Bantle Family a Junior Triple Threat

Becky Murdy
Assistant, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: (719) 228-6800
Email: becky.murdy@usav.org

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (May 20, 2011) – For families like the Millers, the Molinas, the DiMaggios, the Staals and other biologically gifted tri-sibling pro-sports families, athletics began early and happened often, consuming and balancing every aspect of their life or lives. The Bantle family of Los Angeles may not have pro athletes yet, but with its recent success in volleyball, the possibility is very much alive.

It has been said that genetics can make an athlete, but hard work, dedication and support make a champion. There is no doubt that the three children making up the Bantle family - Taylor, Jackson and Will - are athletic, But as a result of all three having qualified for their respective 2011 USA Volleyball Junior National Championships, their combined success has set them apart, fashioning  a triple threat in the making.

Pressure is a feeling that all athletes are familiar with and something that unfortunately, forces certain players to impede participating in the sport they once loved. The Bantle-family parents, Kim and Scott, have exhausted all venues to ensure that daughter Taylor and sons Jackson and Will don’t compete because they feel they have to but because they love it.

Photo: Bantle Family Left to Right: Jackson, Taylor and Will Bantle. “They do what they love and they love it so much,” Scott said.  “Volleyball has never been pushed on them. As they see the kids around them get better and better, they begin to understand what it will take if they want to be the best.”

“My husband and I feel strongly about opening the necessary door for our kids in whatever activities they chose to pursue,” Kim said. “We both didn’t have the opportunities to play sports in college due to injuries and other road-blocks. It is fortunate that we can give our children the tools they need to succeed, but it is up to them if they use those tools or not.”

Growing up in California, it was inevitable that Scott would find volleyball. He lived on the beach and starting picking up volleyball after college, entering in beach tournaments as often as he could. Growing up on the east coast, Kim was never introduced to the sport, making their children’s success as volleyball players almost an accident of great heights… literally.

“Cari Klein, my school coach and owner of Sunshine Volleyball Club, saw how tall I was at such a young age and persuaded my parents to get me to try out for Sunshine,” Taylor said. “My parents told her that I didn’t know how to play, but she said that she didn’t care, she would teach me. The rest is history.”

And history repeated itself… twice.

“I like having Will and Jackson play volleyball,” Taylor said. “It is something that we all have in common. It is a big topic of conversation in our family and we can all relate.”

Will, the youngest of the three, is happy juggling school volleyball, club volleyball, baseball, basketball and football as long as he can. He knows eventually he will have to whittle down his list, but he is not willing to give up any just yet.

“My favorite sport is whatever one I am playing at that moment,” Will said. “Like Jackson did, I am playing baseball this summer and competing in Cooperstown, N.Y., but I also like football and basketball. It is going to be tough when I have to choose.”

Will, a sixth grader at Corpus Christ School, has experienced tremendous success in his first year in club volleyball. His 14-1’s team at Pali Volleyball Club is entered in the club division at the USA Volleyball Boys’ Junior National Championships (BJNC), and have moved up to the top eight, a rank high enough to possibly give them an at-large bid for the open division.

Jackson, a sophomore at Loyola High School, will join his second-ranked SoCal SCVC 16s team in defending its BJNC title in Minneapolis this summer. The 6-2, starting outside hitter is eager to have the same club team back together in anticipation of capture back-to-back gold medals. Photo: Bantle Family Left to Right: Jackson, Will and Taylor. 

“It would mean a lot to be the best team in the country two years in a row,” Jackson said. “That is hard to do.”

Jackson was named to the USA Volleyball High Performance Boys’ Select A1 team for the second consecutive year. He is also an accomplished beach volleyball player. He recently acquired his “A” beach rating with partner Matt Butler (Huntington Beach, Calif.).  He is also a finalist to become a member of the U-19 Junior National Beach Team – as a 15 year old!

Scott and Kim find themselves jet-setting across the country on a regular basis in an attempt to see all the matches that their children compete in. The two-to-three ratio of parent-to-kid has made it impossible, but that doesn’t mean Kim and Scott won’t continue to try.

Photo: Bantle Family Taylor received First-Team All Sunshine League Honors and co-captained the CIF Champions, Marymount High School Volleyball Team.  “We try to make every match, but more realistically, all big events,” Scott said. “We make sure that we don’t schedule things over those important days. We love watching them and if we could make it to every set of every match we would, but my wife and I are outnumbered.”

Not only do Taylor, Jackson and Will play on three different club teams, they also attend and play for three different schools. With high-level volleyball comes high-level commitment, times that by three and “family time” may take a back seat. However, Kim and Scott make sure that taking vacations as a family is their first priority.

“We are skiers and that is our family time,” Kim said. “I am one of seven children and we make it an annual tradition to travel back to the east coast to visit my family twice a year. Traveling and adventure is part of Scott and I and we have made that a part of our children’s lives. Though putting family time first is tough when so many teams are involved it is what keeps life more than just about volleyball.”

With the GJNC and BJNC slated for the end of June (Girls’ June 25- July 4 and Boys’ June 28- July 6), Kim and Scott will face a challenge that they are unfamiliar with, having all three children competing at nationals, in two states (Minnesota and Georgia), three divisions, all at the same time.

“Scott and I are checker-boarding across the United States this summer so we can each see at least two days of each child play,” Kim said. “Neither of us are willing to miss our daughter’s last year at Junior Nationals. Unfortunately, Taylor plays the same days as our youngest, Will. It is complicated, but we love it so it is worth the effort.”

Volleyball presents itself as an opportunity for kids to make new friends, get involved and stay active in the sport that they love. For the Bantle kids, playing has become part of their social lives as well. While Kim and Scott stress over missing matches, something they don’t do often, the kids have a mature understanding of their parent’s incapability of being three places at once.

“That has gotten a lot tougher in the last couple of years,” Kim said. “Our kids are playing the sports because they love it, not because Scott and I are in the stands. They are okay with going anywhere without us, which is good for them sometimes. Our kids are all pretty independent.”

Finally old enough to compete in club, Will doesn’t worry if his parents will make it, just as long as he doesn’t have to miss any of the action.

“But I can make my game, right?” Will asked his parents when he found out they might have to miss a few days at nationals for Taylor’s games.

“He is just worried that he will be yanked out of practice or a match because one of his siblings is playing at the same time,” Kim said. “He will stay with anyone and go anywhere as long as he can play.”

After six years of volleyball the hectic travel, scheduling and attempt to balance sport and family has become increasingly challenging for Kim, Scott, Taylor, Jackson and Will, but the support and love for volleyball has grown exponentially, bringing the family closer together. The family-first attitude and ability to withhold volleyball from consuming their lives, but allowing it to be just an aspect, is the Bantle recipe for their success.

For as long as they continue to love the sport the kids will remain a triple threat, improving and capitalizing on all opportunities for growth and achievement, a lesson their parents have instilled in them since the first time they touched the court.

One thing is for sure, volleyball is “all in the family.”

Tags: 2011 Boys' Junior National Championships, 2011 Boys' Select A1, 2011 Girls' Junior National Championships, Beach Volleyball