May 1, 2013
STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford senior men's volleyball player Jake Kneller played his final match on April 20, when the Cardinal lost in the first round of the conference tournament to Long Beach State. But over his collegiate career, Kneller provided leadership, a winning attitude, and a nasty serve.
In essence, Kneller demonstrated what he felt were important aspects of being a student-athlete at Stanford: humility, focus, and staying positive.
The 6-foot-4 outside hitter from Ventura County started 15 matches as senior, played in 109 career matches and had 38 service aces. But his legacy will be the winning attitude he left behind -- Stanford went 80-46 during Kneller's four seasons -- as well as his contributions to Stanford's 2010 NCAA title team.
Kneller played with 2010 national player of the year Kawika Shoji, now playing for a top European team in Berlin, Germany, and with 2013 freshman James Shaw, another promising setter. He also played with some of the best in Stanford history, such as Brad Lawson, who had 24 kills and an .821 hitting percentage in the NCAA championship victory over Penn State, and four-time first-team All-America libero Erik Shoji.
Kneller will graduate in June with a degree in science, technology, and society, and begins a career with a Palo Alto investment management firm on July 15.
In a recent interview with gostanford.com, Kneller reflected on his time with Stanford men's volleyball:
Q: How did you feel as a freshman on a team everyone knew would be good? Did you feel like you would fit in?
A: We returned every starter and I knew the talent level of the outside hitters was far superior to mine. I knew I had to make an impact in a different way. This is a realization that most of us who come to Stanford as freshmen have to understand -- we're going to have to make an impact off the court. It's not going to be as a starter, we're not going to be the center of the team for the first time in our lives.
I understood it was a very special team, and I understood they were guys that I wanted to work my butt off for. I wanted to do whatever I could to put us in position to win. I slowly figured out that my identity would be to bringing energy to practice, giving guys laughs, being a freshman sparkplug in a way. If we're having a slow practice, fire someone up. It definitely was a different world than I ever had to play before, but I understood it was a very important role and it would play a role in our success.
Q: Did you feel like you had to carry on that role beyond that season?
A: That is something I've tried to carry my entire career, especially this year. Looking back, it's a conversation I've had with coaches: `What legacy do you want to leave with this program? What direction do you want this program to go when you leave?' What I focused on, especially in the latter half of the season, was to continually help younger guys understand how important intangible roles are, and how important our different roles are in helping us to win. You need every person on your roster to contribute in some way and to be completely selfless to help the team. My role was to demonstrate that the team is more important than your own playing time.
Q: One of the notable things about this season was how Brian Cook and Steven Irvin took over matches. Both earned All-America honors. Did you see a lot of growth in both players this year?
A: Absolutely, both from a performance standpoint and a leadership standpoint. They're both juniors who can carry the load of our offense. So, of course, contributed a ton on the court and played very well. I think both Brian and Steven have become much better leaders this year and continued to become role models for the younger guys and really capturing that Stanford volleyball culture that we really try to cultivate.
Q: Do you see elements of Kawika Shoji in James Shaw?
A: There are plenty of guys who have that height, build and athleticism. But the things that separate a guy like Kawika and a guy like James are their passion for the game. They both love volleyball so much. It's their No. 1 priority. They are willing to do whatever it takes to be the best and win. You see that drive in very few guys at this level. There are guys that get by on pure talent, but there's an upper-echelon of guys who have more passion, more drive, more commitment. They know exactly where they want to be in two, five, or 10 years down the road. You see that in James the same way you saw that in Kawika.
Q: Was Kawika the most intense leader you had at Stanford?
A: No question. He had the ability, and everyone in the program knew that he wanted to win and was willing to do what it took to win. He had absolutely no issue with calling guys out and keeping guys accountable. But no one ever took it as a personal attack. They knew from his actions and his passion how badly he wanted us to achieve great things. It wasn't a personal attack on their character. It was him understanding that they needed to change in order for us to win. Everyone, from the other seniors all the way down to freshmen like me, understood that and thrived from it.
 | "You need every person on your roster to contribute in some way and to be completely selfless to help the team." - 2010 NCAA champion Jake Kneller '13 |
Q: Your brother Ben was a student manager for the San Diego State basketball team and was rewarded for his work by playing in a game. What can you learn from him and what he did?
A: Being a manager on a team like that is no different than being a bench player on our team, because every day he's in there and there's no glory and no fame or press or anything like that. He's not getting paid. He's doing the laundry in between practices. But when it comes down to practices, he is a practice player and he is making guys better in order to get the most out of them and win.
It was, and is, very inspiring to see him go in there and never complain. He always had the best attitude about it. He obviously loved it because he knew he was contributing to something much bigger than himself. And he got rewarded for it - he got to play in a game, which is a memory he'll have forever and really cemented himself as being a part of that program.
I see it the same way for guys on our team who don't start. We work every day in practice to continue to work the first team so they can get better. There's no glory most of the time, and then we do get those opportunities to get in the game and make a difference. That's something I learned from him and something that inspires me, because he went through it. If you're having a day at practice where you don't want to go through it, you can look up to your older brother who has gone through the same thing. You know that it's worth it.
Q: Though you did start much of this season, you were largely a role player. How did you accept certain things, and perhaps not accept others?
A: We're all Stanford guys and we all come in as freshmen wanting two things: To win and to start. Those are two inevitable desires of anyone who is part of any team. It's almost innate that we're always competing to be the best. It does take some time to accept that the path ends up being different than you think. But what I've learned is that playing time and wins are incredible, but they really are just icing on the cake because of the experiences I've had with this team, the memories and friendships I've made.
I've learned a lot about myself and I've grown from being a part of this program. Of course you want to be playing, that's never going to stop, but it's a very small part of this incredible experience.
Q: What's the greatest match you've been a part of during the past four years?
A: I'd say, even though it's the easy answer, it was Brad's performance against Penn State. It's still the most incredible thing I've ever seen.
Q: Is it strange to think your career is over?
A: I definitely don't have any regrets. It's been time well spent. It's been hard work, but awesome.
-- David Kiefer, Stanford Athletics