HIGH PERFORMANCE BEACH VOLLEYBALL
Moving on up R
To meet his goals in volleyball, Ryan Smith relocated himself from his home in Texas to California midway through high school. It paid off with a college scholarship By Debbie Kniffi n
yan Smith, a 6-7 high school senior from the small town of Aledo, Texas, took an unusual path to a NCAA Division I roster slot. He was just 16 when he left his family and moved to the West Coast. His re- cent signing of a national letter of intent to Stanford University demonstrates the inspiring possibilities that are available when passion fuels talent and opportunities are grasped. Smith fi rst encountered volleyball in 2007 when his older sister, Sara, joined her seventh-grade team. She quickly fell in love with the sport and recruited Ryan to help her practice.
“After a couple weeks, she outgrew serving against the roof and invited me to pepper,” Ryan said. “It was more than ugly, but she would give me pointers as we played, many times relaying to me what her coach told her at practice.” Ryan enjoyed the informal practices but didn’t realize that he could play competitively, too. Unfortunately, Texas isn’t exactly a boys’ volleyball hot- bed. Exposure to the sport and opportunities to compete are limited. Accord- ing to
maxpreps.com, there are just 21 high school boys’ programs statewide. In the northern part of the state, there are only nine boys’ club programs, according to
ntrvolleyball.org.
“When I fi rst started playing with my sister in the backyard, I never really consid- ered volleyball as a sport that I could pursue,” Ryan said. “I had always assumed it was a girls’ sport.” Ryan’s perspective shifted two years later thanks to Sara’s high school coach, a Southern California native who played throughout his high school and collegiate years. “It was then that I fi rst heard of boys play- ing volleyball,” Ryan said. “After watching hours of YouTube videos, I wanted to be like all the elite players. I began asking my sister more and more to play. We even convinced my dad to set up a makeshift net in the back- yard.”
riven by his newly ignited passion, Ryan embraced every chance to soak in the sport. He stumbled upon his fi rst competitive opportunity in 2010.
D
“Sara had an open gym at one of the four high schools [in northern Texas] that had
30 | VOLLEYBALLUSA • Digital Issue at
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boys’ volleyball,” said Allen Smith, Ryan’s father. “Ryan tagged along, and the boys’ team happened to be practicing, too. The coach also ran a club team. He needed extra players for nationals, which were being held in Austin two months later, and offered Ryan a spot.” Ryan, an outside hitter, accepted and competed with DFW High Intensity at the 2010 USA Volleyball Boys’ Junior National Championships.
“The team lost every set, going 0-22,” Al- len said. “After the tournament, we asked him what he thought. He said he loved it. He was amazed at the skill level of the 18 Open teams. We knew he was hooked.” In 2011, Ryan joined DFW High Intensity for the full season. The team practiced twice each week. Their gym was an hour and a half from Ryan’s home, but closer than any other program. His parents decided that his natural aptitude and passion for the sport validated the commitment.
“This was really the fi rst activity that Ryan
TEXAS HOLD ’EM: Ryan Smith has a fi rm grasp on a volleyball future. (Photo: Peter Brouillet).
was truly passionate about.” Allen said. “We were just trying to encourage him and provide him the opportunity to satisfy that passion. He was totally committed, so we were too.” Practice proximity is just one of the ob- stacles that boys’ volleyball players encounter in northern Texas. Another is limited competi- tion. Adult tournaments were about the only option in the area.
“The men we played against were very
good,” Ryan said. “It was challenging for us to score even 10 points. It was frustrat- ing at fi rst, [but] it hit me that these teams were better than anyone we’d play in our age group.” Ryan said. “Instead of getting upset, I used those games as opportunities to try new things. Looking back, it was a very cool and positive atmosphere.”
Despite his less-than-ideal volleyball landscape, Ryan improved, but he was still behind the curve nationally relative to players his own age.
“Before I learned of how serious vol- leyball was in other states like California, I didn’t know what I missing,” he said. “When I discovered how good other teams were and the skill level of players my own age, I saw what I was missing. These guys were in an en- vironment where there is a volleyball culture, where it’s not odd for guys to play.”
o compensate for Ryan’s limiting geogra- phy, the Smiths pursued opportunities for him to train at a higher level and subsequently discovered the USA Volleyball High Perfor- mance program. “We wanted Ryan to receive high-level
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