Italy's "Mr. Skyball" Adrian Carambula reveals secret behind his superhero serve: "To be competitive, I have to be different"
The two-time Olympian has no Batmobile, cape, or high-tech gadgets among his belongings, but the impossibly high, spinning serve that's in his repertoire is nothing short of a superhero skill. Olympics.com spoke to Carambula about the origins of his signature move and how he is using it to give other beach volleyball players hope.
Superman’s intergalactic flying gave a boost to introverts with world-saving intentions. Spider-Man's web-weaving justice enlivened teens with a passion for science, while Batman's signal was a beacon of hope for the dark and misunderstood.
In the world of beach volleyball, however, no superhero compares to Adrian Carambula. Dubbed Mr. Skyball, the Italian athlete, officially listed as 1.83 metres tall (5ft 11inch), is a ray of light for some of the shorter volleyball players who don't match the typically towering physiques in the sport, which can be as high as two metres.
Though, like every true superhero, Carambula remains humble and prefers to stay in the shadows.
"The word 'famous', it's a big word. I don't consider myself famous," he told Olympics.com ahead of the 2023 Beach Volleyball World Championships, with Paris 2024 Qualifying berths on offer. "A lot of people identify with myself. I know it's not normal for me to be 181 [cm tall] and play at this level. I'm not the fastest either. I'm not the skinniest either, so I know that I represent a big community and it does feel good. I feel a little bit of responsibility with that."
"I know I'm the type of player that gives a little hope to the little guys," - Carambula to Olympics.com
Carambula's superhero power is a high, almost vertical serve that has thrown many an opponent off balance.
Armed with this trademark move, Mr Skyball is hoping to qualify to his third Olympic Games, at Paris 2024, but first a mountainside mission in the Sierra Madre lies ahead.
Italy's Adrian Carambula is nicknamed Mr. Skyball for his unique, sky-high serve.
Mr. Skyball: The origin story
As every superhero, Carambula has a theme song to add some dramatic tension to his extraordinary feats.
The sombre orchestral beats of Adele’s "Skyfall", a theme song from the James Bond 007 movie of the same name, sound over the competition arena whenever Carambula does what he is best known for – sending an impossibly high, spinning serve that leaves his opponents scrambling and often failing the return.
“I have the serve that all the kids love, because it's almost from a superhero," Carambula shared with us. "It's the weapon that I use to serve. It catches people off rhythm. They lose a lot of notion of where they pass on the court, and with that my partner is able to get involved up ahead and get a lot of blocks."
The menace of beach volleyball players worldwide, it is a serve that has even the most seasoned commentators exclaiming in surprise. And it has now become such a natural part of Carambula's game that he deploys it without having to think about it twice.
"A few people in the US will serve it, maybe not as the same type of style with the spin for a toss," said Carambula, who picked up the move by watching players on the beaches of Miami. "And then I just mastered it because I don't even practise it anymore. In the game and with the pressure, that's when it comes out."
Whether it’s spinning a web or training in martial arts in a mountain monastery, diligence is the key to mastering a skill, as superheroes will attest.
That was the case for Carambula as well. While now the 'skyball' serve comes naturally to the Uruguay-born Italian, the beach volleyball player confided that it has taken him years of practice to nail the stroke.
"I grew up on the beach in Miami with a lot of free time. I played more volleyball from 18 years old to 22...I don't think there's a player on tour that played more volleyball than me at that age," he said.
"At the beginning, like everything else, for you to master something, you have to repeat it a number of times"
Strength in difference: "Normal is not good enough at this level"
Carambula does not fit the mould of the average volleyball player.
Under the height that other players boast, Carambula quickly realised his best chance to excel in the sport is to offer something unique. And having unearthed that special something in his signature serve, he does not intend to go back.
"At this level, for me to be competitive, I have to be different," he said. "Normal is not good enough at this level, so I try to stay strong with my identity. I know exactly who I am on the court and who I am is a creative player that uses his instincts, involves his partner to give me a hand whenever he can. I need that to play at this level, so there is no changing."
The 'skyball' serve also serves another purpose. For Carambula, it is important to show that height is not the only characteristic that can help a volleyball player win matches.
"It is an advantage to be taller in this sport, just like basketball. But as much as it is a physical game, it still remains a very technical and also tactical [game]," he said. "If I go into the game knowing exactly what my limitations are, how to get my partner involved, know what I can and cannot do, if I do that, I know that I have the skills to compete at this level. That's the big word - identity. So you can do it. You can play at this level with this height, but you need to build the necessary skills to be able to compete."
The final fight scene: Tlaxcala 2023 and Paris 2024
While James Bond scaled the Eiffel Tower to pursue a villain in A View to a Kill, if Carambula accomplishes his mission of getting to Paris next year, he plans to make the iconic monument a background - rather than the setting - for his heroics.
The beach volleyball courts at the 2024 Olympic Games will be set up with the Eiffel Tower as the backdrop.
Currently ranked No.6 in the world with his partner Alex Ranghieri, Carambula looks in good shape to make the cut for his third Olympic appearance to follow on Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 in 2021.
The top 17 ranked men's teams in the FIVB Olympic Ranking will secure quotas for Paris 2024. Several events count towards this ranking, including the 2023 Beach Volleyball World Championships, which are taking place in Tlaxcala, Mexico from 6 to 15 October.
The winning men’s and women’s pairs at the championships will secure direct Paris 2024 quotas for their National Olympic Committees (NOCs)*. And that means Carambula is getting ready to transform into Mr. Skyball once again.
"We scored a couple of podiums this year, so I know it's within our reach," Carambula said. "It's going to be an interesting tournament because volleyball players never played at that height, up in the mountains. Whichever team adapts the fastest and finds out the winning formula is going to do well. Hopefully, it's us. I think anything within the Top 10, it's a good result, a big chunk of points, so we'll shoot for Top 10. And then everything else will be a nice bonus."
*As National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective countries at the Olympic Games, athletes' participation at the Paris Games depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation at Paris 2024. More information on the Olympic qualification pathway in beach volleyball is available here.