Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week: Claire Allen

Tony Altobelli

Following the adage, “The grass is always greener in someone else’s

backyard,” Claire Allen made the move from Newport Harbor High to Corona

del Mar High.

“I live right across the street from CdM, so it makes sense to go

there,” Allen said. “When I first got to high school, I didn’t want to go

to CdM and Newport Harbor was the closest from here, plus the volleyball

program was very strong. But, all my friends go to CdM and I think the

volleyball is just as good at CdM as Newport so I decided to come here.”

The loss for Newport is a nice gain for CdM as Allen, the Daily Pilot

Athlete of the Week, made her presence known in the Sea Kings’ first two

matches, against Calvary Chapel Sept. 11 and Huntington Beach Sept. 9,

both five-game wins for the Sea Kings.

Against the Oilers, Allen had a team-high 24 kills and eight ace

serves. Against the Eagles, she had 19 kills and four aces. Her strong

play also helped the Sea Kings win the silver division of their pool in

the Dave Mohs Memorial Tournament with a 4-2 record.

“Claire has one of the most phenomal serves I’ve ever seen in 20 years

of watching high school volleyball,” CdM Coach Bill Christiansen said.

“Her height on the ball is perfect. It doesn’t sink or rise and it clears

the net by an inch or two almost every time. It’s really hard to

control.”

Allen’s key to her serving success? “Focus,” she said. “If I start to

lose my focus, that’s when I start to screw up. I try to get in rhythm

and I try to keep that rhythm throughout the match. Whether after a time

out or after winning or losing a game, I have to keep that focus on my

serves.”

That focus also seems to carry over to her striking ability. “She’s

extremely aggressive on the court, which is what we expect coming from

one of our leaders,” Christiansen said. “She’s one of our two dominant

hitters and she’s a great role model for our younger girls in terms of

work ethic and attitude.”

Allen began playing in the fifth grade at the Orange County

Volleyball, headed by coaching legend Charlie Brande.

“During the early years, there were times when I wanted to quit and

try other sports,” Allen said. “But, thanks to some pushing from my

parents and coaches, I stuck it out and I’m glad I did. I love volleyball

and I can’t imagine not playing.”

Only a junior, Allen has two years to fine-tune her talent, which

Christiansen believes could be strong enough to play at one of the elite

volleyball colleges in America.

“She’s definitely a (NCAA) Division I-type of player,” Christiansen

said. “I’d like to see her have a faster approach to her hits, which will

come later in the season. For a junior, her game is already at an ‘A’

level.”

With experience on a championship-caliber team while at Newport

Harbor, does Allen predict similar success at CdM? “We have the talent to

get that far,” she said. “If we continue to work harder in practices and

not just be satisfied with just being there, we can go a long way. We’ve

still got a long way to go for that, however.”