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The center of attention
By CAREY FREEMAN
© St. Petersburg Times, LECANTO -- At 5-foot-7, Jill Bandhauer isn't your typical middle blocker. Then again, she isn't your typical athlete. "She's the best female athlete that's come through this school," said Karen Dickson, Lecanto's volleyball coach the past 18 seasons. "She works out on her own, she's in sports throughout the year and she's always on the go," Dickson said. "We've had other girls who did that, but Jill is in better shape than any female athlete I've ever had in volleyball." While she probably will give up as much as 5 inches to other blockers, Bandhauer never will be seen as an easy foe. Her leaping ability, which she credits to weight training, is unmatched, as is her desire to win. Bandhauer is a prototypical female athlete and perhaps the most crucial cog on one of the area's best teams. "Jill has a lot of talent," said Kylene Colasanti, a multi-sport athlete like Bandhauer who will compete in volleyball this season. "She can do everything. She can set. She can spike, she passes well. Her role? I don't know what to call it, but it's pretty big." Bandhauer's move from outside hitter -- a position where she earned Times All Citrus/Hernando honors last year -- to middle blocker is one of necessity for the Panthers. Though they return as strong a nucleus as any area squad, there's no player taller than 5-7. Of those, none performs as big as Bandhauer. "Sometimes you feel like "Why couldn't I have those genes,' " Bandhauer said. "I work on jumping a lot, and I try to focus on what (the opponent's) weakness are. If they are a weak blocker, I know I don't have to hit the corners all the time. I can kind of work around the tips." Though volleyball is one of her favorite sports, Bandhauer knows the market for 5-7 blocker/hitters isn't exactly a big one. She sees her best chance in softball. However, while she dedicated as many as 5-6 days per week practicing and playing for the Clearwater Bombers club softball team, she wasn't quite ready to give up volleyball. "It's definitely a sport I've fallen in love with, and I see no reason to quit now," Bandhauer said. "Until last year, I played because I thought I had a chance at a scholarship," she said. "But I got to the point where I realized that ... well, my goal is to get to Divison I. Now I just do it for fun." Bandhauer likes her chances in softball, a sport in which she always has excelled. Last season, she led Citrus County with a .468 average and was a Times All-Suncoast first-team selection at catcher. In three years at Lecanto, she has played five sports, including basketball her freshman and sophomore years, weightlifting and track. Last spring, Bandhauer competed in track and softball while playing for a club volleyball squad in Ocala. That schedule might leave most exhausted, but Bandhauer always is ready for more action. "I've always played team sports, and the girls on this team are great," she said. "That's the No. 1 reason I play. Plus, there is constant action. In the middle, you're always doing something. You're never standing around." Sounds like a position perfectly suited to Bandhauer.
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