Boys Volleyball: McClintic making his presence felt for Wolves

Colin McClintic felt he had to make a choice.

McClintic, then a sophomore at Oswego East, was torn at the time between two athletic pursuits. He considered giving up volleyball, a sport he only started competitively in high school, to concentrate on basketball.

“I was playing AAU basketball during volleyball season, and it was really clashing,” McClintic said. “It took a toll. I had to make a decision.”

McClintic chose volleyball. It appears to be a wise decision.

McClintic has since grown to 6-foot-11, and two months ago committed to collegiate volleyball power Lewis.

Oswego East’s program has grown with him. The Wolves are 14-10, poised for the first winning season in program history.

McClintic was named All-Tournament last weekend at the Benet Invite, where the Wolves took sixth place. He had 46 kills, 6.5 block kills, 19 digs and four aces over five matches from his right-side position.

For these achievements, Colin McClintic is the Ledger Athlete of the Week.

“When you need a big point, Colin is there nine times out of 10,” Wolves coach Brian Zerfas said. “He spreads defenses. A lot of times they key on the outside hitters. Colin is able to really hold teams accountable.”

He also appears to be just tapping into vast potential.

McClintic was already 6-foot-6 when he first walked into Oswego East as a freshman, but had never played volleyball other than P.E. class. Volleyball coaches, naturally, were attracted to his size and encouraged him to try it.

He started playing club as a sophomore with the Cyclones, and moved to the prestigious Sports Performance program last year.

“I’ve improved so much,” McClintic said. “Athletically I’ve got a lot better. I was really slow my sophomore and junior year with my arm swing. I’ve got much more refined.”

“He couldn’t transition off the net before, his hits were rinky dink,” Zerfas said. “Just from last to this season the power on the ball is such a difference.”

McClintic, though, almost had his prep career cut short.

He broke his right pinkie during club season, and missed a month. McClintic reinjured it at the West Aurora Invite April 1, and was told to avoid contact for three weeks.

McClintic missed just two weeks, and has made his presence felt since his return.

“His net presence has been enormous,” Zerfas said. “It’s taken a lot of pressure off the back perimeter guys. His attacking presence from the front row and the back row has allowed us to keep the offense balanced, to keep things spread around.”

McClintic, who holds a 4.0 grade point average, seems to keep the proper balance.

He became interested in engineering through his involvement with Project Lead the Way at Oswego East. McClintic plans to study computer engineering, and pursue a career programming computers and coding.

“It’s applying what you know and problem solving,” McClintic said of Project Lead the Way. “There’s a lot of freedom. I really enjoyed it.”

He’ll be joining a high-level volleyball program in his backyard.

Lewis, the 2015 national runner-up and a perennial top 25 program, was ranked in the top five nationally this season.

“Lewis is taking a chance on him,” Zerfas said. “It’s pretty rare for a guy his size to have his best volleyball ahead of him, but Colin does. He has a great opportunity to really turn some heads.”

McClintic would like to first finishing do so at Oswego East.

The Wolves won just three games his freshman year. They gradually improved to 16-16 last season, best in school history.

“We want to get top four in conference, do well in regionals,” McClintic said. “We want to turn heads and get over that hump.”