Gerardo Iván Contreras Gámez (born January 29, 1974, in
Tampico) is a former
Mexican
Mexican may refer to:
Mexico and its culture
*Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America
** People
*** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants
*** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...
professional
volleyball player. His position on the field is
outside hitter
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 Summe ...
. Contreras has been voted ''player of the year'' in 2005, 2007 and 2008 in Belgium. Contreras is also captain of Knack Roeselare.
Contreras attended Penn State University where he won an
NCAA National Championship as a freshman and was named the
AVCA National Player of the Year in 1997.
Among Contreras' former teams are Osnabrück in
Germany,
MTV Näfels in
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
,
Knack Roeselare in
Belgium and
Ziraat Bankası Ankara in
Turkey.
In 2004, he won the MVP award from the
Liga de Voleibol Superior Masculino, playing with
Gigantes de Adjuntas. He played for this team from 2002 to 2006.
Before playing volleyball, Contreras was practicing
athletics, especially
hurdling,
high jump
The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...
and
long jump. Contreras had also tried
karate
(; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...
and
tennis, but he was tired of individual sports and started to play volleyball, which he preferred over
basketball.
On May 27, 2008, Contreras revealed that he will sign a lucrative one-year deal with
Ziraat Bankası Ankara.
He returned to Roeselare after one season.
In recognition of his performance during the 2009, he won the ''"Luchador Olmeca"'' award in January, 2010.
Clubs
*
Penn State Nittany Lions men's volleyball
* MTV Näfels (1997–2000)
*
Gigantes de Adjuntas (2000)
*
Knack Roeselare (2000–2008)
*
Gigantes de Adjuntas (2002–2006)
*
Ziraat Bankası Ankara (2008–2009)
*
Knack Roeselare (2009–2011)
*
Leones de Ponce (2011)
Individual awards
* 1994 "NCAA AVCA Second Team All American"
* 1995 "NCAA AVCA First Team All American"
* 1996 "NCAA AVCA First Team All American"
* 1997 "NCAA AVCA First Team All American and Player of the Year"
* 1998 "Voted Runner up Player of the Year in Switzerland"
* 1999 "Player of the Year in Switzerland"
* 2000 "Player of the Year in Switzerland"
* 2001 "Top Teams Cup Champion"
* 2004 ''Liga de Voleibol Superior Masculino "MVP"''
* 2004–2005 "European Champions League Best Scorer"
* 2004–2005 "Player of the Year in Belgium"
* 2006–2007 "Player of the Year in Belgium"
* 2007–2008 "European Champions League Best Scorer and Best Attacker"
* 2007–2008 "Player of the Year in Belgium"
* 2008 "Best Scorer Olympic Qualifier, Caguas P.R."
* 2009 "MVP in World Championships Qualifier, Guadalajara Mexico"
* 2010 ''Luchador Olmeca''
* 2011 "Best Scorer Panamerican Games, Guadalajara, Mexico"
18
References
External links
Ivan's websiteFIVB Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Contreras, Ivan
1974 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Tampico, Tamaulipas
Volleyball players at the 2007 Pan American Games
Volleyball players at the 2011 Pan American Games
Penn State Nittany Lions men's volleyball players
Ziraat Bankası volleyball players
Mexican men's volleyball players
Mexican expatriate sportspeople in the United States
Mexican expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland
Mexican expatriate sportspeople in Puerto Rico
Mexican expatriate sportspeople in Belgium
Mexican expatriate sportspeople in Turkey
Pan American Games competitors for Mexico