No ‘Schus,’ No Shirt, No Problems

You decide to take your jersey off for the last time; now what do you do? If you’re Kelly “Schu” Schumacher you replace those basketball kicks with sand between your toes.

“Rarely do we see her level of beach specific skill and coordination in an athlete over 6’2” who is relatively new to the game,” Ali Lamberson, Director of Beach Programs said. “Coupled with a great attitude and the desire to excel, Kelly is on her way to being a dominating net player.”

Schumacher, a recently retired eight-year WNBA veteran, spent the 2009 basketball season playing in the Florida sand, training for beach volleyball. Since then, Schumacher, along with her 6-5 frame, 8.5-foot reach and her husband, Donnie [Donald Raimon], moved to the West Coast to chase her professional volleyball dream.

“I knew I wanted to retire from basketball to play beach volleyball,” Schumacher said. “I have always liked the game of volleyball more than basketball; but in college and professionally I had opportunities with basketball and I had to take them.”

In early February 2011, USA Volleyball announced the five International Development Qualifiers (IDQ) set up to identify the standout beach volleyball athletes to compete in international events and USAV High Performance Programs. Teams that medal in the top three slots at these IDQs qualify themselves to represent the United States in the NORCECA Beach Circuit. After her first beach volleyball season didn’t reach her standards, Schumacher looked to her second season to focus on improving her skills and welcoming a new partner. 

"She [Angela McHenry] contacted me at the end of last season about playing a tournament together,” Schumacher said. “We ended up playing a couple matches but neither of us was in the shape like we had been earlier in the season. We didn't play so great then, but when I heard from her again this season I was interested in training together more and seeing our potential as a team.  Angela is a great volleyball player.  I would say our defense is our strong point because of my blocking and her ability to read behind me."

Schumacher and Bryan qualified for the NORCECA Beach Circuit on Sunday, April 3 in Chula Vista, Calif. The duo’s third-place finish came after upsetting the top-seeded team of Jenny Kropp (Grand Island, Neb.) and Whitney Pavlik (Laguna Beach, Calif.), a familiar matchup for Schumacher.

“We were more prepared for this team since we had lost to them three times before,” Schumacher said. “I am an extremely competitive person and I had a hard-nose attitude before we even started. I said to myself that we were not going to lose to them for a fourth time.”

Since she was a young girl, Schumacher has had a competitive attitude towards sports which she credits to her mother.

“My mom is just like me in that sense,” Schumacher said. “She said that if I put my mind to something I would do it and not much has changed. If I set a goal for myself I will get it done.”

Schumacher was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, but moved to Quyon, Canada when she was 11. She was a high school tri-athlete, competing in basketball, indoor volleyball and soccer. Her athletic success began early, capturing high school conference championships in both basketball and volleyball. She was named “Athlete of the Year” her junior and senior seasons and was voted Most Valuable Player in basketball, volleyball and soccer her senior year.

“There wasn’t a lot of opportunity for beach volleyball when I was younger,” said Schumacher. “During the summers in Cincinnati, I would go to the courts with my brother and sign up for the girls’ tournaments. When it came time to play, no one would ever show up. We didn’t even have enough girls to play a game so I spent a lot of the time watching and eventually started playing in coed tournaments.”

Courtesy of The WNBA Kelly Schumacher was a first-round draft pick in the WNBA and played eight years in the league.  After graduating from Pontiac High School, Schumacher enrolled at John Abbott College in Quebec where she captured two CCAA Basketball Championships and was voted Rookie of the Year, Women’s Athlete of the Year and CCAA Player of the Year. After two years and a pile of scholarship offerings, she became a Lady Husky and completed her collegiate and academic career at the University of Connecticut.

The 1999-2000 UConn women’s basketball team dominated throughout the regular and postseason, resulting in an NCAA Division I National Champion. The Lady Huskies held Tennessee to 52 points, in part by the NCAA Final Four record and personal career-high record, nine blocked shots by Schumacher.

Upon receiving her bachelor’s degree in communications from UCON, Schumacher was selected by the Indiana Fever as the 14th pick in the first round of the 2001 WNBA draft. She spent five years with the Fever before she was traded to the New York Liberty and then to the Phoenix Mercury. In 2007 Schumacher won her first WNBA National Championship with the Mercury over the Detroit Shock. Ironically, the following season, she won her second WNBA National Championship with the Detroit Shock. She is the only player in WNBA history to win a championship with teams representing both sides of the nation’s borders (Mercury from the west, Shock from the east).

Schumacher’s geographical dominance ventured outside the North American boarders and into Spain. In 2005-06 she played in the Spanish Female League, winning the league championship and Queen’s Cup with the “Perfumerias Avenida de Salamurica”. During this time she was also named Most Valuable Player of the league. 

At the end of the 2008 basketball season Schumacher decided to trade in her baggy shorts and over-sized jersey for a bikini and sunglasses. Though the decision to change sports was tough, changing the uniform and location was effortless.  

“I am a girl-girl and love that I get to look feminine,” Schumacher said. “I am very happy that I can be in a bikini and don’t have to dress in the same baggy basketball outfits that the guys wear.”

“I spend most of my time at the beach,” Schumacher said. “The weather in California is perfect and I just love to be outside as much as I can.”

The transition from basketball to volleyball was not as easy as Schumacher initially expected. At the level she is competing, the mental part of the game is just as important as the physical. She adds that “Everyone can hit the ball over the net so winning comes down to what team makes fewer mistakes.”

No matter how tough the opposition gets, Schumacher knows that what she puts into the sport is what she will get out of it: A lesson that she carries over to her everyday life.

“I want to be an Olympian,” said Schumacher. “I know I am 33, but I think that as long as you believe in yourself and set realistic goals for yourself than you can do anything. A lot of people say that they want to do something but won’t ever put the work in.”

Though beach volleyball keeps her incredibly busy, Schumacher finds time to stay in the basketball world through coaching and public speaking. She recently was the keynote speaker at the CAA All-Canadian Banquet in conjunction with the 2011 CAA Women’s National Basketball Championship.

“I hope to do more public speaking in the future,” said Schumacher. “I am grateful that I had the opportunity to speak about playing basketball internationally, professionally and how these things relate to my everyday life.”

Whether she is nicknamed “Schublocker” for blocking shots or blocking spikes, dribbling a basketball or digging a volleyball, Schumacher will continue to compete and take on each opponent one point at a time.

Tags: Beach, Beach Volleyball, International Development Qualifiers, Kelly Schumacher, NORCECA, NORCECA Beach Circuit, WNBA