Hannah Werth’s athletic accomplishments shouldn’t come as a surprise.
In fact, some might say she was bred for it.
The true freshman outside hitter from Springfield, Ill., comes from an extensive line of athletes, ranging all the way back to her grandfather, John Richard “Ducky” Schofield, who played professional baseball.
The gene pool is rich in Werth’s family; her parents were both standout athletes in their own right.
Her mother, Kim, starred in track at the University of Florida, and her father, Dennis, enjoyed stints in pro baseball with the New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals. Her uncle, Dick Schofield, also played 14 years in the majors.
The athletic gene was then passed on again to Werth’s generation. Her brother, Jayson, now starts for the defending World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies.
Her sister, Hillary, followed in her mother’s footsteps a competed in heptathlons and javelin for UCLA’s track and field team from 2006 to 2008.
Werth opted to, in her words, “do her own thing” and chose volleyball.
Werth left Glenwood High School with an impressive resume. She was selected to Volleyball Magazine’s Fab 50 in 2009 and was tabbed as the No. 4 prospect in the nation by Prepvolleyball.com.
She had offers to play for Illinois, UCLA, Florida and Stanford, but after three campus visits, Werth said there was a single reason she chose to become a Husker.
“I have said it from the beginning, and I’ll say it until the end. I chose here because of Coach Cook,” Werth said. “His structure and how he runs his team is exactly what I was looking for.”
As a true freshman, Werth has established herself as a valuable member of the No. 10 ranked Husker volleyball team. Werth is currently third on the team with 125 kills, averaging 2.72 kills per set.
But her work ethic and athleticism took root long before she came to Lincoln. Living in a family full of athletes, Werth’s competitive edge developed at an early age.
“It was definitely different than another household, I’m sure,” Werth said. “I learned a lot of lessons really young. It’s so funny to think about it and all the lessons I learned – anything from racing my brother up the stairs to who could eat the most at dinner, we were competitive about anything and everything.
“It really molded me to who I am today,” she said. “They always taught me to never give less than my best.”
Werth’s mother said being in such a successful and athletic atmosphere encouraged her daughter to follow suit.
“I think Hannah saw a lot,” Kim Werth said. “She was around a lot of it. It was either Jayson playing baseball or Hillary running track, and I think she was just brought up with it all around her.”
Hannah Werth has never been a one-sport athlete. Along with being one of the nation’s top volleyball players in high school, Werth was also a top basketball player and, early on, a talented figure skater. As a child, Werth showed she could quickly pick up a sport.
“She did not stop until she figured something out,” Kim Werth said. “She was the last one to leave the ice and the last one to leave the court. I think that Hannah growing up in this house gave her a level of expectations – that if you were going to do something, do it right.”
In the midst of a tedious college volleyball schedule, Werth has a number of sources close to her who understand the pressures of being a big-time athlete.
Werth said she’s been blessed to have such a supportive family who understands what she goes through. She derives a majority of her support and her advice from her dad.
“I really talk to my dad a lot,” Werth said. “I talk to him every day. He is kind of my source of inspiration, like my rock. But I know I could go to anyone in my family, and they would give me good advice, not only in athletics but with life in general.”
jaysloan@dailynebraskan.com
Be the first to comment on this article!