Volleyball
Favorite athlete: Travis Rice
Favorite team: CU Boulder Buffs
Favorite memory competing in sports: Last season’s home game against CB East there was a rare rally with two pancakes, a set from the knees, and a personal clutch roof to earn the point.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: In the middle of a game, I was waiving to a family friend’s camera unaware that play had begun. The ball ended up landing right in front of me as my teammates and coaches yelled my name. The only thing left to do was laugh about it.
Music on iPod: Changes at least every week.
Future plans: Attend the University of Colorado Boulder majoring in Mechanical Engineering. I plan to live our west after graduating from the university…Sorry, Mom.
Words to live by: “Don’t sweat the small stuff.”
One goal before turning 30: Be somewhere no one else has ever been.
One thing people don’t know about me: My social security number.
By GORDON GLANTZ
As the setter on the state powerhouse CB West volleyball team, Matt Hennigan knows all about decision-making.
On the court, he becomes the embodiment of the John Wooden be-quick-but-don’t-hurry model, as his choices have to be made in real time in the fast-sport where momentum hangs in the balance.
“I’m involved in every play,” said Hennigan. “I’m kind of the quarterback of the offense.”
He found himself as the setter for his own future recently, weighing the pros and cons of his college choice.
After careful consideration, which included offers to continue playing volleyball at the Division III level, he instead opted for the University of Colorado Boulder.
There, while majoring in chemical engineering, he will likely reduce the role of volleyball in his life to the club level (the school does not have a team) and indulge himself with his second love of snowboarding.
It was not an easy choice, but he is not the type of young man who takes the path of least resistance.
“It’s very scary,” admitted the Univest Featured Male Athlete of the Week, who is viewing his next chapter as chance to “find independence” in a “laidback” atmosphere.
“I felt like volleyball has defined me,” he added. “I didn’t want it to dictate the rest of my life. I thought about what kind of college life I wanted. (Being a student-athlete) is a lot of pressure.”
Hennigan will be on a campus of more than 32,000 students and will not be seeing many familiar faces.
“No one from (CB West) is going there,” he said. “It’s going to be a completely new start with a different demographic of people.”
One person who has no doubts that Hennigan will snowboard his way into the heart of the Rocky Mountains is his coach of the last four years, Todd Miller.
“I wish the best for him,” said Miller. “He really wanted to go there. He had to work harder to earn his spot there. Matt is a driven individual. His experience there will help to grow him as a young man.
“I can’t wait to see him continue to grow up.”
‘Setting’ the stage
The maturation process, from Miller’s view, began when Hennigan first walked into the gymnasium as a freshman.
He had been urged to play high school volleyball by assistant coach Rick Fehrs, a friend of Hennigan’s mother, Colleen, who played college volleyball and raised her son around the sport in the Doylestown Athletic Association (DAA).
“(Fehrs) came to me in my freshman year and said they needed a setter, and I have been playing ever since,” recalled Hennigan, who maintained a rigorous volleyball schedule outside of school, playing in tournaments from State College to Rochester to Reno to Dallas and all points in between.
While his skill level lived up to its advance billing, Miller knew he was making an investment in the future by allowing a freshman to play such a vital role in the building process.
“Matt has been our setter for four years,” said Miller. “He has grown into the role.”
“The setter sets the tempo. He is the orchestrator. All things run through him, and he leads by example. He has a great attitude.”
Hennigan also played the role of recruiter, approaching friends – some with little to no appreciable volleyball experience – to join the team.
“We have improved a lot since freshman year,” said Hennigan. “I started recruited friends who were well-rounded athletic kids to play. I got them to try out. That’s how we are a tight-knit team.”
As his Bucks eye a state crown, no one is more appreciative than Miller.
“He has really helped to build this team up, just from encouraging friends to come out,” said the coach. “He wanted them involved in the joy he has in his life. He has been real good at always keeping everybody involved.”
The Glue
Another role Hennigan has grown into is that of team leader.
“Naturally, as a freshman, you are going to come in and be quiet,” said Miller. “But then you see his skills. He doesn’t talk bad about anyone. He just worked hard.”
And as the team ascended with his peer group around him, Miller found himself as the co-leader, along with standout middle hitter Christian Rupert, who is also heading out west, to Brigham Young University where he will continue his volleyball career at the highest Division I level.
“We have an equal role on the team,” said Hennigan. “We have both been in the program the same amount of time.
“I guess he leads more from the technical aspects of the game. I’m more of the glue that helps everyone keep their spirits up. I’m the guy cracking jokes, making sure than nobody is getting down on themselves. The team vibes on how I’m feeling.”
Judging by the team’s success, it is a dynamic that works.
“Christian can be overshadowing, but these guys don’t see it that way,” said Miller. “They see each other as equals. That’s what makes this team unique, and it comes from a standard set by the team leader.
“We have watched (Hennigan) grow up and become a team leader.”
And what makes him a leader? Miller tried to put it into words.
“He doesn’t expect anything to be handed to him,” the coach said. “Matt is a team leader, and that comes from the way he carries himself. It comes from the respect and compassion he shows toward others. He draws the best out of the people around him. He is an all-around, stand-up person.
“He sets a good standard, buying into seeing this team as a family. He has helped other people, not only on the court, but off the court. He’s incredibly friendly and personable.”
While an outsider would see the Bucks as a one-man wrecking crew, the supporting cast – paced by Hennigan’s consistent play – allows Rupert to bask in the limelight.
“It’s definitely nice to have someone you can go to,” said Hennigan.” He is a phenomenal player. You know you can count on him. He helps everyone else raise their level of play.”
Part of Hennigan’s job is keeping the other players from relying on Rupert too much.
“It’s important that we all realize that anyone can have an off-day,” he added.
And that is where leading by example comes into play.
“I don’t get worked up,” he said. “I’m aggressive, and play hard and smart. Setting is a lot of decision-making. For me, it’s become instinctual. I don’t even have to think anymore.”
Overcoming Adversity
Hennigan is no stranger to Colorado, having visited there in eighth grade on a trip with his father, Paul, and extended family.
His parents separated when he was in fourth grade and he recalls the trip as “a happy time in my life,” adding the divorce impacted him greatly.
“When my parents got divorced, I felt my family being ripped to pieces, even though I tried to never pick a side,” he said, adding that his mother’s dedication to his volleyball career is a gift without a price tag.
“I have to thank Richard Fehrs, our assistant coach, because he really roped me into this,” he said. “And there is all my family and friends, of course, but mostly my mother.”
With every excuse to be hard to handle, Hennigan went in the other direction.
“He has overcome adversity in his life,” said Miller. “Let’s be honest, it’s not an easy situation. For him to overcome and come in and act the way he does as a young man speaks highly, not only of him, but of his mother and the job that she has done.
“He has stayed humble, and you really don’t see that too much in this day and age. Humility seems to be disappearing. You want that standard to come back.”
