[gatortalk] Re: [gatornews] [SUN]: FYI: Nicki Meyer officially inks with Ga. Tech (Volleyball) (Patton)

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 10:21:39 -0800

Traitor.  We should start calling her SOS junior.  I guess there already is a SOS jr - so we'll call her SOS 2. 
 
 
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [gatortalk] Re: [gatornews] [SUN]: FYI: Nicki Meyer
officially inks with Ga. Tech (Volleyball) (Patton)
From: Jerry Belloit <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Tue, November 18, 2008 11:37 am
To: [email protected]

Thanks,  I knew she was not offered by Florida but I did  not know if it was because of her father or because of the talent being below Florida’s requirement.
 
Jerry
 
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Shane Ford
Sent: Tuesday, November 18, 2008 11:05 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [gatortalk] Re: [gatornews] [SUN]: FYI: Nicki Meyer officially inks with Ga. Tech (Volleyball) (Patton)

 

Randy and all,

 

I highlighted the points in the article from the Gainesville Sun on 8/22 that addresses your questions.  It doesn't appear that she was offered from Florida.  Her lists of schools she considered and took official visits is in the article below.  Plus, her reasons for choosing Georgia Tech.  It sounds like her parents fully support her decision and Dad sounds extremely proud of his daughter.

 

Later,

 

Shane
Nashville Gator  (Oliver's protege)    :-)

 

GO GATORS!!!!

 

 

 

Nicki Meyer heading north

 

Sun file photo
Buchholz High School's Nicki Meyer forehand passes to a teammate against Winter Park on Oct. 11, 2006 at St. Francis High School.


By John Patton
Sun high school sports editor

Published: Friday, August 22, 2008 at 6:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, August 21, 2008 at 9:40 p.m.
She said she'll always be a Gator fan, but soon Nicki Meyer is going to be a Yellow Jacket.
Buchholz's 5-foot-6 libero and the only returning senior from the Bobcats' 2007 FHSAA Class 6A state champions has committed to Georgia Tech. She said there basically was nothing not to like about the Yellow Jackets.
"First of all, I love Atlanta," Meyer said. "It's really nice, and the campus is pretty small. Plus, everything on the campus is new. They redid the weight room. I loved the coach (Bond Shymansky), and it's still pretty close to home.
"I committed the day after I visited."
Meyer is the daughter of Florida football coach Urban Meyer. She has been a fixture at as many of her father's games as her volleyball schedule has allowed in recent years.
She joked that selecting the Yellow Jackets was OK because "at least it's in the ACC, not the SEC."
Her father said he sees the commitment as a culmination of countless hours of work.
"I'm really proud to have her accept a scholarship offer from Georgia Tech to play volleyball," said Urban Meyer, who was courtside in The Lakeland Center when Nicki served a match-best five aces in the 25-17, 25-16, 25-15 state title victory against Plant City Durant. "She has put in a lot of effort to get to this point in her academic and athletic career. It is also a tribute to her high school and club coach, Jeff Reavis, who made her the player she is today. He has been a great mentor to her and demands excellence in the classroom and on the court.
"Our entire family went on the recruiting visit to Georgia Tech and we feel very comfortable with Bond Shymansky and his entire staff. It is a great situation for her both athletically and academically."
Nicki said she also had scholarship offers from Ohio University (the only other visit she took), South Florida and childhood favorite Utah, among others.
"For a while I wanted to go back to Utah," said Meyer, who lived there from 2003 to early 2005 before moving to Gainesville. "I love Utah and would love to go back."
But Georgia Tech proved to be more than she could have imagined.
"Everything felt right about it," Meyer said.
The Yellow Jackets finished 22-10 in 2007, and recently were picked by league coaches to finish second in the ACC this year behind defending champion Clemson.
While at Georgia Tech, Meyer will face off with North Carolina middle blocker Shelbey Bleke, a former Bobcat teammate on last year's 27-5 state champs.
"Shelbey and I laugh about that all the time," said Meyer, who added Bleke was someone who told her she would love Georgia Tech. "It's pretty funny, and I'm pretty excited about that."
 

-------------- Original message from "Gatornet Admin" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: --------------

I think she left UF for the reason you mentioned plus she left the SEC to avoid being a target of the hatred of her dad that will eventually come his way. Just a thought, and it may be waaaaay out in left field somewhere.

