Volleyball offers coach a fleeting comfort

BEIJING — For a couple of hours every day, Hugh McCutcheon finds a way to bury his emotions deep inside. He puts away his family's tragedy, still as real as the moment it happened, and devotes his complete attention to his volleyball team.

It's probably the most difficult thing he's done in his life. But McCutcheon is a coach and this is the Olympics and he feels he owes it to his team, his extended family, to give them all that has left.

He calls it compartmentalizing.

"I'm just trying to get into my professional context and be fully invested in that," McCutcheon said after his team's thrilling five-set win over Russia in the Olympic men's semifinals Friday.

Somehow, out of the tragedy of two weeks ago, when McCutcheon's father-in-law, Todd Bachman, was stabbed to death and his mother-in-law, Barbara, was seriously wounded, the coach has found a fleeting bit of comfort in the remarkable run of his team.

That tragedy could have crushed his team. It could have removed all of the inspiration and optimism McCutcheon had built over his four years as coach. It could have left the team without any illusions.

But he wouldn't let that happen. They wouldn't let that happen.

"One of the reasons I'm still here is that I realize that so many more lives are invested in this than just my own, in terms of what our team is trying to do here," he said.

His wife, Elisabeth (whom he calls Wizzy) and mother-in-law have returned to Minneapolis. Barbara Bachman still is hospitalized, but she's improving, showing no signs of infection after eight hours of surgery following the assault.

McCutcheon missed the tournament's first two games, but he returned for the Americans' four-set win over longtime-nemesis Bulgaria.

"We had a group discussion about whether or not I should stay, and Wizzy told me she wanted me to stay," he said.

The team is undefeated in seven games and heading to a Sunday meeting with Brazil for the gold medal. In the midst of the turbulent fortnight, this win over Russia was a moment to celebrate.

"It has been a roller-coaster ride, and I'm not real fond of roller coasters," defensive specialist Rich Lambourne said. "I have no frame of reference on how to deal with a situation like Hugh's family has had to deal with, but I've learned a tremendous amount about being a human being from Hugh."

Against Russia, the Americans took a 2-0 lead, lost the next two sets, then rallied to win the fifth set, 15-13. The Americans had lost 11 straight times to Russia in matches that mattered. But this is a team playing for something maybe even more important than the medal.

They're playing to honor the memory of Todd Bachman, and they're doing whatever small part they can to relieve the suffering of Barbara and Wizzy.

"Certainly it makes it good for the family to see that we're out here trying as hard as we can," Lambourne said. "But I don't think that we're trying to make the tragedy a giant issue any more than it has to be."

What else can they do? They understand they're only playing a game. But playing a game as hard as it can be played is the only way they know to help.

"This is just the Olympics; it's not life," middle blocker Ryan Millar said. "It's two weeks of your life that are important, but not as important as your wife and her family and your family.

"But Hugh talked to Wiz and her mom and they told him, 'You came here for a job. You need to stay there and do your job and help these guys try to achieve something great.' "

After Sunday's finale McCutcheon will fly home and finally deal, 24 hours a day, with his family's tragedy. He will help his wife work through the horror she witnessed. He will do what he can for his mother-in-law.

That quickly, he will trade the illusory life of the Olympics for the painful process of grieving.

"I need to get back to my family," McCutcheon said. "This is wonderful for our team and for our organization, for the guys, for the number of hours and years they've invested.

"It's a fantastic achievement and I'll embrace it and enjoy it. But as soon as we're done I've got to get back to where I'm needed, which is with my family. Wizzy was as much a victim in this whole thing as anyone. To have to witness the things that she's had to see and go through the loss that she's had to endure, that's not an easy thing."

Before the Russian game, the team received an e-mail from Wizzy, a member of the 2004 women's Olympic team, encouraging them to put away all of their sadness and enjoy the moment.

"This tragedy is now a part of Hugh as a person," Lambourne said. "It's something that he and his family are having to deal with. And as such, Hugh being a part of our team, in an indirect way, it becomes something we have to deal with. So we're doing our best to fight and do the things that Hugh wants us to do. And by doing that we're trying to do the best for Hugh and his family."

They did what they could. They beat the Russians in five demanding, Olympian sets. Once again, they honored their coach and his family by playing as passionately and joyfully as they possibly could.

Steve Kelley: skelley@seattletimes.com.

Read his blog from China at www.seattletimes.com/Olympics