However, Le Malouin has not announced the end of his career. What’s the point. “Everyone around me knew it was over.” Beyond the simple pain, the danger was simply too great to play again. “I have four screws in my back, I no longer have any cartilage at the joint of the sacroiliac and the pelvis, the operation lasted five hours,” lists the regular at the Estivales des Côtes-d’Armor volleyball tournament. . The first six months I couldn’t do anything, I wasn’t far from the wheelchair. I tried to start again but without really believing it. And then there was the risk of the screws creating a bone crack. I didn’t want to break everything! “.
The repeated jumps and this tendency to distinguish the upper and lower body when attacking got the better of him. “It’s like you’re constantly twisting your pelvis.” Crippling, especially when you are so tall (2.09 m) and have “six lower backs instead of five”.
The gold medal at the Euro
Almost three years later, Kevin Le Roux must therefore make do with bodybuilding sessions. But he lives his life “in the States”, with a light heart. “I still had thirteen professional seasons, even though I only started volleyball at 16. I also have more than 200 caps with the Blues (254 exactly).” Moments are etched there forever. “The gold medal at Euro 2015, qualification for the 2016 Olympic Games, even if we missed out in Rio (9th at the finish)”.
Volleyball is also not far away for the Le Roux family. If he lives in the United States, it is because he followed his wife, Cursty Jackson, assistant coach at the University. “We first spent six months in Las Vegas, then a year and a half in Los Angeles, in Long Beach to be exact. For three months, we have been in Austin, Texas.” The local university there is the reigning NCAA women’s volleyball champion. “The living environment is calmer, friendlier and more family-friendly than in Los Angeles where there is a constant rush.”
Kévin Le Roux with his son Dwayne Curtis, three and a half years old. (Photo DR/KLR)
Christmas celebrations in Pénestin
For two years, Kévin has mainly devoted himself to his son, Dwayne Curtis, born April 23, 2020. “Since the start of the school year, he has been going to school, I have more free time”. All that remains now is to wait for the famous Green Card, the permanent resident card, which would allow him to work. “I hope to have it before the end of the year. This would allow me to coach volleyball.” It would also be his ticket to spending the Christmas holidays in the family stronghold of Pénestin, in Morbihan. “It’s been two years since I returned to France, because that would have blocked me from getting the Green Card.” Kévin Le Roux nonetheless remains this cheerful and relaxed being, just as he was on the pitch, alongside Benjamin Toniutti, Earvin Ngapeth and company. “Honestly, I’m not complaining. I started a new life in the United States. I enjoyed it for two years. Soon, we’ll have to get back to work. But here, sport in general is a real business. I will have opportunities.” A bright future lies ahead of him.
2023-10-19 07:01:26
#life #volleyball #player #Kévin #Roux #United #States
