Taking Care of Business: Jaeckel Leads Gators Into Season Opener
Friday, August 26, 2011 | Volleyball, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Watching her now, a swirling tide of energy and enthusiasm on the court, it seems nearly impossible that Gators senior Kristy Jaeckel once wanted to play volleyball about as much as she wanted to catch a bad cold.
But it's true. Her mom said so. Jaeckel was a swimmer – competing in national events no less – not a volleyball player. Her older sister Lauren was the volleyball star of the family.
Sharon Jaeckel, Kristy's mom, heard over and over how Kristy wasn't leaving the pool for the volleyball court. Sharon's sister was once a volleyball standout at the University of Colorado and urged Sharon to get her three daughters involved in the sport.
Kristy wanted no part of that family tradition.
“She swore she would never play,'' Sharon said. “She swore up and down.''
This was when Kristy was in middle school and Lauren was beginning to blossom as a player for Front Range, a club team in the Denver suburb of Littleton. After swimming practice, Kristy used to go with her mom to pick up Lauren from volleyball.
The coaches kept asking Kristy to join the team, and she kept telling them no.
“She used to come in with her big puffy swim coat and just stand there,'' Sharon said.
One day she finally walked onto the court to help Lauren's team warm up. Next thing Sharon knew, she was taking Kristy to the gym instead of the pool.
“She's been hooked ever since,'' Sharon said.
Jaeckel may have not had a love-at-first-sight relationship with the sport, but you would never know that by the way she plays. Jaeckel enters her senior season this weekend as a centerpiece player for a team ranked ninth in the country.
More than that, she adds an enthusiastic spirit – not to mention a pretty powerful swing as an outside hitter – on the court that the Gators will rely on more than ever this season.
Florida coach Mary Wise continues to be impressed by Jaeckel's development four years after she first got to UF. If Wise had 15 players like Jaeckel, she would never lose any sleep.
“She is so compliant. I can't ever picture a time when Kristy was late for a meeting, or forgot something,'' Wise said. “She just takes care of business. She is a terrific role model for the other players. Her ability to take care of business, it allows us to coach her. We're not spending time on the other things.''
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As good of a player and dedicated to the team as Jaeckel has been during her career, she elevated her attention to detail like never before since the Gators' season ended with a disappointing loss to Purdue in the NCAA Tournament.
By the end of last season, Jaeckel's right shoulder wasn't working properly. Her powerful swing had lost some of its bite.
“It was almost like the back part of my shoulder wasn't firing,'' Jaeckel said.
Surgery was an option, but that's something Jaeckel, who turns 22 in October, wanted to avoid. Tests revealed an entrapped nerve. Jaeckel began working closely with trainer Randall Vereb on a rehab plan to alleviate some of the discomfort.
She also committed to a grueling conditioning program with strength and conditioning coordinator Matt DeLancey. The workout sessions were some of the toughest she has endured.
“She did a lot of power training – she cleaned, she snatched, she jump trained,'' DeLancey said. “We did a lot of rope training with a 60-foot, 60-pound boat rope. Kristy's shoulder is right because of Kristy and her efforts.''
DeLancey also discussed a nutritional plan with Jaeckel for her to be in peak shape and at an ideal playing weight. Jaeckel's revamped diet has trimmed about 15 pounds from her 6-foot-2 frame, painting a picture of an athlete in her prime.
“Her body is different,'' Wise said.
Jaeckel's renewed focus wasn't an accident. The sore shoulder needed special care but so did her final season with the Gators.
“You grow each and every year as a player,'' she said. “You realize it's your last chance; you don't get another one. And so it's almost like every day you push and you know you have to get better because you don't get another first day of spring practice or another first lift of Summer A. This is it.''
One of five seniors returning from a team that went 29-2 last year, Jaeckel has also expanded her role as one of the Gators' leaders. With former vocal leader Callie Rivers no longer around, Jaeckel has tried to become more of a vocal presence to go with her lead-by-example approach.
Others have noticed.
“She is a really big motivator for our team,'' senior Elissa Hausmann said. “She kind of keeps us all together. You watch her and you know that's what she wants to be done.''
Another senior, returning All-American Kelly Murphy, has a close connection with Jaeckel off and on the court. They are the team leaders up front that must produce for Florida to make a serious threat at winning its first national title.
Murphy has seen Jaeckel play at a high level for three years, but she expects more after watching her evolve the past eight months through her dedication to fitness. During rehab, Jaeckel went months without taking a swing at a volleyball.
“She is one of the hardest-working players I've ever played with,'' Murphy said. “She is just a lot of fun to play with on the court. She has a lot of positive energy.''
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As the oldest player on this year's team, Jaeckel tries her best to show others how it's supposed to be done, whether it's showing up on time for practice or remembering to pack everything you need for a road trip.
Over the summer Jaeckel was one of the seniors leading team practices during the time Wise and her staff could not be involved. Her mom sensed Kristy's desire to finish her career with no regrets.
“Kristy loves volleyball,'' Sharon said. “She will do anything to put herself in the best position to win.''
Jaeckel comes from a competitive family, which plays an important role in the way she approaches the game. Lauren played at St. Mary's (Calif.) College and her younger sister, Sarah, is currently a sophomore volleyball player at Seattle University.
Due to her commitment to be in the best shape of her career entering the season, Jaeckel only spent a week at home over the summer. While there, all four Jaeckel siblings – they have a younger brother named Matthew – spent a week on the family's houseboat.
They competed at wakeboarding, skiing and any other game they could play. That's the way it is around the Jaeckel household. Their lives revolve around each other. As Kristy's father, Jim, traveled to Gainesville on Friday for Florida's season-opening weekend, Sharon flew to Seattle to help Sarah move into a new apartment.
Once everyone is settled, the Jaeckels will be regulars at the O'Connell Center for Kristy's final season.
“The senior gets priority,'' Sharon said.
The player they will see looks different from the one they last saw play nine months ago. Jaeckel is more fit, more focused and more determined than ever to make her mark on the Gators' program.
“I definitely wanted to be as prepared as possible and just really be ready and have no regrets at the end,'' she said.
DeLancey is a believer. He watched Jaeckel put in the work over the past several months and expects to see the results to follow.
“She is jumping higher, she is hitting harder, she's healthy and she has really turned into a great senior leader,'' DeLancey said. “That's what you want to see out of a senior. They save their best for last.''
