Skylar Skrabanek, a Junior at Obra D. Tompkins High School, verbally committed to play D1 beach volleyball for Florida State University (FSU). FSU has finished second in college beach nationals on numerous occasions and has a reputation in the beach community as one of the top D1 colleges for beach volleyball. “I was beyond excited when they called and wanted to speak to me about playing for FSU. This was my top pick and my dream college to play for,” Skylar stated. “Skylar trains with Texas Classic Beach Volleyball under her, favorite coach Randy Meador, he is so funny and has really taught me the game and brought my skills to the next level!” She trains with Randy and her beach teammates 2-3 times a week in the sand and when she’s not playing indoor for her high school, she is competing in beach tournaments to maintain her skills. Skylar has recently won a gold medal in the BVNE East Coast National Championships as well as numerous other gold and silver place finishes since she began playing beach volleyball in 2019. The first national championship she ever competed in for beach volleyball, USAV East Coast Championships, she and her partner finished fifth overall and were ranked second in Texas. Skylar shared that playing beach volleyball has made her more aggressive, vocal, athletic and versatile with her indoor game. “I am able to move quicker, jump higher and am able to place the ball more strategically for the point because of beach volleyball,” Skylar reported.
Beach volleyball has grown tremendously since it debuted in 2011. Then considered a club sport, there were only 15 NCAA-affiliated teams. NCAA Beach Volleyball is now considered as one of the fastest growing college sports ever. There are now approximately 54 D1 beach volleyball programs, making this division the largest there is in beach volleyball. Some of the top D1 programs in beach volleyball are University of Southern California, Florida State University, UCLA, LMU, TCU and LSU. This sport is gaining popularity quickly as University of Texas has also just made an announcement that they will be adding beach volleyball to their list of sports.
Skylar became interested in volleyball around 8 years old. She started playing club volleyball when she was 10 years old. While Skylar also excelled at basketball and softball, it was always volleyball that she enjoyed the most. When she is not immersed in training and playing both indoor and beach volleyball, she enjoys acting, movies, theater arts, music, dance and hanging out with her friends.
Skylar’s mother and father were also gifted athletes in school. Angela, Skylar’s mom, loved to play volleyball and ran track. Skylar’s father, Neil, was the star quarter back for Wharton High School as well as a very talented baseball player. He received a full scholarship to play baseball in college for Southwest Texas State University, where he then earned his Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science. Tyler, Skylar’s brother, is now a freshman at Tompkins High School and is quite the athlete himself. He is the quarterback for the freshman navy team and also plays basketball and runs track. The family has high hopes that he too, God willing, will become a D1 athlete in college.
Skylar is currently in her junior year playing indoor volleyball on Varsity for Obra D. Tompkins High School. She is a pin hitter with a preference to the outside and middle back positions. Her stats for Tompkins are impressive to say the least: Sets Played 69, Kills 171, Kill Percentage .282, Total Blocks 18, Total Aces 44, Digs 211 and 293 Serve Receives with only 18 errors, -far above the national averages. When asked of her Varsity Coach, Coach Merrell, what star qualities do you see in Skylar, she responded, “She always, always wants to be the best, or do her best to make her team the best it can be. Every single day she is asking me for more reps, can I do this one more time, she is never satisfied with her craft. I love this as a coach. She is hungry to get better.” We went on to ask Coach Merrell what strengths does Skylar bring to the success of your team? She responded, “Sky shows grit and determination every single day. I swear she has no off switch of trying to find ways to improve her skills. She has never backed down from working hard, being present and wanting her team to be successful. I am so very proud of her!!”
Skylar would like to earn a degree in school counseling or in case management for special needs children. She shared, “I do whatever I can to help my friends when they are having problems or feeling desperate. I love to be a listening ear and to help them problem solve. That’s why I gravitate to wanting to be even more specifically a middle school counselor because this is such a difficult time period of growth and misunderstanding.” Skylar concluded, “I cannot wait to play beach volleyball for FSU and hopefully help them to win their first ever national championship title. It is my dream beyond college, if it is in God’s plan for me, to play professionally or in the Olympics one day. For now, I will just train as hard as I can and be the most supportive teammate that I can be. I feel beyond blessed that Coach Niles and Coach Nick at FSU have given me this opportunity!”