For Robert Feathers, the ‘sky is the limit’ in volleyball

The Los Angeles Loyola junior is the No. 1 college prospect in Southern California, if not the nation.

As fast as the blink of an eye, 6-foot-8 Robert Feathers of Los Angeles Loyola raised his long arms above the net and sent the ball crashing to the court in a startling display of precision and power.

The ability to block in volleyball is one of the most treasured skills in the sport, and Feathers’ giant frame, combined with his athleticism and agility, make him the No. 1 college prospect in Southern California, if not the nation, among juniors.

“The sky is the limit for him,” Coach Mike Boehle said.

And yet Feathers still wonders what could have been.

“I miss basketball,” he said. “I look back and think, ‘Could I have done it? Could I have gone somewhere with it?’ To leave was really hard.”

It was after his freshman season playing junior varsity basketball at Loyola that Feathers reluctantly made the decision to cease being a two-sport athlete. It took him days to work up the grit to enter the classroom of basketball Coach Jamal Adams and say the words, “I’m giving up basketball.”

He had no choice but to choose.

“I had been playing basketball since I was little,” Feathers said. “I was coming from basketball practice at 6 o’clock and going right to club volleyball practice, and I was coming home and passing out, and my academics were slowing down. I knew I had to decide or go insane.”

He loved each sport and embraced both cultures, but volleyball was where his heart was.

“Volleyball was more fun to play every day, and basketball was more of work, work, work,” he said.

Boehle was disappointed Feathers stopped playing basketball, because he encourages two-sport athletes, but he was also excited that volleyball won out.

“You can’t teach height,” he said. “That’s one thing he has going for him. But the fact he wants to learn and get better is hard to teach. He’s constantly asking day in and day out, ‘What can I do to get better?’”

Having grown up in Pacific Palisades, Feathers has been exposed to volleyball for years. It was on the same courts and sand that former AVP stars Sinjin Smith and Kent Steffes got their early training.

Feathers has twin sisters in the eighth grade who also play volleyball. And he is starting to receive coaching instruction from USA Volleyball as a member of youth and junior national teams.

“One word that describes him is sponge,” Boehle said. “Information is given to him. He absorbs so quickly and puts it in everyday practices, everyday homework.”

For those who don’t understand the allure of volleyball, perhaps a trip to the match between Loyola, ranked No. 1 in Division I, and No. 2 Manhattan Beach Mira Costa on Saturday night at 7 at Redondo Beach might offer some insight.

It’s played before packed crowds and screaming fans, with players who have known each other since middle school. And the quality of the action is second to none.

“The feeling is unlike anything else because you have the crazy fans of Costa and the crazy fans of Loyola,” Feathers said. “I know and my team knows probably 95% of the guys on that Costa team, so when you step on the court and you see your ‘friend’ on the other side, you know it’s going to get intense.”

Feathers was a member of last season’s Loyola team that won the Southern Section Division I championship and went unbeaten, with one publication proclaiming the Cubs national champions. Most of the top players are back.

And Feathers is on a path to volleyball stardom.

“He’s going to be somebody to reckon with,” Boehle said.

eric.sondheimer@latimes.com

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