1st Place Volleyball July 2010 : Page 24
Breaking the Mold In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell states that the key to success in any fi eld is, to a large extent, a matter of practicing a specifi c task for a total of around 10,000 hours. 24 Phenom | July 2010 In support of this idea, more and more athletes are becoming “specialized” at a younger age, choosing to play only one sport and participating in that one sport year-round. In volleyball, this translates into a multi-million dollar junior volleyball industry that keeps its athletes on the court from the time the traditional middle school or high school season ends in October or November, through the Independence Day holiday in July. Considering most high school seasons begin in early August, that’s nearly 11 months of volleyball each year for girls playing both high/middle school and club volleyball.
Breaking the Mold
In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell states that the key to success in any field is, to a large extent, a matter of practicing a specific task for a total of around 10,000 hours.<br /> <br /> In support of this idea, more and more athletes are becoming “specialized” at a younger age, choosing to play only one sport and participating in that one sport year-round.<br /> <br /> In volleyball, this translates into a multi-million dollar junior volleyball industry that keeps its athletes on the court from the time the traditional middle school or high school season ends in October or November, through the Independence Day holiday in July. Considering most high school seasons begin in early August, that’s nearly 11 months of volleyball each year for girls playing both high/middle school and club volleyball.<br /> <br /> If 11 months of volleyball each year is the standard for girls to get the opportunity to play volleyball collegiately, especially at an elite level, then Shelby Dalton is breaking the mold.<br /> <br /> Dalton is a rising senior at Grand County High School in Moab, Utah, and has committed to play volleyball collegiately for the University of Utah. A phenomenal athlete, Dalton was named first-team all-state in Utah each of the past two years in basketball and softball, as well as volleyball.<br /> <br /> Dalton has played basketball since the third grade, volleyball since the fourth grade, and softball since her tee-ball days. When asked why she chose to play multiple sports in high school instead of just focusing on one, Dalton said, “I just like all of them. Where I live, we’re a small town, so we don’t really have year-round sports.”<br /> <br /> No year-round sports means no volleyball clubs. “We actually tried to get a club team (started) down here and pair up with two other small schools that are close to us, but it never really worked out,” Dalton said. “But even if I did that, they were trying to work it around the basketball schedule, so I wouldn’t have been totally club volleyball.<br /> <br /> “I don’t know what sport I would quit to play club. (But) it would have been nice to have club.”<br /> <br /> No volleyball clubs also means no juniors tournaments, which is where a majority of the collegiate volleyball recruiting takes place.Dalton was discovered by college coaches at a team camp she attended during the summer. “(Club volleyball players) get seen by more people, and they get to play year-round. The only way that our town gets seen is by going to camps for schools; we wouldn’t really be able to get seen by the colleges.”<br /> <br /> Although she has experienced overwhelming success in three sports at the high school level, when she enters college, Dalton Says she will turn her attention to just one sport: volleyball. “My freshman year (of high school), I realized that volleyball’s the sport I really love, and that’s the one I want to continue playing after high school,” she said.<br /> <br /> Dalton offers advice for girls who want to play volleyball collegiately at an elite level, but don’t have access to a club: “Go to as many camps as you can afford, and try to get seen by other people. If you can’t afford to go to camp, then play as much volleyball as you can. Get all the girls that like to play volleyball and try to play year-round.”<br /> <br /> If you are unable to play club volleyball, for whatever reason, you can still play the game year-round. Dalton put in the work to become a great volleyball player, and at the same time, played the other sports that she enjoys, too. Yes, her natural gifts are part of the equation, but only a part.<br /> <br /> If you don’t have access to a volleyball club, cannot afford to play in one, or just want to spend your time in other sports or activities, Shelby Dalton is a good model to show that you don’t have to play volleyball 11 months out of the year in order to play collegiately. She and Gladwell would agree, however, that you have to put in the work to get there.
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