McCallister Chases an Olympic Dream : Volleyball: Although she is a longshot to compete in Barcelona, the former Mira Costa High player thinks she has a good chance of making the 1996 team.

Mira Costa High girls’ volleyball Coach Dae Lea Aldrich remembers when Megan McCallister entered the Mustangs’ program as a freshman.

McCallister had only one year of volleyball experience, that coming during her eighth-grade year in club leagues.

“When she came to Mira Costa she was tall and lanky,” Aldrich said. “During her freshman year, she used to have trouble with hitting the ball. Someone would set her up for a spike and she would hit the ball to the wall.

“I think her body grew too fast for her at such an early age. She just wasn’t mature yet to play.”

McCallister didn’t quit. In fact, while participating on the junior varsity team her first season, she worked after practice with Aldrich, fine-tuning the skills to make the varsity squad.

“She used to not like volleyball,” Aldrich said. “But she spent a lot of time in the gym, working on her spike. She would go to all the varsity games and watch the better players play. Then she started becoming well-rounded, quick and agile.”

The extra hours in the gym, developing her volleyball potential, paid off for McCallister. After completing her senior year in 1986, she was chosen Southern Section Player of the Year and named High School National Player of the Year by Volleyball Monthly.

Now, after earning All-Pacific 10 Conference and All-America honors at USC, McCallister is gunning for her ultimate goal: Making the U.S. women’s Olympic volleyball team.

McCallister, 23, is currently in San Diego, practicing with the 18-member national team, which she joined in December. The 6-foot outside hitter hopes to make the 12-player squad that will compete in Barcelona.

But McCallister said this year’s team is competitive.

“So far, most of the players who played on the silver medal team from Seoul (in 1988) are back on the team,” said McCallister, who was a member of the bronze medal squads at the 1986 and ’87 U.S. Olympic festivals. “I knew coming (to San Diego) that our team was going to be stacked. But I’m just glad to be out here playing.”

Only one spot remains open for the Barcelona squad, a middle blocker position. Whether she makes the Olympic team, McCallister said the experience will be worth it.

“I knew that I wanted to do this right after graduating from USC (in May, 1991),” she said. “Playing with these players who are the best in the world is the best way for me to improve.”

Although McCallister’s chances of making the 1992 squad are slim, she is looking past Barcelona.

“Really, I’m focusing on (the Olympics in) Atlanta (in 1996),” she said. “The Olympics is such a commitment, and it’s really hard. You have to train for four years.”

Terry Liskevych, the women’s Olympic volleyball coach, sees McCallister as a future impact player.

“She’s a developing player,” Liskevych said. “She’s got a good future with us. I think she’s a good candidate for Atlanta. She’s been highly touted since high school. But it takes a while to get into the international game.

“Her offensive game is strong, and, again, if she just keeps continuing to develop her game she’ll be with us for a while.”

Liskevych says being surrounded by top-rated talent is a plus for McCallister.

“Being down with us helps her a lot,” Liskevych said. “We have players with three and four years experience (with the national team), and having Megan in the gym and learning from them is just great.

“And when the opportunity comes around, she’ll take advantage of it.”

Although McCallister got a late start with the national team, she has her share of experience.

In the summer of 1991, McCallister played for Chrysler Californians club team, which won the inaugural NORCECA Women’s Championship. She then joined the USA B squad at the World University Games in Sheffield, England, and the Pan American Games in Havana, Cuba.

Before graduating from USC, where she had 400-plus kills in each of her last three seasons and ended her college career with 1,472 kills and 375 total blocks, McCallister trained in the summer with the USA B team in 1988 and ’89. She played four matches against Canada in 1989.

“All those summers playing was absolutely a key for me in getting to where I am today,” she said.

McCallister says she received some criticism after graduating from USC because she did not play professionally in Europe.

“I knew I wanted to go after the Olympic team right after graduation,” she said. “There’s no question in my mind--I don’t want to play this game for money, I want to play for the experience.

“I know a lot of people won’t believe me, but I just love this game so much. I might sound trite but it’s true.”

When McCallister finishes her volleyball career, she plans to earn a degree in finance and possibly pursue an MBA.

“I would love to get into institutional investing,” she said. “I love the stock market, it’s such a competitive environment.

“And playing volleyball is helping me in my future. They say dealing with different people and personalities is good for me. I’m looking forward to that life, hoping to climb the corporate ladder when I’m done with volleyball.”

For now, McCallister is content with her life. Waking up at 6:15 a.m. every day and preparing for her dream is what she wants.

“People don’t realize that everybody is fighting for their lives everyday at practice,” she said. “You have to set a routine for yourself. It takes a while to fine tune your mental attitude. This is my full-time job now and this is what I have to do.”