Karch Kiraly Emphasizes that Olympic Success Starts Years Before the Games

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – MARCH 08: Head coach Karch Kiraly of the USA women’s indoor volleyball team poses for a portrait at the 2016 Team USA Media Summit at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on March 8, 2016 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

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The most decorated volleyball champion in America notes that while talent wins matches, combining talent with culture secures Olympic medals.

Olympic championships are often distilled into a single, iconic photograph.

A player stands on the podium, gold medals gleam around smiling necks, and national flags rise as an anthem fills the arena. Yet these images never show the years of unseen effort that precede them. For Karch Kiraly, Olympic success isn’t measured by the two weeks of competition; it is forged through thousands of practices, countless conversations, and hundreds of decisions that few outside the team ever witness.

This philosophy has defined one of the most remarkable careers in Olympic history.

Kiraly remains the only athlete to have earned Olympic gold in both indoor and beach volleyball. As head coach of the U.S. women’s national team, he led the Americans to their first Olympic gold in Tokyo and later added a silver in Paris. Now he is imparting those lessons to the U.S. men’s team as they prepare for the 2028 Los Angeles Games. When asked to describe his first season with the men, Kiraly did not start with offensive systems, blocking schemes, or statistics—he started with the people.

“2025 was a year of learning,” Kiraly said in an exclusive interview. “I got to know these athletes—not just as players, but as individuals with families—and I learned about their games as well.”

Elite coaches are often distinguished by their technical expertise, and Kiraly is no exception. Yet he also values intangibles such as relationships. This perspective has been forged over decades in Olympic volleyball, where the gap between standing on the podium and watching another team celebrate can be just a few points. The U.S. men’s heartbreaking 15‑13 fifth‑set semifinal loss to Poland in Paris 2024 illustrates this point.

The same lesson applies to Tokyo in 2021.

U.S. Women Finally Reach the Top

The U.S. women arrived at the postponed 2021 Olympic Games bearing nearly six decades of near‑misses. Since women’s volleyball debuted at the Olympics in 1964, America had repeatedly fallen short of gold. Kiraly’s squad finally broke through under circumstances unlike any previous Games—pandemic lockdowns disrupted preparation, and competition took place in largely empty arenas lacking the usual Olympic atmosphere.

“It was a truly special group,” Kiraly recalled. “They persevered through unusual circumstances and delivered a strong tournament.”

The result was the long‑awaited gold medal.

That victory reshaped the trajectory of U.S. women’s volleyball. The situation in Paris would be entirely different. Rather than arriving as breakout contenders, the U.S. women came with questions, as their results throughout the Olympic cycle had fallen short of expectations. On the eve of the Paris Games, they needed to dig deep.

Spotlight: Setter Jordan Poulter

Few players embody that resilience better than setter Jordan Poulter. Less than two years before Paris, Poulter suffered a devastating knee injury that jeopardized her Olympic future. Much of her rehabilitation took place in otherwise empty gyms at the American Sports Centers in Anaheim.

“There were many lonely days,” Kiraly said. “She had plenty of coaches around her, but few teammates.”

She returned just in time to help lead the Americans back to another Olympic final. For Kiraly, Poulter’s comeback highlights an often‑overlooked truth about Olympic success: championships are not always won by the healthiest or most talented teams, but by those that respond best to adversity.

Game Changers

This became evident during pool play in Paris. Facing China under a new Olympic tournament format that left virtually no margin for error, the United States quickly fell behind two sets to none. Under the previous format, five preliminary matches gave teams a chance to recover from an early stumble.

Paris offered only three.

Another straight‑set loss could have dramatically changed the Americans’ tournament path. Kiraly looked to his bench. He does not refer to those players as substitutes; years ago he borrowed a phrase from former U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team coach Jill Ellis that has become part of his own coaching lexicon.

“They’re game changers.”

Outside hitters Avery Skinner and Kathryn Plummer entered the match and instantly shifted its momentum, helping force a deciding fifth set. Although the United States ultimately lost the match, it may have been the turning point of the tournament.

Confidence returned.

Momentum shifted.

The Americans advanced to the Olympic final. Kiraly smiles when discussing the phrase because it changes how athletes view their role: a substitute waits, while a game changer prepares. The distinction may seem subtle.

That mindset extends well beyond volleyball.

Whether leading an Olympic team, a Fortune 500 company, or a startup navigating uncertainty, the strongest organizations create environments where every member believes they can influence the outcome. Kiraly has learned that leadership is less about hierarchy and more about shared values and beliefs. These lessons now shape the U.S. men’s program, as experienced Olympians return alongside younger players gaining confidence on the international stage.

The U.S. Men’s Team in 2028

Veterans Matt Anderson, T.J. DeFalco, Jake Hanes, and Aaron Russell bring years of elite experience, while younger players such as Ethan Champlin and Jordan Ewert add fresh energy after valuable international competition in 2025. Kiraly’s responsibility extends far beyond deciding who starts.

It is building trust between generations. The chemistry he is cultivating today may ultimately prove more valuable than any tactical tweak made during an Olympic semifinal two years from now.

Stay With His Process

As Los Angeles nears its turn to host the 2028 Olympic Games, public conversation will center on medal projections, roster decisions, and championship expectations. Kiraly understands these questions better than anyone—he has lived them as an athlete, assistant coach, and head coach. Yet after all these years, he still returns to the same foundation.

Culture.

Relationships.

Preparation.

Olympic gold, he knows, is earned quietly over thousands of ordinary days long before the world begins watching.

By the time the Olympic flame is lit above Los Angeles in July 2028, fans will see only the finished product. Karch Kiraly will know they are witnessing something that began years earlier—in empty gyms, in difficult conversations, in family gatherings after practice, and in a culture patiently built one teammate at a time.

That may ultimately become his greatest Olympic legacy.

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