December 24, 2006
By Dana Oppedisano
naplesnews.com
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Sarah Gildersleeve didn't recognize this guy - the biology teacher at Gulf Coast High School offering his volleyball resume - but he apparently thought enough of her to interrupt English class for a chat that might have changed her life.
"He talked to me for the next 30 minutes about how he was our new coach," she says, "and how he expected me to step up and be a leader."
Dale Hutcherson, a coach with 32 years of experience but none in volleyball since 1989, also told the middle hitter she'd be changing positions.
Years, it seemed, had done little to improve defenses on the right side, and the new coach thought shifting the 6-foot senior there could create a "late blooming" monster for a team that was supposed to be in transition.
"We were going to go as far as she could carry us," Hutcherson says. "Defenses aren't used to seeing somebody control the ball and attack from the weakside. If we got her the ball there, we thought she could be unstoppable."
Just ask Naples and Barron Collier, the established powerhouses that had made a habit of beating up on the Sharks, how unstoppable Gildersleeve became in 2006.
She powered the sweep over the Golden Eagles that included Gulf Coast's first Collier County Athletic Conference title, then notched a school-record 36 kills in the district semifinal win that ended the Cougars' season.
Those were just notable highlights in a campaign that saw Gildersleeve record double-digit kills in all 27 of her team's matches.
Her 428 for the season shattered both the school mark (230) and nearly doubled her total as a junior, while the Sharks went a program-best 22-5 and advanced to the regional quarterfinals for the first time.
For accomplishing all this, often with opposing defenses well aware of what was coming, Gildersleeve is the 2006 Naples Daily News Volleyball Player of the Year.
"If you've got an option like Sarah, you can take advantage anytime you want," Hutcherson says. "I had coaches say, 'You've got that one hitter. Is that all you've got?' That's called smarts. OK, if you think that makes us predictable, stop her. Nobody ever did."
Gildersleeve was named October Athlete of the Month by National Collegiate Scouting, a Chicago-based recruiting service that's led to the piles of college letters that she stressed over - but never dreamed she'd get in such volume - at the start of her season.
"I've realized I can do whatever I put my mind to," says Gildersleeve, who is leaning toward attending Georgia Southern. "I'm one of those people who's really critical of myself, but somehow I'd pull it out and play well in games because the team relied on me. It would have been selfish to think of myself. This year taught me how to be a leader."
Guess Hutcherson got through, after all.
© 2006 Naples Daily News and NDN Productions. Published in Naples, Florida, USA by the E.W. Scripps Co.
