From beach to hard wood, Ericson’s one of the best
A friend’s beach birthday party in the summer of 1999 exposed Teal Ericson to a sport she would come to love almost as much as family. The idea didn’t cross her mind that she would later go on to play in a premier club, become a high school standout and earn a full-ride scholarship to the University of Nevada, Reno.But now, entering her final month with the Wolf Pack, Ericson has garnered prestigious recognition from the league and country. She was the Western Athletic Conference and national player of the week two weeks ago and earned an appearance in the latest Sports Illustrated “Faces in the Crowd” section.
“She could have gone to other places,” Patrice Ericson said of her daughter. “I can’t even put it into words. She’s gone through a lot of adversity, mentally and physically. We’re very proud that she’s done so well.
When she was young, volleyball was Ericson’s back-burner sport. She competed in downhill skiing when she was in second and third grade and had a good future ahead of her.
“Teal’s a great skier,” her mother said. “When you’re growing up in Tahoe, you want your kid to be a ski racer. She went to all the races, but she told her dad ‘I think you like this more than me.’ ”
Her father, Mike, realized that Ericson wanted to compete in volleyball. She signed up for the next volleyball camp after her experience at the birthday party.
“She showed me her maturity level by telling me that,” her father said. “When she was a sophomore in high school, I understood that she could probably make it (to the next level).”
Ericson said the family support has made her into the player she is now.
“He used to drive me to my club practice an hour and a half each way because he was afraid I would fall asleep afterwards,” Ericson said. “He, my mom and my sister have all been the reason why I keep playing.”
But volleyball’s been more than smacking balls over the net and rallying teammates to side out. For Ericson, volleyball keeps her family closer together. Her sister, Rachel, even competed in volleyball only because she wanted to have one more thing in common with Ericson.
“I’m trying to follow in her footsteps,” said Rachel, who came up to Reno last weekend after her school in San Diego was evacuated because of the fires. “I hated volleyball, but the reason I kept playing it was that I wanted to be like her.”
Making the decision
Eventually Ericson signed up for club volleyball, which also strengthened the bond between the Ericson sisters and their father. Mike would drive the girls down from North Tahoe to every club practice in Carson City. Each roundtrip was about three hours.
“It was time I really enjoyed,” her father said. “It wasn’t just practice time, but the driving was time I could spend with my girls.”
Teal’s success turned into big-time exposure to various colleges, including Nevada, California and South Florida.
“We have a box of thousands of letters from all across the country,” her mother said.
Ericson remembers her first couple years in high school vividly.
“It was always a goal, but it never became a real possibility until I got my first letters my freshman year,” she said about playing in college. “I remember those days when my dad came and picked me up from school and had these letters. He was so ecstatic. I remember it like it was yesterday.”
Ericson’s talent attracted Nevada head coach Devin Scruggs and she committed to the Wolf Pack early in her high school career at North Tahoe. A one-hour drive to the campus factored into her decision so her family could visit the Virginia Street Gym in the fall.
“I knew she could make a difference in our program so we recruited her and it worked out,” Scruggs said. “If there’s a top player that can make a difference for us, we absolutely would like for them to stay home, and Teal was one of them.”
Even in college, the Ericson family tried to support Teal.
Her parents, Mike in particular, even traveled to the road matches. Soon enough, flying out of the Reno-Tahoe airport became a common thing in the Ericson household.
“That’s a perfect example of how he’s been in my entire volleyball career,” Ericson said of her father.
Mike said he wanted to take advantage of every opportunity to see his daughter play.
“I flew to some of the matches and flying out of Reno is a great airport,” her father said.
Developing the career of a lifetime
With senior night on Saturday and playing at the Virginia Street Gym one final time, the intensity of the crowd stands out the most for Ericson.
“The feeling of playing here at a home match, it’s so homey and welcoming and exciting,” she said. “It just feels like it’s alive when you’re playing. Here you get 400 people and it feels like it’s full.”
Ericson, a four-year starter, has developed into a threatening outside hitter feared by teams from the Western Athletic Conference. Her striking and dominant approach at the net gives Nevada one of the conference’s most dangerous weapons.
Ericson ranks in numerous top-15 categories at Nevada, including kills and points in a single season and career, and attacks in a single match and season. Ericson, who averages 4.69 kills a game, reached two career milestones when she recorded her 1,400th kill and 1,500th point last week. She has also been named to multiple all-tournament teams and is a 2007 Preseason All-WAC member.
“I never really thought I was going to be this really great player. I’m not saying that I am,” Ericson said. “I always just saw the immediate future and how I would want to play in the immediate future. After four years, eight years or 11 years, how many you look at, it’s progressed.”
Scruggs said she doesn’t look forward to replacing Ericson.
“She’s a powerful hitter and has ability to take over matches,” Scruggs said. “She’s such an offensive threat that’s going to be really hard to replace.”
Teammates admire Ericson’s accomplishments and are thankful that she’s helped Nevada this season after a rocky start. The Wolf Pack has now won eight of its last 10 matches.
“Whenever Teal is on the court, you can feel a sense of confidence out there,” freshman middle blocker Lindsay Baldwin said. “She helps the team win. She’s our go-to player and is definitely one of the main components on our team.”
Karly Sipherd, a senior middle blocker, has seen her teammate’s improvement from when they played their first match together in 2004.
“She’s improved every year, not just physically with volleyball but with leadership,” Sipherd said. “She’s definitely taken that role as a senior. She’s done an excellent job and she keeps a level head.
“We’re the only two players that have been here the longest. It’s really nice to have her coming here and for both us finishing together.”
Since joining Nevada in 2004, Ericson has seen her share of quality opponents from national champion Stanford her freshman season to UCLA and California the year after. Playing Hawaii and New Mexico State every year has also added excitement to Ericson’s play.
“I’ll never forget my first match against Saint Mary’s,” Ericson said. “I had 15 kills after three games. I liked it when we beat Cal because I wanted to go to Cal for so long. They didn’t offer me a scholarship.”
Ericson said one of the best feelings was in 2004 when Nevada took Hawaii to five games in both regular season meetings.
“We walked out to a standing ovation,” she said about playing at Hawaii. “The crowd stayed when we came out on the gym floor after we got to the locker room.”
Ericson said she will remember her teammates more than the matches, though.
“The coaches always tell you that you don’t remember specific matches but you remember your team and how you guys played. It’s so true,” Ericson said. “There were very few matches that I actually remembered and it’s more about these girls that I play with today. The girls on my team is what I will remember.”
Fans will get two more opportunities on Thursday and Saturday to see one of Nevada’s best hitters grace the floors of the Virginia Street Gym. As for Ericson, the curtain will soon fall for this former novice skier.
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on Tuesday, October 30th, 2007 at 1:17 am and is filed under Sports, Volleyball.
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