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Friday, August 1, 2008
And the Hits Keep on Coming
Central Oklahoma, OK
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Heritage Hall’s Tyler Henderson might be the best volleyball player Oklahoma has ever seen
Sitting in the dentist chair, Tyler Henderson was in for a routine checkup when she got more than her teeth cleaned. She got some advice that would change her life.
“The dentist told me that I should play volleyball because I was tall,” said Henderson of that moment nearly six years ago. “I had never played volleyball so I decided to take his advice. Looking back, I’m glad I did.”
She tried it, liked it and since, has excelled at the sport. Since that moment at the dentist’s office, the Heritage Hall senior has become the best player in Oklahoma and one of the best in the country.
“It’s brought out the best in me, in what I can do,” Henderson said.
The 5-foot-11 outside hitter has developed into a two-time Olympic All-American and is listed on prevolleyball.com as one of the top 50 players in the class of 2009. She is the lone Oklahoman on the list, which is voted on by college coaches.
“She ranks real high on the list of the best players I have ever coached,” said Heritage Hall coach Bill Hamiter, who has coached 26 years at the youth, club, high school, college and international level. “She is not the best all around player yet. But her skill, athletic ability and attitude make her an elite athlete.
“Her power and jumping ability give her a huge edge.”
Henderson has led the Chargers to three straight Class 4A state championships, including being named the tournament MVP last year. She also helped her Oklahoma Peak Performance club team qualify for the USA Junior Olympic Girls’ National Championships open division this past summer, the first team from Oklahoma to ever qualify for the toughest division at the national championships. They finished 14th.
“She’s always been a dominant attacker,” Hamiter said. “She has improved her passing and defensive skills. She is a dominant presence hitting and blocking. Her power and jumping ability is what makes her so special. Sometimes you have a good leaper with no power, or the other way around.
“But she has both and that puts her in an elite category.”
She is a player who coaches crave, teammates admire and opponents fear. Henderson has been recruited by most of the colleges in the country. She said she wanted to stay close to home and has verbally committed to the University of Tulsa.
“She is the most dynamic offensive player the state has seen in about 15 years,” said Edmond Santa Fe coach Will Ethridge, who also coaches Oklahoma Peak Performance. “She has been the most highly recruited volleyball player I can remember coming out of Oklahoma.
“She is as good as anybody I have seen in the United States offensively. She just hits the ball extremely hard. ”
She’s always had the power to hit the volleyball. But the sport didn’t come naturally to Henderson even though it looks like it did. She struggled early on learning the nuances of the sport.
“It took a while for me to get better,” Henderson said. “It was really hard at the beginning. But after about a year and a half, it just clicked. I just started improving a lot. I started to understand the game. It took a lot of practice.”
Hamiter said: “She is very open to coaching. She is a team player. Her consistency throughout the year is a huge strength. You know she is going to go out and perform at a high level each game.”
Henderson also got help from participating in track. Similar to volleyball, Henderson excels on the track. She has won two straight Class 3A state high jump championships. She said her jump training for track has helped her jumping ability on the volleyball court.
It has helped her do what she does best, jump high for the volleyball and slam it down for the points.
“It feels good to get a kill,” Henderson said. “I just get up high and try to get enough strength to hit the ball hard. It takes a lot of teamwork to get one. It takes good defense and the right setup.
“I just like finishing off the kills for my team; making all our hard work pay off.”
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My father started in the hardware sporting goods business in 1929 in Shawnee. I went into partnership with my brother...
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