CV Volleyball Star, Olympian Gail Wolze

By Brandon HENSLEY

In the early to mid-1970s, Crescenta Valley High School received great fanfare when it came to the football and boys’ basketball teams, but Gail Malone was a volleyball star without a proper platform. P.E. teacher Jan McCreery and others within Glendale Unified School District began the fight for equal funding for girls’ sports, something the district denied its programs, even after Title IX was passed in 1972.

That meant Malone’s team wasn’t able to compete in the CIF playoffs until her senior year, when she guided CV to a Foothill League championship. McCreery’s effort paid off just in time for Malone, who then was known as Gail Wolze.

“Gail was a superbly talented athlete, a strong competitor, and a great team leader. She was coach-able, wanted to learn and worked out hard to become the best,” McCreery recalled this week over email.

It may have been tough being a young phenom, but Malone soon recognized the impact of the efforts of McCreery and others.

“What they did was pave the way for my future,” Malone said.

That future shimmered with countless bright spots that included professional competition overseas, inclusion as an Olympian and a coaching career that has spanned 25 years and is still going strong.

Malone, who coaches volleyball at Santa Fe Christian School north of San Diego, was back in the Glendale area in May as an inductee into the Crescenta Valley Athletic Hall of Fame.

The mingling with familiar faces at Oakmont Country Club opened her eyes as to how involved so many coaches and teachers are within the CV community, even decades after she attended the high school.

“It was cool to see how involved the community is, and how much it supports CV, and that blew me away. It’s amazing that all these people are still involved,” she said.

Malone noted how appreciative she was that her coaches advocated for her to colleges. Things were not like they are currently when players are noticed strictly on club teams for their performance. Club teams didn’t exist then.

Malone, who was voted the CV’s top athlete in 1975, received partial scholarship offers from some universities. She chose LA Valley Community College instead where she helped her team win a state title in 1976. After Valley, she played for Long Beach State and, while there, got wind of professional opportunities in Italy. Her goal had been to earn a teaching credential, which she has since earned, but Malone described herself as a risk taker. She jumped at the chance to play overseas.

“It was a time when the world was safer, and it was the best decision I ever made,” she said.

After her days overseas, she came back to the U.S. and began an 11-year career in professional beach volleyball. All she had ever known was indoor play, but her career on the sand proved fruitful. In 1991, Malone and her teammate Lori Forsythe played in the Grand Slam Circuit, and won the Shootout and U.S. Open, becoming the first team, women or men, to advance through a Shootout undefeated. In all, Malone set a Women’s Professional Volleyball Association record with 127 final 12 appearances, including 64 final fours.

In 1996, Malone was in the national spotlight as she represented the U.S. as a member of the beach volleyball Olympic team in the Games in Atlanta. Malone and her partner Deb Richardson finished second in the U.S. trials (Malone’s first teammate dropped out due to pregnancy). They placed ninth overall.

Malone is a proud patriot and, though she’s played in grueling, intense matches before, she described being introduced in the opening ceremony as a surreal experience.

“Everyone is chanting U-S-A! U-S-A! I played matches under pressure [before], but this was huge,” she recalled. “I’m blessed to be an American. I’m blessed to be here, and I don’t take anything for granted.”

Malone has since carved out a place in private education. She said she’s more cut-out for that environment. And, like her career path as a player, she no longer coaches indoor volleyball. For the past three years, her teams play on the beach.

Malone said the coaches she connected with were the most fun to play for. Her mindset as a leader is to develop relationships with her players that go beyond volleyball. She used to be focused solely on winning.

“Now that I’m more mature, it’s about helping players become the best they can be as people and as players,” she said. “Now I want to create players who are going to be good citizens. Not just a player who, once they quit playing, have no life and don’t know how to have relationships and have no integrity.”

If there’s one main goal for Malone as an ambassador for volleyball, it’s that she wants players to learn to love volleyball not as something to be measured in wins and losses, but something to appreciate for the rest of their lives, because it’s a lifetime sport.

McCreery said the legacy of Olympic athletes is to continue furthering their sport and Malone has done that.

“Gail’s long and excellent coaching career at the high school level has influenced many students in many positive ways, both on and off the court (or sand, as it is),” she wrote.

After speaking with her at the induction ceremony, McCreery said Malone has the same joy and enthusiasm for her sport as she did in the 1970s.

Malone has made it a priority to take inspiration from coaches of all sports, to use their philosophy on success both on and off the playing surface. She attends coaching clinics and engages in conversation to improve herself and therefore improve others.

“Winning is important, but winning will come,” she said. “I’m so passionate about helping people become good people.”

  Brandon Hensley