Ace & Tell With Matt Anderson
First and foremost, I’d like to thank Mr. Matt Anderson for giving me the opportunity to have a very personal conversation with him. Right from the start, I told him that I don’t want to ask him about volleyball because he always talks about it.
I made him decide on the subject he and I could talk about and we both agreed to talk about his nephew Tristin who he describes as a loving, intelligent, motivating, interesting and beautiful kid.
Before you get to know more about Tristin and how special he is, let’s get to know Matt Anderson as a volleyball player:
1. He joined Team USA in 2008 and plays as an outside hitter.
2. Matt is currently playing professionally in the Russian Super League with Zenit Kazan. He has previously played in Korea and Italy.
3. He made his Olympic debut at the 2012 London Olympics with Team USA finishing 5th. Individually, Matt was the 13th Best Scorer, 8th Best Spiker, 11th Best Server and 7th Best Passer.
4. Matt is two -time USA Volleyball Male Indoor Player Of The Year (2012 & 2013).
5. He played at Penn State in college where he was awarded as The 2008 AVCA Co-Player Of The Year (with Paul Lotman) after he led his school NCAA Men’s Division I Championship. Matt was also recognized as The Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.
6. Matt stands at 204cm ( 6 ft 9 inches) cm with a spike reach of 373cm.
7. Matt has 4 tattoos, ie one for his father who died in 2010, one for his nephew (which we talked about), one for the 2012 Olympics and the most current one is about love.
8. He has 3 older sisters and 1 older brother.
9. Matt is on Twitter (twitter.com/MattAnderson_1) and an official Facebook Fan Page (www.facebook.com/MattAnderson1).
10. He is the ONLY Male Indoor Volleyball Player from Team USA to ever trend on Twitter (Trending Date of August 4th, 2012).
11. He strongly supports the fight versus Autism (www.autismspeaks.org)
12. In 2009, he suffered from pneumonia and was in the hospital for 14 days.
13. Check out his full profile on Team USA: www.teamusa.org/Athletes/AN/Matt-Anderson
Like what I’ve mentioned, my interview with Matt focuses on his relationship with his nephew who has autism. I really wanted to bring something different. A side of Matt we don’t get to see nor we read about.
A part of his life that I strongly believe can change how we perceive not just those who are autistic but others in general.
I proudly share the transcript of our tête-à-tête…
Q: Let’s talk about Tristin…
Tristan is 7 years old and he is the second child of my sister Joelle. I am not sure when they exactly diagnosed him with autism. I get a different view of Tristin as a person because I’m gone for so long. Over time he makes such big strides, they are all incredibly noticeable to me. Just as his social interaction with people.
Of course he has his moments. Knowing his mind works different, he doesn’t understand a lot of the general accepted social behaviors. He is in a special class and Tristin is doing well.
It’s extremely difficult for my sister because she’s with him everyday. It has to be incredibly frustrating for my sister who has 2 other children who are extremely bright and when she tells them something, they understand it, they do it and they learn.
For Tristan. it’s more like a process of ingraining and relating with him that you have to touch base first on. Then you can try and develop new behaviors and processes.
Q: How did you find out about Tristin’s autism?
I think I was in Italy at that time when we finally got the diagnosis. I wouldn’t say we all kind of knew something was up but we kind of sensed it. He was not developing as fast as his older brother. He wasn’t speaking as early as his older sibling so we had him checked up by a doctor. We thought he had some problems with his hearing.
After that, the signs of autism started to slowly develop in different outbreaks or different behavioral events that were happening which led to the overall diagnosis.
Q: How did you take the news?
It’s a bummer of course! It doesn’t change how I feel towards him or my family or anything. It’s something that happens. There is no cure for it now, just developing different therapies and researching the cause of autism and like behavioral disabilities.
The thing that sucks the most is the social stigma that comes with it. We obviously deal with it as a family every day so we understand it more than most. However, it’s still tough when you know when my sister goes grocery shopping and for some reason he just has a breakdown. Other people looking might not understand why he’s crying, why is your kid throwing a fit in the grocery store and why can’t you just give what he wants. It’s not like that…
It’s the judging that bothers me.
