Silver Creek’s Rylee Anderson stands out in volleyball and high jump
As a sophomore, Rylee Anderson cleared a jump of five feet, seven inches to claim the state title for the Class 4A girls high jump.
That’s not even the best jump of her career. The current junior at Silver Creek has already cleared a staggering 5-08 and she still has two more years of high school to compete. It’s not a question of if, but when she will pass her mother’s career best jump of 5-09.
And all the while, she continues to be a standout volleyball star for the Raptors, using her jumping ability to excel as an outside hitter.
“It’s thrilling, but I didn’t plan that by any means,” Amy Anderson said. “Just because I was a high jumper, I didn’t expect her to become one. But it became evident when she was in middle school that she had some talent and so we just continued to pursue it.”
The more they pursued it, the more they realized Rylee loved it. Just like mom, she was going to have an athletic background.
Amy was a track standout at Niwot where she also excelled at the high jump. Her career best was that jump of 5-09, a number she expects her daughter to reach in no time. And she has no qualms about helping Rylee accomplish that as she serves as one of her coaches.
“It’s difficult to coach high jump if you haven’t jumped yourself,” Amy said. “It’s such a technical event so it was by a stroke of luck that I was a fairly decent high jumper back in my day so I could just easily tell her what she needed to be doing and I’m very grateful that as her parent, she is able to listen.”
But her time with track and field only makes up half of Rylee’s athletic résumé. As she grew up, she also developed a love for volleyball, something her mom did not participate in at Niwot.
“I think they help each other out a lot,” Rylee said. “The mental piece helps a lot. I know that if I want to attempt a height at the high jump and I can clear that, it helps my confidence. That helps on the volleyball court, knowing that I can overcome adversity.”
As a sophomore on varsity, Rylee recorded 210 kills in 2015. As an underdog in the regional brackets, Silver Creek beat Erie and Steamboat Springs in a tie-breaker to advance to the 4A state bracket.
Unlike the high jump which is a competition that she faces alone, Rylee was able to share the thrill of the upset with her teammates, a feeling that really draws her to team aspect of sports.
“I love the intensity of it,” she said. “I love that you have a team with you. I also like in the heat of the moment, when you’re playing and you a win point after a long rally.”
Amy shares Rylee’s love of volleyball now, but it was not a sport that she chose to play in high school. It wasn’t until she moved to Florida and met Rylee’s father, Doug, that the two got into playing sand volleyball.
It was an activity that the couple stayed active in for about 10 years.
Doug passed away when Rylee was two-years-old so Amy moved them back to Colorado. As Rylee grew up, it was sports that really helped create a special bond between the two of them.
“We always had a strong bond because we lost him so early in her life,” Amy said. “I think you could say (sports) has strengthened the bond because both of those are passions of both of ours.”
As a junior, Rylee hopes that she will be able to go to college and compete in both sports. Every time she thinks that one stands out as a favorite over the other, she’ll change seasons and realize that they both hold a special place in her heart.
But if push comes to shove, she knows she’ll be able to analyze the big picture and make a choice that will serve her best in the long run.
“Probably high jump,” she said when pressed for an answer. “I can probably go to a better school for high jump because there are a lot more good volleyball players than there are high jumpers.”
But no decision needs to be made now. Rylee is still at the beginning of her junior year at Silver Creek and has plenty of time to assess her options.
Until then, she’ll look to try and get the Raptors back to the state tournament. And maybe she’ll even find those two inches
