It was late in the evening Aug. 11, and Maryland volleyball coach Steve Aird, after putting his two young children to bed, was watching as the U.S. men’s volleyball Olympic team pulled away from Brazil.
Outside hitter Matt Anderson, Aird’s friend for more than a decade, helped USA volleyball to another victory. Aird received a message from Anderson saying “That was fun” before he fell asleep that night.
“When you coach at this level, you don’t really get nervous,” Aird said. “But when I’m watching the Olympics, … I get a lot more emotional. When they beat Brazil, I just had a hard time sleeping after that.”
Their bond began when Anderson competed at Penn State and Aird coached there. Despite living in different countries nowadays, their relationship continues to grow.
“We’re like family at this point,” Anderson’s older brother Josh said. “Our kids hang out, we hang out. He’s close with my parents, even.”
While Aird is set to begin his third season in College Park, Anderson plays professionally for VC Zenit-Kazan in Russia. Since turning pro in 2008, Anderson has lived in South Korea, Italy and other places, but the two still stay in touch.
The two are so close, they often spend time with each other’s families. When Anderson returns to America, he often crashes at Aird’s house and hangs out with his kids. Two weeks ago, Aird made a 48-hour pitstop at the Anderson’s family’s house in Buffalo, New York, before continuing north to his hometown of Toronto.
Their friendship started as more of a bond between a player and a coach, but they grew closer through tragedy. In January 2010, the then-22-year-old Anderson lost his father, Michael. He confided in Aird.
“That first night, … he wanted someone he could talk to about that moment in his life, and we had a pretty long conversation until the very early morning,” Aird said. “That was the next thing about the friendship that cemented it as a longterm friendship.”
Ever since, the two have bonded over numerous common interests, ranging from food to music to cars. They have even vacationed together, exploring places such as Puerto Rico and Germany to get away from volleyball.
And in terms of personality and competitive mindset, the two are strikingly similar, according to Josh, who knows them both well.
“They’re like the same person,” he said. “They care about the same things and are just so similar.”
But never do Anderson and Aird talk volleyball.
“He doesn’t really want to spend much time talking to me about volleyball or the Big Ten or recruiting,” Aird said. “And for me as a coach in the Big Ten, especially as young as I was, it’s so time consuming and overwhelming at times that you need a release valve. He’s a superstar, but that’s not why I hang out with him.”
One opportunity Anderson and Aird have to discuss volleyball is when the two-time Olympian stops by Xfinity Center for one of the Terps’ practices. At one workout last September, as Aird directed his players through different drills, Anderson stood in his Team USA Olympic jacket, arms folded, watching his friend at work.
Once practice ended, the 6-foot-10 world champion joined the Terps huddle to speak with the team.
“We get excited, because it’s cool to have an Olympian here. And not any old Olympian, but probably the best in the world,” setter Whitney Craigo said. “He doesn’t just stand there. He helps us and coaches us on the game side but also the mental side. Always just to work and go hard.”
And the Terps’ relationship with Anderson goes deeper. On Anderson’s right arm is an blue puzzle piece, symbolizing autism awareness, that he added to show his charity work and love for his autistic nephew, Tristin. The Terps have emulated Anderson’s gesture, donning the puzzle piece on the shirts they wore at a recent golf outing.
With Anderson and Team USA chasing a gold medal in Rio de Janeiro, the Terps are tuned in. They’ve been constantly watching Olympic volleyball, but they’re even more attentive to Anderson’s matches. At practice, Aird set up a TV to keep tabs on his friend’s match with France.
And when Craigo and fellow setter Carlotta Oggioni are free to watch, the roommates are engrossed in the action.
“We’ve been watching everything,” Craigo said. “We’re screaming at the TV, cheering, jumping up and down. We always say it’s a Maryland volleyball family, and we just happen to have this Olympian in our family.”
