improvement, Lotman said, is the product of a pair of different components.“I was taught really well when I was younger. I learned all the basics and I learned all the techniques that you needed to be a good player,” said Lotman. “And I strived to improve every year. I worked hard every summer. I’m fortunate to have gotten a spot on this team. I’ve worked hard every year to improve in every aspect of my game.”Lotman ended up redshirting his first year at Long Beach State in 2004. That was the year the 49ers reached the NCAA championship match in Hawaii against BYU.“It was really intimidating,” said Lotman. “The guys in the gym were really competitive. It was unreal how good the guys were. It helped me a lot to redshirt. I didn’t know what the program was about. I had to work my butt off to even earn a spot. It was a very humbling experience.”But an enlightening one as well. Lotman said playing with the likes of recent former 49’er standouts like Scott Touzinsky, David Lee, Jeff Wootten, Tyler Hildebrand, Robert Tarr and Duncan Budinger was invaluable.“It’s helped me so much seeing that level of competition in the gym every day,” said Lotman. “It gave me something to work for. I don’t know if I’m at that level now. Maybe in a few years? I’m going to keep working toward it.”Knipe saw Lotman really step to the forefront last season.“Last year he was forced into being our guy,” said Knipe. “He was one of the only holdovers from that Hildebrand, Tarr, Budinger group. He was thrust into it and hit over .300 from the left when every team in the country knew we were going to set him a ton of balls.”Lotman feels his stint on last summer’s Knipe-coached World University Games team has also had something to do with his continually improving game.“It helps to have that international experience,” said Lotman. “You are playing against a whole different level compared to college. It can’t do anything but help. It forced me to get better and it made me raise my performance every day.”Like Knipe, Johnson feels Lotman has a future beyond the college game.“Paul’s playing at a level right now a lot of people wish they could play at,” said Johnson. “He’s turned into one of the top players at the collegiate level. He’s a player that could actually play in the Olympics one day.”Lotman admits the progress he’s made is something that falls into the overwhelming category.“If I look back five years ago, there is no way I would have thought I would be at the level I’m at now,” said Lotman. “It’s a good feeling knowing you have your family, friends, coaches, teachers and teammates behind you the whole way. They more than believed in me. It hasn’t been easy. Every year has been a struggle to try and find a spot on the court. I’ve worked with the coaches to improve in pretty much every aspect of the game. I’ve shifted from a role player to somewhat of a leader the last two years. It been tough, but I’ve done my best in everything I can do.”And his coach couldn’t be happier.“Paul was in a situation when he got here where he had to come in and prove himself,” said Knipe. “It’s great to see a guy who comes in who hasn’t been highly recruited and hasn’t been talked about as one of the future greats of the MPSF and see him do well. Paul had lofty goals. He’s flat-out worked hard and done an amazing job here. We’ve had a lot of great players here. I’m not sure anyone has come this far.”