Dual-sport athlete declares retirement

UCLA dual-sport athlete Matt McKinney has declared medical
retirement from UCLA, citing numerous injuries and illnesses over
the last three years.

McKinney, an outside hitter on the volleyball team and a power
forward on the basketball team, will stay in school and is set to
finish his degree in Spring 2006, but his scholarship will not
count against the allotted 13 that men’s basketball
receives.

“It’s very disappointing,” UCLA men’s
volleyball coach Al Scates said. “He wanted to contribute so
badly, but he never had the chance.”

In the end, the announcement of his retirement was just the
latest addition to the list of disappointments that McKinney has
had to face since arriving at UCLA. After arriving at UCLA as a top
recruit out of Santa Ynez, McKinney redshirted his freshman year of
basketball and played only sparingly in volleyball.

It was in his second year when the real problems started. In
late October, McKinney fractured a bone in his left foot and was
forced to miss the entire basketball and volleyball seasons.

“The injury was extremely frustrating for him,” Lee
Ann McKinney, Matt’s mother said. “He had worked so
hard after his freshman year to contend for a starting
spot.”

McKinney, who appeared in 26 games this past season, discovered
midway through the year that he had an internal stomach illness and
that the medicine he was using was tampering with his breathing and
stamina. McKinney later recovered from the illness and appeared in
seven matches for the Bruins’ volleyball team, but he
severely hurt his shoulder in the MPSF postseason match against Cal
State Northridge.

It was after the injury that McKinney decided that his athletic
career was over, and that he wanted to focus on academics.
“It’s been a very tough year for me going through so
many different medical problems and having to fight through
them,” McKinney said.