Dad has always been there, a single parent providing a strong foundation for Amy Mahinalani DeGroot. But there are some things even a father can't control.
Like the feelings of a fifth-grade girl who suddenly finds herself caught in the middle of a divorce, separated her from her mother.
Maybe, just maybe, those trying days made DeGroot a little stronger than most.
Maybe they happened for a reason. So that when she turned down an offer to play basketball for Montana three years ago, she'd have the strength to stand by her decision during a difficult freshman season on the University of San Diego volleyball team.
Certainly there must have been more than one time this daughter of former Hawaii-Hilo basketball standout Jim DeGroot questioned her decision. Girls from Frenchtown aren't supposed to bolt western Montana when the Lady Griz come calling, especially for a sport that doesn't even come close in popularity around these parts.
“My learning curve since my freshman year has been a lot more drastic than most of the girls that come into USD,” she said. “I had to catch up with the speed of the game.
“I played like every position. They didn't know which one I'd be best at. I went in and played middle, then right side, then I finally settled down at outside hitter.”
Settled down might not be the best choice of words. This past season, the junior was named Player of the Year in the West Coast Conference, leading the Toreros to their third straight league title and an NCAA tournament berth.
She paced San Diego in kills with 381 and was second in digs with 220. Last week she was named to her first All-America list, earning honorable mention accolades from the American Volleyball Coaches' Association.
Not bad for girl who didn't play much out-of-season volleyball as a prep.
“If I was going to play basketball it would have been at the University of Montana,” the 6-foot-1 DeGroot said. “It was between them and volleyball actually.
“I do miss basketball, but volleyball is just a natural sport for me. I think with my body type, I was built to play volleyball.”
From a genetic standpoint, it wasn't a stretch. Her mom, Arizonan Celyn Aradanas, played volleyball at Hawaii-Hilo.
And yet it is her father who serves as her primary coach and confidant. She shares his competitive fire, learned as a child while watching Jim play city league basketball in Denver and later while observing his coaching for Frenchtown High School and local youth club teams.
“I have definitely taken a lot of my dad's qualities into my own personal game as far as competitiveness and just thinking outside the technical aspects on playing my best,” she said. “We have similar mindsets. I'm hard on myself and he works me through it, and it's always constructive criticism.
“We still talk a bunch of times a week, always talking about the team and myself and everything. Definitely if we lose the first person I call is my dad.”
The San Diego volleyball team enjoyed a breakthrough season in reaching No. 13 in the national rankings. Unfortunately for the Toreros, they were bounced in the first round of the NCAAs by a USC team that recruited DeGroot three years ago.
“I've tried to stay positive about it,” said the junior, who helped lead San Diego to the Sweet 16 as a freshman. “We have everybody returning except for our senior setter next fall, so I'd say Sweet 16 or Elite 8 next season.”
Volleyball is a huge part of DeGroot's life, and her future plans confirm it. After graduating, the liberal studies major would like to pursue a professional career either overseas or in the United States as a beach player.
With her uncommon work ethic, anything seems possible. DeGroot stays in San Diego all summer to focus on training and benefit from the expertise of the Toreros' strength coach.
“I'm down there every day working out at 7 in the morning, just physically bettering myself,” she said. “It's about quickness, speed, jumping. The faster you are off the ground the higher you can jump, the higher you can contact the ball.
“We go for two hours in the weight room and then do some sprint work. We trained a lot in the sand as a team this past spring. Then in the summertime I'm down there a lot on my own.”
You could say DeGroot has come a million miles since her prep playing days in Montana's Class B. Then again, not much has changed.
She earned player of the year honors in volleyball and basketball at Loyola Sacred Heart, and she's a player of the year at San Diego. Only the uniform colors have changed.
Sports columnist Bill Speltz can be reached at 523-5255 or bill.speltz@lee.net.
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katt wrote on Jan 14, 2009 6:52 PM: