Long Beach State University Athletics
Scott-Arruda Reflects on Olympics
9/2/2008 12:00:00 AM | General
Sept. 2, 2008
As she spoke, Danielle Scott-Arruda reached into her purse and pulled out a smaller bag with a pocket.
Scott-Arruda then looked down and pulled out the one symbol of success that had previously eluded her -- an Olympic medal.
"It's beautiful," she said, cradling the glowing silver medal in her hands. "And if you look at the back, you can see there's some jade, too. We didn't know about that until after we got them.
"We had a good run ... I really feel like we came together at the right time."
With the Beijing Olympics over and a silver medal in her grasp, Scott-Arruda, one of only two four-time Olympians ever to play for the U.S. women's indoor volleyball team, had time for a brief visit home.
The former Woodlawn High multi-sport standout was scheduled to fly out to Chicago ahead of Hurricane Gustav in order to tape an appearance on "Oprah" later this week.
From there, Scott-Arruda is set to return to her home in Sao Paulo, Brazil, before going on to play professionally in Italy in early October.
Images from Beijing, time spent with family in Baton Rouge and future plans resonate. The chance to start her own family and training for what would be an unprecedented fifth Olympic berth are all on the mind of the 35-year-old.
"I love all the food here," Scott-Arruda said. "Crawfish, etouffee ... you name it. My sister is a great cook, which is a great thing for me.
"Whenever I'm home, I try to go out to different places to eat and shop. The thing that amazes me is how much Baton Rouge has grown and changed.
"They really want me in Italy earlier in September. But I need to spend some time with my husband. The season starts Oct. 2 and I'll probably get there around Sept. 28.
"Once the season ends in April, I'll probably come here for a visit and then get back to Brazil. Then we can start a family. My husband and I really want to have a baby and I figure the sooner the better, especially if I want to make a fifth Olympic team."
Scott-Arruda has been a member of the U.S. national team since 1994 and was an Olympian in 1996, 2000 and 2004. Even though she was the national player of the year as a collegian at Long Beach State and has had an illustrious pro career with stops in Italy, Brazil and Japan, Scott-Arruda still surprised many with her play in Beijing.
A 6-foot-2 middle blocker, Scott-Arruda had five kills and two blocks, accounting for seven points in the U.S. team's 3-1 loss to Brazil and was among the leaders in most of the other matches even though she was the oldest member of the team.
The shocking murder of Todd Bachman, the father of former teammate Elizabeth Bachman McCutcheon, at a tourist spot in Beijing hours before the team's first match had an impact. McCutcheon is married to U.S. men's head coach Hugh McCutcheon.
"The first couple of games we played on pure emotion," Scott-Arruda said. "Of course, our thoughts were with the Bachmans. That's hard to maintain. Fortunately, we were able to regroup."
Because of a busy schedule that included practices and film sessions, Scott-Arruda did not see any other teams play. She relished the chance meet other U.S. athletes in the Olympic village and at practice sites.
During a chance meeting in the cafeteria, two U.S. women who had won gold medals in a rowing event stopped to wish the volleyball team well. One player let Scott-Arruda wear her medal briefly.
Before their final practice, volleyball team members mingled with the U.S. women's basketball and soccer teams. They all jokingly tried each other's sports before posing for a massive group picture.
There was more than one familiar face in that crowd for Sott-Arruda, who also played basketball at Long Beach.
"At the opening ceremonies I looked over and saw Lisa Leslie," Scott-Arruda said of the four-time basketball Olympian. "She said `Danielle, is that you?' I told her, `Yes, it's me, I'm still here.'
"We played against each other in college. Then I tried out for the (Los Angeles) Sparks (Leslie's WNBA team) one year. She showed me a picture of her daughter and said this would be it ... her last Olympics."
Though they have never officially met, Scott-Arruda also knows Baton Rouge's Seimone Augustus, the former Capitol High and LSU basketball star.
In years past, Scott-Arruda attended several of Augustus' LSU games and even took a group of nieces and nephews down to get her autograph.
Scott-Arruda said she also enjoyed having former Assumption High standout Kim Willoughby, a distant cousin, as a teammate. Willoughby joined the U.S. team just four months ago.
"This was the first time I've played with Kim," Scott-Arruda said. "Now I wonder why it took so long to get her on the team. She's a great player and has been for a while.
"She played her role. Really we all did. Because of adjustments the coaches would make during a match you might start one game, but not the next one. You had to be ready."
Scott-Arruda also talked about her husband, Eduardo, a former pro player and a member of Brazil's national team and now the supervisor of sports in Jandira, one of the provinces.
Years spent living and playing professionally in Brazil have improved Scott-Arruda's ability to speak Portugese. Her husband envisions a post-volleyball career for her as a broadcaster.
She wants more time to work on her locally-based non-profit foundation, Believer in You, Inc., designed to help young adults pursue their dreams in arts, education and sports. She said donations are being accepted at Believer in You Foundation, Inc., P.O. Box 86184, Baton Rouge, La. 70817-1200.
Family members do much of the work now and have the e-mail address BelieverinYou@gmail.com.
"I'm not sure what I'll do," Scott-Arruda said. "I've never put limits on my volleyball career before. I don't plan on doing that now."
