'Like nobody had ever hit a ball before'

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Remember the scene in "The Natural" when Robert Duval first saw Roy Hobbs throw a fastball past "The Whammer"?

I pictured that scene Monday when Shawn Levoy described Philip Dalhausser's maiden voyage onto the Mainland High volleyball court a decade ago. Levoy was among the locals behind the Hilton on Monday for the second of two ceremonies honoring Dalhausser, the beach-volleyball gold medalist who now lives in California. He told the story of convincing Dalhausser to come out for the Bucs volleyball team for his senior season in 1997-98.

"At the time, he was playing tennis; I was the captain of the volleyball team," said Levoy. "We were best friends, and that was the only thing we didn't have in common. Our volleyball coach told me to find us another front-line player; we needed another player."

So Dalhausser, 6-foot-6 at the time (he later grew to 6-9) came out to his first preseason practice. The first time someone set him a ball near the top of the net, he spiked it so hard it hit the floor on the opposite side of the net and caromed all the way into the gym's rafters.

"He just crushed it, like nobody had ever hit a ball before," remembers Levoy. "It was the first time he'd ever hit a ball. He had all the talent in the world. It was just a matter of getting to that next level. Obviously I didn't know he'd be the best player in the world, but I knew he would be a pro from the first time he hit that ball in the gym."


If you missed that scene: