While Matt Anderon is the King Of USA Volleyball, no doubt Taylor Sander is the up and coming Prince of the same kingdom.
Should we all bow down?
LOL!
After a successful college career at BYU, Taylor Sander aka Prince TayTay is already making a name for himself in the ongoing FIVB World League as a newcomer.
In this article released by USA Volleyball, head coach John Speraw is quite impressed with Sander’s performance:
“Taylor has these huge expectations that have been placed on his shoulders for a long time, and I think he puts that pressure on himself. I am unbelievably impressed with the way he has played the game and handling the overall expectations on his arrival on the National Team. You can see he physically and athletically has the opportunity to be a truly elite level volleyball player in the world. I think he is going to have a great career. I am very pleased with what he has done so far.”
We are very impressed too!
Taylor has huge shoes to fill. In the absence of the injured Reid Priddy, no doubt Taylor feels the pressure BUT he knows for sure how to handle it well.
After 4 World League matches, take a look at his scoring performances:
20 points vs Bulgaria (May 23rd)
12 points vs Bulgaria (May 24th)
22 points vs Russia (June 6th)
11 points vs Russia (June 7th)
May we also add that he is the World League’s 4th Best Spiker after 4 matches.
Impressive right?
We’d also like to add that the 22 year old will make his professional debut in the Italian League with Calzedonia Verona.
The Sander Quotes:
What does the public not know about Taylor Sander?
I grew up kind of a crazy kid. I was always riding dirt bikes and wake boarding and doing extreme sports like that. Also skateboarding and surfing. I’m kind of limited now because I’m so dedicated to volleyball. Coach wants us to be smart about it, and I wouldn’t want to do things to jeopardize the team. But during the summer I’ll still get out and do safe fun things like surf and skate. Nothing extreme or too crazy, but I like to cruise.
If you could meet any famous athlete dead or alive, who and why?
I’d probably want to meet Michael Jordan. I look up to him as a leader. He’s one of the greatest if not the greatest basketball player to ever live. There’s a reason behind that — he has a hard workout regimen. I’d just want to see how he dealt with all the off-court stuff and being a celebrity. It would be cool to learn how he handled it all and his mental approach to the game. The guy is a freak.
For those of us looking to jump higher, what’s one tip you’d give?
I’ve been able to jump high most of my life, maybe it’s genetics. But I’ve done a lot of beach training, like jumping in the sand. From ages 13-18 I was playing beach ball all the time and in a lot of tournaments. That helped me get stronger. Jumping in the sand is really difficult and it helped me to learn to control it.
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