Volleyball player “Catch” Viecelli picks up several friends on his way to the beach. After parking, he runs to the volleyball court and joins a game as several attractive women greet him. Nearby, another player named Sonny Reston leaves a note for his sleeping girl friend, pulls on his swim trunks, and joins Catch at the beach volleyball court. Catch hands him a letter, and Sonny motions all his friends to gather around to hear the good news. The letter states that Sonny has been selected to join the U.S. Men’s National Volleyball team in training for the Olympic Games, and Catch has also received the same letter. Their friends congratulate them, but as Catch and Sonny walk down the beach, Catch is not sure they will earn a slot on the Olympic team. Sonny assures him they are the best, and will be an asset to the team. Elsewhere, medical student Steve Landow receives his invitation to be on the men’s national team, and is willing to postpone medical school for the opportunity to train. The players arrive late at the national training center, and Coach Doames reprimands them. He tells Sonny to get rid of his flashy outfit, and is only interested in molding the men into tough players. Sonny and Catch are asked to do a series of sprints. They meet another player, Newt Steinbech, who invites them to lunch, but they are interrupted by Newt's jealous wife, Marcia. As practice continues, the players are asked to do more exercises designed to improve flexibility, coordination and speed. At lunch, Newt tells Sonny and Catch that he has been on the team for six years, and it is always difficult. A player really has to want to succeed. He doles out other advice until Pam Howard joins them. She explains that she is working on her graduate degree topic “The Role of Motivational Psychodynamics and Interpersonal Relationships in Sports-Oriented Goals.” Sonny turns on the charm, saying Pam would be better off studying him than Catch. However, Catch reveals that he and Pam had a fling less than two years ago. When Sonny accuses her of breaking his buddy’s heart, she claims it was the other way around. Catch tells her that they should have dinner and talk about it. Later, the coach meets individually with each new recruit. Sonny is unable to articulate what it means to represent his country at the Olympics. The coach declares he will be watching him closely for the next two weeks and hopes that Sonny will come up with some good answers. Later, Catch arrives alone at Pam’s apartment for dinner. He mentions that team staff have set him up with a job in real estate development. Pam knows that Catch majored in political science and believes the job is a poor match for his interests. While she is pleased he made the national team, she hopes he will continue his education once his athletic career is over. Sonny arrives late, and announces that he is a junior management trainee at the Town & Country Hotel. The dinner helps Catch and Pam clear the air, and they resume their relationship. Newt returns home after a long day of training, and Marcia complains about wanting a normal life with children. Newt is thirty-three, and she does not hold much hope that he is going to earn a medal for his efforts. She keeps nagging him, but hates what she has become. In the morning, Sonny is late to practice because he is getting his ankles taped. The coach makes an example of him by throwing a continuous barrage of volleyballs to return until he collapses in a heap. Later, Catch and Pam argue about Coach Doames’s methods. Catch believes the coach was unnecessarily cruel, while Pam argues that winning teams do not have prima donnas, and the coach is trying to whip Sonny into shape. In Sonny’s shabby bungalow, he goes through his little black book looking for a date. The next morning, he is late for the team bus, and the coach insists he change into his dress wear in front of his jeering teammates. The team embarks on a domestic ten-city tour playing against Soviet-bloc teams that have dominated the sport for years. A television reporter announces that Coach Doames has to cut eight men to form the Olympic team. As soon as the tour ends, the team makes a trip to Nagoya, Japan, to play the Japanese national team, which has not lost to the American team in thirteen years. However, the American team has improved their standing, and is now ranked among the top ten. The American team wins the match three games to two, and hundreds of fans see them off. Sonny gets drunk with some female fans and shows up to a reception for the team at an upscale Japanese restaurant. The following morning, Sonny is late and the coach and team leave without him. Later, the coach criticizes his lack of discipline and failure to abide by the rules. Sonny counters that he does not like the coach’s rules and he quits the team. Catch is upset with Sonny’s decision. He believes his friend is the team’s best outside hitter, and they cannot win a medal without him. The coach switches training tactics and enrolls the team in an Outward Bound hike in which the team climbs rocks, treks through snow, and sleeps under the stars. Catch confesses to Steve Landow that he is not sure the hardcore training is worth the prize. Steve calms him, and Catch reconsiders his destiny. Later, Catch cannot stand to listen to the coach explain the merits of the hike as a training technique for a television audience. Pam lifts his spirits by teasing him and making love. Back at the training center, the coach informs the team they will soon be playing against the Cubans, Japanese, the East Germans, the Poles and the Soviets at the International Volleyball Tournament. He reminds his players that the other teams have older, more experienced players. In one match, the U.S. team has the lead against the Poles who soon catch up. Some American players get worked up over a referee’s bad call but Catch corrals them back into play. Another player, Dusty Dvorak, gets hit in the face with a ball, and needs his nose taped. Team U.S.A. receives another bad call and the game turns in Poland’s favor. The final score is fifteen-six. At the airport back in the U.S., Catch’s fans gather around while Newt gets served divorce papers. Soon, Catch confesses to Pam that being on the national team has lost its allure and he just wants a normal life with the girl he loves. Later, he spends time with Sonny who has turned professional. When Catch tells him that he wants to quit the team, Sonny responds that the Olympics represent class and he should stick with it. At the beach, Catch impresses a boy on the volleyball court. They talk about what it means to be the best and represent one’s country. Catch realizes that if he does not try, he will never know. However, he is so angry when coach cuts Steve from the team that he is ready to quit again. The coach responds that the team needs him and he would be passing up a once in a lifetime opportunity if he quit. At the training center, Coach Doames congratulates all the players that make the Olympic team. He tells his assistant that if Catch does not show, he should offer Steve a spot back on the team. At the last minute, Catch returns to the gymnasium and takes his place with the other players.