Star Senior, An Exemplary Student-Athlete

You don’t see many of her kind anymore in competitive high school sports. Three-sport student athletes may not be extinct, but you could say they’re on the endangered species list.

Someone who plays more than one sport is becoming more the exception than the rule. Even more of a rarity is the well-rounded athlete, who gets high marks in the classroom and excels playing a different game with each changing season.

Canby High senior RayAnne Schedler, who has a 4.0 grade-point average, is that kind of player. Canby Community Advantage Magazine’s Star Student for December is “old school.” She’s a throwback to the time before things got so serious and specialized that it took the fun out of amateur sports.

Schedler does it all for the Cougars. She leaves it all out on the court, no matter what she’s playing: In the fall, it’s all about volleyball, winter it’s basketball, and spring it’s tennis. “It gets a little bit busy,” Schedler said about her tight schedule. “But I like it. It keeps me busy. It’s lots of fun.”

Playing other ball sports has helped her develop and improve her volleyball game, Canby Head volleyball Coach Terri Jo Schlatter said. Her 5-foot-10 outside hitter has that intuitive ability to hit the ball to the right place at the right time.

“We don’t have a ton of multi-sport athletes like that anymore,” Schlatter said. “One of the reasons she’s a good volleyball player is that she has good ball IQ, like hand-eye coordination.

“There are so many angles in volleyball where a ball is coming from one person at that angle. You’ve got to redirect it at this angle. Your brain has to compute that quickly. Ray just has that sense I guess.”

Schedler’s teammates look up to her for leadership and voted her team’s most valuable player. The Cougars captain, who lettered each of her four years on varsity, also earned second team all-league honors for her stellar play.

Canby finished in seventh place this fall with a 6–10 record in the Northwest Oregon Conference. Despite the losing record, Schedler put a positive spin on the season. “We didn’t win as much as we wanted to but it was a good season,” Schedler said. “I think I had a pretty good season. I definitely improved.”

Schedler led the team offensively with the highest passing average (1.79) and most kill attempts (542). She was the go-to hitter that setters looked for when the game was on the line.

“She’s our team leader, a player of character,” Schlatter said. “All the kids respected her as a volleyball player. She never quit.

“She was our offensive leader. She was our go-to hitter, our primary ball passer and handler. We got her the ball a lot. We trusted her. We relied on her and had faith that she was going to always bring the energy and effort,” Schlatter added.

The coach has nothing but high praise for her best player, as an athlete and person of character. There’s no doubt Schedler will leave some big shoes to fill in Canby when she graduates next year. “It’s a big hole to fill,” Schlatter said. “She’s lettered four years on varsity. That’s a big presence that we’re going to lose.”

Schedler wore jersey No. 4 in honor of her coach’s son, AJ Schlatter, who died tragically eight years ago from complications after throat surgery. A student-athlete known for his work ethic and character, AJ was only 20 years old.

“She’s a really good student,” Coach TJ Schlatter said. “That’s why she’s wearing No. 4. She’s a great kid. I don’t know anyone that doesn’t like this kid. Her parents did a great job. She’s just a good, wholesome kid.”

Although Schedler said volleyball has become her favorite sport, she is looking forward to returning to her center position on the basketball team this winter. She has high hopes for Canby hoops in her final year.

“We have a new coach this year, Dana Avgi,” she said. “That’s exciting.”

Last year was Schedler’s first on the tennis team. “A couple of my buddies played so they convinced me,” she said.

She plans to return as a doubles player in the spring, bringing character, talent, academics, and all.