American beach volleyball duo Andy Benesh and Miles Partain officially fired their coach after an up-and-down beginning to their time in Paris for the Olympics. It is an unprecedented move from Team USA on the sport’s biggest stage.
Further details about the separation are unclear at this time and any further speculation would be unfair.
However, Partain and Benesh began competition with a loss to Cuba in their opening match. They then had to battle to a 28-26 win in the second set of a 2-0 win over a bad Moroccan side. Their start was not what they wanted and the on-court play lacked creativity.
The win over Morocco took place in pool play on Tuesday. Partain and Benesh took the court again on Thursday to defeat a much better Brazilian team in three sets, 21-17 14-21, 15-8.
They fired their coach at some point between those two victories.
NBC broadcaster Dain Blanton hinted at the move during Team USA’s three-set battle with Brazil. He did not know the reason for the move. He just knew the move happened.
There was a team meeting and a team decision to not move forward with their coach. What that means is possibly (assistant coach) Paul Lotman will move into that coaching spot. We do not want to speculate on the details. We will get those answers after the match from the players themselves
— Dain Blanton
Partain and Benesh offered a statement of clarification on Saturday. Except… the statement didn’t really clear things up.
We are very grateful for Mike Placek’s generosity, dedication, and tireless efforts leading up to the Olympics. His commitment and contributions have been unwavering. After careful consideration, we have decided it is best for us to part ways and explore different strategic paths.
We remain deeply appreciative of what Mike has done for us and wish him continued success in all his future endeavors. We prefer to keep this decision private. We are releasing this official statement to clarify and address some misleading rumors regarding the situation. We have a great support staff and appreciate their effort and commitment during this transition.
— Andy Benesh and Miles Partain
Perhaps there is more to this story. Maybe Benesh and Partain got into it with Placek after struggling with Morocco and losing to Cuba. Maybe those struggles alone were enough to cut him loose.
For whatever reason, the partnership wasn’t working. Both parties went their separate ways.
To fire, or “part ways,” with a coach in the middle of the Olympics is not normal. This does not happen often. This may, quite literally, be the first time that a coaching change happened at the Games.
Before? Sure. After? All the time. Rarely, if never during!
Despite the surprising opening loss to Cuba, Andy Benesh and Miles Partain qualified for the Round of 16. They will play the Italian duo of Paolo Nicolai and Samuele Cottafava — with either a new coach or no coach — on Monday at 11:00 a.m. EST.