Aldis Imants Bērziņš (born October 3, 1956) is a

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

former

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

player, who was a member of the American Men's National Team that won the gold medal at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

playing opposite of

Karch Kiraly Charles Frederick "Karch" Kiraly () (born November 3, 1960) is an American volleyball player, coach and broadcast announcer. In the 1980s he was a central part of the U.S National Team that won gold medals at the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games. He ...

College career

Bērziņš was a star outside hitter on the

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

volleyball team from 1975 through 1978. In those years he led the Buckeyes to four straight

Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association The Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) is a college athletic conference whose member schools compete in men's volleyball. The conference footprint is centered in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Missouri in the ...

(MIVA) championships and four appearances in the NCAA Final Four.

Honors

* MIVA Player of the Year: 1977 and 1978 * All-MIVA First Team selection: 1976, 1977, 1978 * NCAA all-tournament team selection: 1977 and 1978 * Volleyball Magazine All-American: 1977 and 1978 * MVP of the U.S. Men's National Team: 1983 * All-Tournament Selection at the World Cup in Japan: 1985 * USA Volleyball 75th Annual All-Era Team * Professional Volleyball player in Italy *

Ohio State Varsity O Hall of Fame The Ohio State Varsity "O" Hall of Fame is the athletic hall of fame for The Ohio State University. Its purpose is to recognize individuals who have contributed to the honor and fame of the university in the field of athletics. An athlete must hav ...

: 2002

Recent activities

Bērziņš now works with the

Special Olympics Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities and physical disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in 1 ...

. He recently coached Maryland Volleyball Program at the 16's 17's and 18's levels. He has three sons, Kris, Mik, and Dainis. Kris recently played professionally in Greece after an illustrious career at

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Cathol ...

. Mik graduated from

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

where he won an NCAA National Championship in 2011. Mik is currently the graduate assistant coach at another OSU,

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering co ...

. Dainis started in 2011 for Loyola as an outside hitter. Bērziņš was named head coach of the men's volleyball program at Stevenson University on October 6, 2016.

References

* * 1956 births Living people American people of Latvian descent Volleyball players at the 1984 Summer Olympics Ohio State Buckeyes men's volleyball players Olympic gold medalists for the United States in volleyball Place of birth missing (living people) American men's volleyball players Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics {{US-Olympic-medalist-stub

College career

Honors

Recent activities

See also

References