Posted April 6 2003
Sun Sentinel
Eric "Fonoi" Fonoimoana, the youngest of six children, once joked that he thought it was great that his parents and siblings all attended Mira Costa (Calif.) High School because by the time he started high school everyone already knew how to pronounce his last name.

Fonoimoana (pronounced foe-no-E-mow-AH-na), has been playing on the Association of Volleyball Professional Tour since 1993. The 2002 AVP Player of the Year is currently the best beach volleyball player in the United States, and one of the best in the world.

Still, any way you say it, Fonoimoana is not a household name. But with a beach as his office and a sandcourt as his desk, he's not complaining.

He makes a good salary in a sport still trying to grab hold in a busy market. He was King of the Beach in 1998, and at the 2000 Sydney Olympics teamed with former partner Dain Blanton to knock off defending Olympic gold medalist and legend Karch Kiraly and Adam Johnson in the qualification round. Then they upset Brazil's top team to win the gold medal.

"Winning the gold medal put a big exclamation mark on me as far as achievement,'' Fonoimoana said. "Being in that arena, people didn't think we could do it. Coming through for your country is probably an achievement that everyone wants. I will always cherish that moment, but that's behind me and I'm looking for new goals.

"I think I am at the high point of my career. I will try to stay here as long as possible until a new person comes along to knock me off. But then that following season will train even harder because I will use that new person to motivate me."

His career earnings have reached $853,685. Last year, he earned $57,800 in prize money, not including endorsements with Nautica, Wilson, Oakley, Swatch and Aquafina.

At this weekend's AVP Nissan Series season-opening Paul Mitchell Fort Lauderdale Open that concludes today, he and partner Dax Holdren are the top seeds. In their first two matches, they defeated Scott Hill and Dan Mintz 21-19, 21-15 in 46 minutes and John Hyden and Chip McCaw 21-17, 21-11 in 41 minutes. Play continues today on the third and final day with the finals beginning at 1:30 p.m.

Fonoimoana, 33, who swept the last three AVP events last year at Manhattan Beach, Calif., Chicago and Las Vegas, grew up in Manhattan Beach, a hotspot for beach volleyball. All his brothers and sisters were star athletes. His sister Lelei Alofa Fonoimoana swam in the 1976 Montreal Olympics.

Growing up, Fonoimoana said he was the family mascot trailing behind his siblings to their sporting events until he "developed that competitive nature of always wanting to win."

Of Samoan descent, he credits his parents, Alio, his soccer and baseball coach, and Constance Louise, for his athletic ability. Both were outstanding athletes. His mother was killed in an auto accident when he was 19; his father died of cancer 10 years later.

Seven years ago all he wanted was to buy a truck, save money for a house and finish no lower than third in any tournament. Now he is driven to be the best and to give back to the sport. He started the Dig For Kids Foundation which focuses on opportunities for inner city kids.

In opening round play:

Gaston Macau of Miami, the only local player to get into the main draw without having to qualify, and Jim Walls of Cape May, N.J. lost to No. 6 seeds Stein Metzger and Kevin Wong, 21-9, 21-10 in 45 minutes.

Part-time Fort Lauderdale resident Dana Camacho and Mike Mattarocci had the unenviable task of playing three-time Olympic medalist Kiraly and Brent Doble, 21-15, 21-14 in 43 minutes.

Franci Rard of Pompano Beach and Teri Van Dyke of Deerfield Beach were eliminated by Rhonda Kottke and Marla O'Hara, 17-21, 21-18, 15-12 in a 66-minute marathon.