Rogers uses offseason regimen to push game, Socastee volleyball to new level
Dale Rogers had already shown some athletic ability.
It wasn’t enough.
The Socastee senior and two-time Toast of the Coast Volleyball Player of the Year wanted more. Whether it was the direct impact it would have for the Braves or her own quest toward a college scholarship, Rogers added an offseason workout regimen to go along with her time with the Grand Strand Juniors club program to make herself not just a better player, but a better athlete.
“I pushed myself harder to get in better shape so I would stand out more,” Rogers said “Just knowing more colleges were looking at me and more people around here were looking at me, I knew I had to step up my game.”
As her own abilities gained steam, so too did Socastee volleyball program. The Braves won the Region VI-AAAA title outright one season after sharing the crown with Carolina Forest.
Coach Kristi Garrett’s team also won a playoff match for the second consecutive year after moving up to Class AAAA prior to the 2014 campaign. Rogers had as much to do with that as anyone.
She put together a senior season that included 178 kills, 117 digs and 43 aces. Putting up those figures in her fourth year on the Braves varsity, though, may not have been possible without her offseason conditioning.
“To be a player like that, and to be so dominant at that, you do have to build your body structure,” Garrett said. “You can go out and be a good hitter, and they can be powerful, but unless you get your muscle tone, you can’t [get better].”
The fact that Rogers followed through on her side of that wasn’t anything that caught Garrett off-guard, either.
“After the end of last season, I saw the determination of her wanting to be that player, wanting to go to college, trying to get as high as she possibly could,” Garrett said. “So when she came out for this season, I wasn’t shocked by anything. I wish a lot of the kids these days had that drive to be that good.”
Personally, everything from the high school team to the club season to working with Terrance Butler of Enhanced Speed & Agility paid off for Rogers, too. She accepted a scholarship to NCAA Division II Lander in November after getting significant interest from a handful of schools around the Southeast.
It was something that even a year ago – after earning top Toast of the Coast honors the first time – she wasn’t sure would happen. Instead, she did what she needed to add it to a mantle that also includes All-Region VI-AAAA selections and a spot on the North-South All-Star team.
“It was a mental, natural progression,” Rogers said. “I knew if I really wanted to go to a good school, I would have to improve on stuff. It was natural for me to take another step.”
Ian Guerin: ian@ianguerin.com, @iguerin
Editor’s note
This is the second installment of a nine-day series honoring the top fall athletes along the Grand Strand. Tomorrow: Girls golf.
The team
Player of the Year
Dale Rogers
Position: Outside hitter
School: Socastee
Class: Senior
Highlights: All-Region VI-AAAA selection was also named to the North-South All-Star team and the Class AAAA All-State squad after leading the Braves to the region title and the second round of the playoffs. Followed up on her stellar junior year by piling up 178 kills, 117 digs and 43 aces.
Gracie Davis
Position: Outside hitter
School: Myrtle Beach
Class: Freshman
Highlights: Region VII-AAA Player of the Year and Class AAA All-State selection averaged 14 kills per match during a playoff run that went to the Lower State finals.
Ora Parker Eddy
Position: Outside hitter
School: Waccamaw
Class: Senior
Highlights: Region VIII-AA Player of the Year picked up Class AA All-State and All-Star honors by recording 100 kills and 66 aces while converting 92 percent of her serves.
Ellissa Small
Position: Outside hitter
School: Carolina Forest
Class: Senior
Highlights: Three-time all-state selection broke school records for career kills (812) and career attacks (1,689). As a senior, led Panthers to the second round of the playoffs for first time.
Maggie Slabinski
Position: Outside hitter
School: Myrtle Beach
Class: Senior
Highlights: North-South All-Star and all-state pick put up eight kills per match in the postseason after a stellar regular season in which she was selected for Region VII-AAA honors.
Maddie Roy
Position: Setter
School: North Myrtle Beach
Class: Sophomore
Highlights: Helped the Chiefs to a runner-up finish and the second round of the Class AAA playoffs by averaging 7.2 assists per game and earning first-team Region VII-AAA honors.
Tori Tyler
Position: Setter
School: Loris
Class: Senior
Highlights: Finished the year with 228 assists and connected 87 percent of her serves in leading the playoff-qualifying Lions to their highest region finish in more than 15 years.
Alexis Tomlin
Position: Outside hitter
School: Carolina Forest
Class: Sophomore
Highlights: Three-time all-region selection helped Panthers to a first-round playoff victory and recorded 227 kills and 16 blocks while converting 96.8 percent of her serves with 32 aces.
Coach of the Year
Larry Church
School: Myrtle Beach
Highlights: Led the Seahawks to an undefeated Region VII-AAA record and 19 overall wins. Myrtle Beach advanced to the Class AAA Lower State finals, where they lost to eventual state champion Hilton Head.
This story was originally published January 16, 2016 at 4:47 PM with the headline "Rogers uses offseason regimen to push game, Socastee volleyball to new level."