Rachel Alvey is not your average 14-year-old. The lifelong
Morgan Hill resident is making a big name for herself
– even if she is undersized for a volleyball player at 5-foot-5
1/2.
MORGAN HILL – Rachel Alvey is not your average 14-year-old.
The lifelong Morgan Hill resident is making a big name for herself – even if she is undersized for a volleyball player at 5-foot-5 1/2.
Alvey, who is set to begin high school next year at Valley Christian in San Jose, will be competing in the USA Junior Olympics in Atlanta later this month as part of the Vision Volleyball Club based in Los Gatos. Her team, which is ranked No. 1 in Northern California for girls 14 and under, will face the top 27 teams in the country.
When she returns, there won’t be much time to rest, as she was picked during a nationwide tryout to play on the USA Girls High Performance Select A1 team. That team is composed of the top 30 girls in the country, and she will leave July 12 to head to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to train with the team and then compete at the USA High Performance Championships.
With so much going on, does Alvey feel exhausted from so much work?
“Sometimes, but what keeps me going is because I have so much fun doing it so it’s not like work; its my fun time,” Alvey said.
Getting her start
Alvey was first turned on to volleyball by her father, who started taking her to Stanford games, where she began to observe and get to know some of the players.
She signed up for a a recreational outdoor program in Morgan Hill when she was 8, and that same year she played on her first club team, the Golden Oak Volleyball Club of Morgan Hill (now the Adrenaline Volleyball Club).
Unfortunately, there wasn’t a team for her age group so she had to play on a 13-year-old team. Despite not getting to play very much due to her age and experience, she took advantage of the opportunites to learn fundamentals during her two years there,. One of those years she
got to play with her older sister Melissa, who will be a junior at
Valley Christian in the fall.
She played her next three season at Club Yahoo Volleyball Club in San
Jose, where she began to focus on the setter position that she’s
become so good at. She credits former Stanford setter Robin Lewis, who
coached her when she was 12, as being a big influence.
“She helped me start at setter,” Alvey said. “I saw her play when I
was younger.”
She’s played the past three years at Valley Christian Junior High
School, the last two under coach Tammy Anders, who marvels at her
growth during the time she’s coached her.
“She’s grown more than anybody I’ve ever seen grow,” Anders said.
“What separates her is her focus and work ethic. She’s a gifted
athlete from day one plus she has the work ethic.”
Taking it to the next level
The past couple of years, Alvey has begun her move to the next level.
Last summer she trained in Colorado Springs, Colo., as part of the USA
High Performance Development Camp. With the Junior Olympics and the
High Performance Championships upcoming, Alvey is just hoping to learn
as much as she can.
“I’m really looking forward to learning different teaching,” Alvey
said. “It’s always nice to learn different ways to practice. I really
look forward to learning from different coaches.”
Alvey already gets her share of different coaches. She’s privately
coached once a week by Fred Kieu, who has seen her game mature over
the past eight to nine months.
“All I can say is that she is not only athletic, but very dynamic,”
Kieu said. “As coaches, we look at players who are athletic and
dynamic. … Most players have to be trained to be dynamic, Rachel
already came dynamic. It just needs to be fine tuned.”
Bret Almazan-Cezar, her coach for Vision Volleyball, is impressed by
her athleticism and work ethic.
“She holds high expectations for herself,” Almazan-Cezar said. “Even
though she’s smaller than the average volleyball player, she holds
herself limitless to that. She’s got great all-around skills – she can
set, pass and hit. She’s always the hardest worker in the gym.”
Setting an example
As a setter, Almazan-Cezar said one of the best things Alvey can bring
to the table is being an example to her teammates.
“She’s always willing to do something to better her game,” he said.
“The biggest thing a setter can be is a role model, and I think she’ a good role model.”
Coach Anders echoed some similar statements.
“In her position she’s pretty much the quarterback of the team, and she knows that,” Anders said. “She takes the team leadership role well, and the girls respect her and like working with her.”
Alvey agrees with the importance of being a leader from her position.
“I think that a setter has to be a leader,” she said. “They also have
to encourage the other teammates when they are down.”
Alvey’s parents have helped mold her into a good leader through a multitude of support since she first started playing.
“I’ve gotten a lot of support,” Alvey said. “My dad has come to every
tournament since I was 8. My parents always support me when I’m down.”
With such heavy involvment in volleyball – she sometimes has to miss class on Fridays for weekend club tournaments – it wouldn’t be hard to imagine seeing Alvey’s grade point average slip a bit. But not for her: she maintains a 4.0 GPA.
“It’s pretty hard finding time, but I try to fit it in,” Alvey said of her schoolwork.
Being dedicated to her schoolwork, along with a couple of hobbies has helped Alvey stay well-rounded. She’s studied piano since she was 6 years old and also enjoys art.
But volleyball is still her No. 1 passion.
Looking ahead
While she may only be preparing to enter high school, all of her coaches say that she has the type of ability that will allow her to move far in her volleyball career.
“She’s going to have her pick of any four-year school,” Anders said. Almazan-Cezar said it’s up to Alvey to control of how far she can go. “I’ve had a lot of 14-year-olds with a lot of potential,”
Almazan-Cezar said. “Rachel does a great job of setting goals and making those goals a reality, so it’s going to be up to her to see where she takes it.”
Kieu said there’s no doubt Alvey will be a Division I player and that her potential is enough to take her far.
“Her potential can be anything she wants,” he said. “She works very hard on her fundamentals. Most girls aren’t jump setting at 14, and Rachel is doing it.”
Alvey said she hasn’t started targeting any schools yet, but she knows that she wants to keep enjoying the sport.
“I just like playing the sport for fun because I get to meet a lot of new girls,” she said.
Jimmy Durkin is the Morgan Hill Times sports editor. He can be reached
at jd*****@*************es.com.
