Barrington libero Cleary makes seamless transition to new role

She was only 15 years old.

But, for a moment, Amanda Cleary wondered if she were too old to learn any new tricks.

She grew up playing volleyball and was always an outside hitter.

Early in her sophomore year, during the 2019 season, her high school coach at Barrington, Michelle Jakubowski, came to her and suggested that Cleary might be more effective as a libero.

Like basically the opposite of an outside hitter. Liberos aren't allowed to hit, or block.

"To make that kind of position change at age 15 ... it's kind of late in your career to do that," Cleary said. "I didn't think it could happen."

Cleary tried it anyway because her coach told her that she could really help the team.

"I just wanted to be in a place where I could help the team be more successful," Cleary said. "One of the things I grew up liking so much about volleyball was the team aspect and how we can't be successful without each other. The team's success is your own success."

Cleary had a good foundation of passing fundamentals. She was one of the better passing hitters on the team. She was comfortable, but nervous at first.

"It was a little rocky at the very beginning, but (the move) ended up making a lot of sense to me," Cleary said. "It ended up being empowering to me. It was kind of a shock because I've always been a hitter and I'm kind of tall. But I think I've actually been much more successful with my passing than my hitting. And I get so excited when I see one of my teammates put the ball away. I thought I would miss that feeling but being able to give that perfect pass and see your teammates succeed is even more satisfying to me. I think being a libero was my calling all along."

The 5-foot-10 Cleary, now a junior, has been the starting libero for the last two seasons at Barrington, which is currently 7-1 and steaming toward its goal of the 2021 Mid-Suburban League championship.

"Amanda really embraced the change and that probably would have been tough for a lot of kids," Jakubowski said. "I'm sure at the beginning she was probably missing the hitting, but she has just fit this role so well. One day, she was an outside hitter, the next day she was our libero. And if you didn't know it, you would never know that she hasn't always been our libero."

Jakubowski likes Cleary's ball control and the accuracy of her passes. But most of all, she likes her leadership.

"Amanda is an incredible leader and that's what you look for in a libero," Jakubowski said. "Her energy and leadership raises the bar of our entire team. She missed one game. We still won, but we weren't at the level of energy and expectation that we usually are with Amanda on the floor. The girls just play at a different level when they are playing with Amanda. She is fun and sweet and hardworking. That combination makes everyone flock to her and respect her."

Cleary's work ethic has taken her from the gym to the sand.

A few years ago, she started playing beach volleyball with her club team as a way to make herself a more complete player. With only two players on a beach volleyball team, each one has to do everything.

"It was hard at first," Cleary said of beach volleyball. "There's a lot of pressure with only two people. Initially, I didn't like it very much. But over time, it's become one of my favorite things.

"And actually, it was great training for me to be a libero. You've got to be really good on the sand with your passing, and you've got to be faster and in better condition. You just become so well-rounded."

That could be Cleary's ticket to the next level. Being well-rounded.

She would love to play volleyball for as long as she can and is looking into colleges that offer either traditional volleyball, beach volleyball or both.

About 90 colleges in the country offer beach volleyball.

"I would love to be able to play both indoor and beach in college," said Cleary, who has a 4.0 grade-point average and would like to go into nursing. "That would be the absolute dream. And if I got good enough, then maybe the AVP (Association of Volleyball Professionals, a beach volleyball league). If I could play volleyball my whole life, I would. It's my greatest passion.

"I love the community volleyball creates, the people in it. I think volleyball brings out the leader in me. And I just love the game. It gives me pure joy to play volleyball."