After failing three times in the Olympics, Lloy Ball eventually came to accept that failing to win a gold medal could not define him or his career, though he also knew that's the only way many others would evaluate him.

“I think I've become so happy with the person I am,” Ball said by phone from Beijing after the U.S. men's volleyball team beat Brazil 3-1 on Sunday morning to win the gold medal. “As much as this is an incredible feat, and one that I've been working on for so long, I know it won't change who or what I am. I still want to be a good dad, a great husband and son and teammate.

“It took me 36 years to get to be the man I am, and all this does is add another line on the resume and justify the sacrifice my family had to make. It's the most momentous thing in my sporting career, but it doesn't change who Lloy Ball is.”

No, those changes have already happened and are a big reason why he was able to finally find success in the Olympics. When Ball first joined the national team in 1994, he played with anger, often trying to push his team to victory by trying to do more himself. Then he'd lead by demanding more from his teammates in whatever way he could, often adding more pressure.

After a fourth-place finish in Athens in 2004, Ball figured his U.S. career was over. The odd thing is, the further away he got from the American team, the more success he had playing overseas, winning pro-league titles in Greece, Italy and Russia. After winning the European Champions League title this winter, the world's biggest title outside of international play, U.S. coach Hugh McCutcheon realized Ball was playing better than ever and asked him to return.

“It was a huge risk for Hugh to bring me back to the team,” Ball said. “If we didn't medal, it would be easy to say, ‘Why did you bring Lloy back when it didn't work before?' I have to thank Hugh for giving me that chance.”

McCutcheon made things easier for Ball by taking his captaincy away and giving it to Tom Hoff. After being the American's on-court leader for 10 years, the longest tenure of any U.S. volleyball captain ever, Ball could just worry about playing.

And then Ball showed the maturity he had gained. Throughout the Olympics, whenever the team got in trouble, he'd calm things down. He never yelled at teammates except to congratulate them. He became the team's steadying influence.

“It's just having learned from my mistakes,” Ball said. “Ripping guys' heads off and being down does nothing to help. I just tried to give the guys some silent confidence and tell them we'll get our chances to win every set. The guys believe it, and we never let each other down.”

If anything, Ball became his teammates' biggest booster, learning to allow them to do their jobs. Though he wasn't the captain anymore, he became the perfect leader.

“Some people mature sooner than others,” he said. “I would have liked to have been the man I am now in Atlanta, Sydney or Athens, but it doesn't happen for everybody when they'd like it to. I think the last couple of years I've come into my own and felt more comfortable in my own skin. This is just the culmination.”

When Ball was standing on the medal stand, waiting to receive his medal, the man he replaced as U.S. captain was waiting below. A gold medal winner in 1988 and a bronze medal winner in 1992, Bob Ctvrtlik was also the veteran leader of Ball's first Olympic team in 1996 and essentially is Ball's big brother in the sport. Now he's one of three U.S. members on the International Olympic Committee.

“I'm going to put the medal around Lloy's neck,” Ctvrtlik said when the time came.

It was an emotional moment for both men. Everything had come full circle.

“He taught me so much, and there is no one who has more character or heart than Bob,” Ball said. “To have him there at the end is very fitting and meant everything to me that he did that. It really showed me how far I've come.”