Is Summer Ross The Chosen One?

She may not be old enough to drink but she is good enough to beat some of the best teams in the world. She is a ways away from being called the best player in the world, but the fact remains that we have yet to see anyone this good this early into their career.  Much like how LeBron James was anointed 'The Chosen One' on a February issue of Sports Illustrated in 2002, the only thing that may stand between Summer Ross and domination is time.

Regardless of how good you think she is now, just keep it in perspective that she is playing against veterans of the sport.  No one that has gotten to this level of competition, just walks up and starts playing pro.  No one gets drafted in the 1st round, and no one gets recruited when they are young.  You gotta earn your stripes every step of the way, so even though many of today's top pros have only been playing the sport professionally for a handful of years, the amount of experience they have had to achieve prior to their success far outnumbers the amount of time that it has take Summer to get to where she is.

People will continue to force the argument of The King vs. His Royal Airness, but in the end MJ is and always be king.  On the beach, we can always argue who is the best right now but no one will be better than Karch, and I figured I would remind those out there who are too young to remember who he is.  Now that we got that out of the way let's get down to the meat of the argument...

On Paper...

She is listed at 6'1" which is a great size, which allows her to be a blocker and a defender which may come in handy as the current game seems to be trending toward split blocking, and bigger defenders.

Pros...

What stands out most about her when you watch her play is just how fluid she is on the court.  For someone her age and limited experience she seems totally comfortable, with good footwork and court presence.  For a game that demands perfection on hand sets, she has some of the best hands I've seen on the women's side, and her bump sets are quite good as well.  That same ball control is clearly put on display on defense too, and at times it seems like she is making tough digs almost nonchalantly.  It is almost infuriating how easy she makes it look.  Eliminating unforced errors is the biggest aspect to beach volleyball in my opinion, and she has a great high reach on her swing which certainly helps her hit around blocks and keep balls in the court.

If you aren't completely convinced then just watch the plays at 14:15 and 16:22...

When you put all those pieces together in combination that she is only 20 and has already won tournaments at the highest level, I'm not even sure what category you put her into because quite frankly we haven't seen anything like her.  Sean Rosenthal qualified for an AVP event when he was 16, but didn't win his first event until he was 23.  For most volleyball players they are just getting out of college and still getting accustomed to the beach game, so to say that Summer is ahead of the curve would be an understatement.

Then her instincts are world class.  Maybe her inexperience here has turned into a positive so that she isn't thinking that much on the court and is instead just reacting.  She won't get to every ball or she may be a step late but she is never out of position, and when she does make a read it always seems to be the right one.  I can't tell you how many times I've seen pros sit in the cross and not move an inch when the other team rolls high line.  Her defensive style is a bit "unconventional" as she just lurks in the middle of the court a lot of the time, but it seems to work for her.

Cons...

Now that I'm done building her up, I have to knock her down a bit.  She does have flaws (plenty of them).  Even though she has the size to be a blocker, she is lacking good form and quick footwork.  Blocking on the beach is very technical and too many times she wants to drop off the net or peels too early when she just needs to commit being big at the net.  She is capable but she probably won't be a full time blocker.

She does have a high swing but she still has an "indoor swing", and by that I mean just hitting hard and deep.  During serve receive she needs to learn to hit sharper angles, instead on hitting deep corner or seam.  During transition those are the right shots to make, but during serve-receive there will always be certain shots that are open and she needs to take advantage of that.

Lastly, she needs to improve her shot making.  Too many times I've seen her get blocked, or the other team get touches at the net on her roll shots or pokes.  I'm not sure if it is her approach or that she just isn't hitting high enough over the block, but I think this will come in time as she gets a better feel for the game.  Adding this component will make it much easier for her to sideout and will improve her kill percentage on her swings as well.

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Is she really the chosen one?  In beach volleyball no one gets shot out of a cannon.  Instead you gotta grind out the long haul up the mountain, but at this stage in her career it is as if she was dropped out of a helicopter half way up that mountain.