1st Place Volleyball July 2010 : Page 25
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. Dalton is a rising senior at Grand County High School in Moab, Utah, and has committed to play volleyball collegiately for the Uni-versity of Utah. A phenomenal athlete, Dalton was named fi rst-team all-state in Utah each of the past two years in basketball and soft-ball, as well as volleyball. 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.” 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 vol-leyball. “I don’t know what sport I would quit to play club. (But) it would have been nice to have club.” 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.” 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. 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.” 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 be-come 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. 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. ■ July 2010 | Phenom 25
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