Thursday, April 23, 1998
Even better than before
THATCHER: Evan Thatcher depends on routine and change to improve
his skills
By Grace Wen
Daily Bruin Staff
Evan Thatcher has had three different hairstyles this year.
Though he claims that they’ve had nothing to do with his
performance on the court, it appears that the more hair Thatcher
sheds, the better he plays.
At the Outrigger Hotels Invitational, Thatcher sported a
bleached-blond, spiky hairdo. While his performance through the
first few matches of the season was notable, it wasn’t all that
impressive. Thatcher averaged 3.58 kills a game and was hitting
.249.
About a month later, Thatcher returned to his natural brown
color and shortened the once-pointed do. He improved to the .270
mark and hovered around the high .290s but still wasn’t producing
to the satisfaction of the coaches.
His last cut left him with perhaps his shortest and most
"normal" looking style. Since the final cut, Thatcher has jumped
from a .300 clip to a .330 hitting percentage. He currently
averages 4.1 kills a game and has a .321 attack percentage.
In addition, Thatcher had impressive performances in the Bruins’
final three regular season matches. Against UC Irvine, the redshirt
sophomore hammered a career high 25 kills to lead UCLA to a 3-1
win.
"Evan’s hitting just keeps getting better and better," UCLA head
coach Al Scates said. "His front court hitting is very good from
the left and the right.
"In the match (against Pepperdine), we went to him to score out
of the back row, which we hadn’t been able to do all year. He
hasn’t been able to hit a quick transition ball and put it away.
But, now he’s starting to do that too. He’s really evolving at the
right time. He’s peaking right at the right time."
Thatcher may be performing well now but it wasn’t that way at
the beginning of the season.
The 6-foot-8 sophomore had some big shoes to fill, replacing
three-time All-American Paul Nihipali. A Volleyball Magazine
college preview also cited Thatcher as a possible key to the
Bruins’ success this year. So before the season had even started
Thatcher had enormous expectations placed upon him.
It may have seemed like a daunting task for anyone to follow
behind Nihipali, but Thatcher welcomed the challenge.
"I was excited to fill his shoes," Thatcher said. "But people
step up, like Adam Naeve. People have been playing a lot better
than last year, and I’ve also improved from the beginning of the
season until now. Everyone stepped it up."
Despite his excitement, Thatcher does admit that he was nervous
at the beginning of the season. And the nerves may account for his
erratic performances.
In addition, Scates’s adjustment of the lineup, in which UCLA
flip-flopped back and forth between using two passers and three
passers, affected his confidence. (In a two person passing
rotation, Thatcher plays opposite. However, with three passers, Ben
Moselle moves to opposite which left Thatcher riding the pine.)
"It was nerve-wracking my first couple of games starting,"
Thatcher said. "I was kind of a head case. Being moved around this
year kind of messes with your confidence a little bit.
"No matter how long you’re here, you’re going to be messed with.
That’s just the program, but it keeps it interesting. I was nervous
a little bit, but when you get out there, you relax and it’s fine,
and then you just have to deal with it."
Thatcher has found ways to cope with his nerves. He maintains a
strict regimen for his pre-game warmup. From eating a six-pack of
crumb donuts before the team meeting to doing the same number of
pushups and situps before each match, Thatcher tries to keep the
same order.
However, if something changes his order, he uses it to his
advantage to mentally prepare before he steps onto the court. His
need to make himself at ease reflects the importance of the mental
aspect of the game.
While Thatcher has several tricks to deal with his nerves, he
may have to find new ones with the MPSF championship and the Final
Four looming ahead.
With his starting role solidified, Thatcher realizes a different
sort of pressure than in the beginning of the season.
"There’s definite pressure," Thatcher said. "If you think about
it, the team doesn’t change other than me from last year to this
year. There’s improvement from one year to the next, and we lost in
the finals, so it’s a hell of a lot of pressure."
At least his tresses are no longer a concern.
GENEVIEVE LIANG/Daily Bruin
At 6-foot-8, Evan Thatcher plays opposite and has stepped up to
replace three-time All-American Paul Nihipali.