 

Randy

 

----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, November 18, 2008 9:04 AM
Subject: [gatortalk] RE: [gatornews] [SUN]: FYI: Nicki Meyer officially inks with Ga. Tech (Volleyball) (Patton)

 

Does anyone know if Nicki was good enough to play for Florida?  If so, did she not get recruited because of the awkwardness of playing where her father is such an icon?
 
Jerry
 
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] On Behalf Of Shane Ford
Sent: Tuesday, November 18, 2008 8:08 AM
To: GatorNEWS
Subject: [gatornews] [SUN]: FYI: Nicki Meyer officially inks with Ga. Tech (Volleyball) (Patton)

 

Nicki Meyer officially inks with Ga. Tech

 

Aaron Daye/Staff photographer
Buchholz senior libero Nicki Meyer, second from right, smiles as her father UF football coach Urban Meyer signs her national letter of intent after her at Buchholz High School on Monday.

 

By John Patton
Gainesville Sun high school sports editor

Published: Monday, November 17, 2008 at 9:51 p.m.
Last Modified: Monday, November 17, 2008 at 9:51 p.m.
 
Nicki Meyer sat at a table in the Buchholz cafeteria on Monday afternoon flanked by her younger sister Gigi and parents Shelley and Urban with a pen in her hands and tears in her eyes.
Soon after, Nicki would sign a national letter of intent to play volleyball for Georgia Tech. But before that, she, her family and Bobcats' coach Jeff Reavis gave emotional reflections as to how Nicki, a libero, got to this point.
A few years ago, the scene was improbable to say the least.
When the Meyer family moved to Gainesville in early 2005 after Urban was hired away from Utah to become Florida's football coach, he was very much against putting their kids Nicki, Gigi and Nate in public school. But Shelley, a former high school outside hitter (then called "spiker") and still an avid volleyball player, got a call from a member of the community who suggested she meet Reavis, the director of the Gainesville Juniors club program and Buchholz's new coach.
Shelley was told "if you want your kids to get the best coaching, you want them to play for Jeff."
The Meyers met Reavis and toured Buchholz, and it didn't take much longer to sell Urban.
"I come from a different perspective than most parents in regards to coaching," Urban said. "So, I watched with a very critical eye. I can tell the difference in a well-coached team and a poorly coached team, and I could tell Jeff really knew what he was doing. I also could tell how much he cared about his players."
So, that was settled, but still there were issues.
Like many young high school students, Nicki was a bit rebellious. She didn't do bad things, but in instances like when friends were allowed to go out and she wasn't, she was vocal in her displeasure.
"She would get mad and say ‘I can't wait to get out of here and go to Utah or UCLA,'" Shelley said.
Also strained was Nicki's relationship with Gigi, younger by two years.
Shelley said Gigi used to try to tag along with Nicki and her friends, and would borrow clothes and other items without asking. It turns out, after growing up sharing a life that at one point saw them attend four different schools in five years, Gigi just wanted a friend that understood her.
"It's hard to move from place to place without a shoulder to lean on," Gigi said. "I really needed that. There were times when I never knew if that day would come."
Neither did Reavis, who once sat Nicki down and told her "look, you guys are going to be teammates soon, so you need to figure things out."
The last couple of years have seen many changes in Nicki.
Reavis said she grew from naturally shy to a take-charge leader. Shelley said Nicki told her last summer that Utah and UCLA were just too far away, that she wanted to stay closer to home because she would miss her family too much. And Gigi and Nicki now proudly call each other their best friends, a new relationship they both acknowledge they owe in great part to volleyball.
Shelley said she will miss her oldest child's sense of humor and how they now can talk about anything. Urban, a self-proclaimed "volleyball junkie" who joked to the signing day crowd he had just accepted a job at Georgia Tech, said he'll really miss Wednesday night dinners and how much he and Nicki bonded at those. And Gigi said volleyball season won't be the same without her big sister.
But they all said they were proud of and excited for Nicki.
"This feels like the start of a whole new beginning for me," said Nicki, who won an FHSAA Class 6A state championship as a junior. "Even though my high school season is over (following a loss to Orlando Timber Creek in last Saturday's regional final), I'm really excited to think about what the next four years has in store for me.
"I'm really going to miss being here and everyone that is here, but I'm also really looking forward to starting something new."
 

<BR



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