Great athletes can often point to moments in their careers when, in retrospect, a particular choice that they made decisively altered their paths.
Blake Lockhart, a senior at Santa Ynez Valley Union High School, can say he’s already had two of those moments in his budding volleyball career.
The first occurred while he was a freshman at Santa Ynez deciding which of the multiple sports that he loved (and excelled at) he would play in high school. Lockhart’s predicament was that three of those sports happened to overlap in the spring.
“I had to pick my freshman year between tennis, baseball, and volleyball,” Lockhart told the Sun. “I never really knew which sport was my favorite. I actually almost picked tennis because I got really good at it over the summer. But I’m pretty glad I picked volleyball.”
Lockhart settled on volleyball and never turned back. Four years later, Lockhart is a two-time Los Padres League Most Valuable Player, a two-time All-CIF player, and is on the minds of college coaches across the U.S.
An outside hitter who can also set as well as anyone in the area, Lockhart developed into the total package.
“Since I started the volleyball program in 1992, Blake [Lockhart] is in the top five or six kids that we’ve ever had here,” said Chip Fenenga, head coach of the Santa Ynez volleyball team.
It took a few years for Lockhart to realize his potential, but once he did, he didn’t waste any time putting in the extra work to push his game to the next level. Lockhart’s second vital decision point came during his junior year, when he committed to play on the esteemed Santa Barbara Volleyball Club full time during the offseason.
“That was a super fun experience—I got to go to the Junior Olympics,” he said. “I made pretty big improvement being on that club.”
Lockhart is showcasing that improvement right now in his senior high school season. He has a hitting percentage above .500 and is leading Santa Ynez to an undefeated record in the Los Padres League.
Lockhart credited his father for always encouraging him to maximize his potential—to join the best club team and reach out to college coaches. Though he’s received offers from Division 1 schools like Iowa, Michigan, and Boston, Lockhart wants to stay in California. Where exactly he’ll wind up, he doesn’t know yet. Safe to say, whoever gets him will have one hell of an asset.
“Blake is a well-rounded young man and respected by all,” coach Fenenga said. “He’s great primarily because of his effort, his enthusiasm, and he has the ability to make those kids around him better.”
This article appears in May 5-12, 2016.