Q: If you could teach or share Tristin any valuable lesson you’ve learned from volleyball he could use in his daily life, what would it be?
You can’t live your life on the opinions of other people. You got to do what you feel is right for you, for your heart and for your family. The opinions of others should not influence you on what and how you carry yourself as a person.
Q: What have you learned from Tristin and his condition?
It’s the little things. To be able to find joy in some things as simple as you know he loves Angry Birds and everything that goes with it. Just to see how happy he gets when he gets a new toy or when he watches videos on Youtube on how people play the game. It’s really cool. It’s fascinating! His attention to it is incredible.
Q: When he gets older and he starts to experience the outside world, what would you tell him?
Just be patient with yourself and when you’re with other people. The fact that everybody is different and everybody lives their lives for different reasons. Try not to act irrationally. Try not to jump the gun in a lot of your decisions.
Q: Has there been any unpleasant experience Tristin had gone through?
I don’t think there’s been any big events in Tristin’s life like at school with some kid bullying him.
The journey is difficult and it’s an uphill battle. until the last day. It always will be. I think it is for a lot of people and not just with autistic people. When you have something or do something that’s not the social norm, you’re going to always have people who look down upon you just because you’re different.
Unfortunately, that’s what our society is now. The differences we have is what makes us who we are.
Q: If you could give Tristin a superpower, what would it be and why?
I would give him the ability to read the minds of others. With autism, he doesn’t read other people’s emotions, tone of their voice and facial expressions. If he was able to read their minds, it would give him a better understanding of where they are coming from and help him decide the proper behavior faster and more consistently.
Q: You’ve been to so many places since becoming a national player and also as a professional athlete. If you could take him to any of the places you’ve visited or any place in the world, where would you take him and why?
I will take him to an island. He really enjoys being with nature and being able to roam. I will just walk behind and see what he wants to do.
Q: If Tristin was a volleyball player, which position he would play and why?
I would say he’s a setter. He’s very demanding. I think the setter orchestrates the team on the court. With him very demanding, he makes you want to play better and makes you want to help the team more.
Q: Tell us about your tattoo for Tristin…
I love my nephew. Anything I can do to put and show support out there for him and for children like him. The “puzzle piece” is the universal symbol for autism awareness. The fact it’s on my (right) wrist, all the pictures and the TV exposure I get during matches, people see it. I get ask a lot about it and the fact that I can say that it’s my way of supporting my nephew and other autistic kids is pretty cool for me.
Q: Picture Tristin next you right now. What would you want tell him?
I love him and I’ll do anything for him.
Q: With Tristin, his condition and everything else you’ve experienced in life, do you believe things in life happen for a reason?
I believe things happen because they happen. I don’t think there’s a grand plan for everyone. I think that we are people, we are part of the world and the world is not ours. I think that we fit into the structure of our consciousness and of our reality. I think that things happen because you are here at that moment.
If things happen for a reason, why do we live? Why do we have our consciousness? Why are we not just robots?
If there’s a grand plan, why do we feel? Why do we have senses? Why do we love? Why do we hate? Why do we feel jealousy towards someone? Why do we motivate other people to be better people if it doesn’t matter if it’s just going to happen for a reason beyond their control?
*End of conversation*
Personally, I agree with his views that we are all different, we should live our lives the way want it to be and not let others take control. We do things for ourselves and for people we love. Life is about the little things which we should all enjoy to the fullest.
I am deeply touch with how he and his family are treating and raising Tristin. The outside world might end up somewhat judgmental or even cruel to this beautiful kid but with an uncle who will do anything for him and a very strong family to forever support him I remain hopeful and optimistic that this world will be a better place for all of us despite of how it is now.
Tristin, I have not met you but I look forward for that day to come. I suck at playing Angry Birds but I will try my best to experience your world made of innocence and laughter.
You are very precious Tristin.
You and your uncle are beyond amazing.
PS: Happy 8th Birthday Tristan (May 11th)!
This article (pages 73-75) originally appears in the April 2014 issue of the Danish Volleyball Magazine
(images: FIVB & Serg Borodin)
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