Delaney Peranich - Double Trouble
9/15/2020 4:34:00 PM | Beach Volleyball
Mustang Spotlight
The odds of playing one sport at the Division I level are already extremely low, but being able to play two sports at this level is almost unheard of nowadays. The demands of keeping up with your teammates, training, classes, practices and so much more keep student-athletes busy year-round. One athlete at Cal Poly is learning to balance all this while competing on two different rosters.Delaney Peranich is a dual-sport athlete, representing both the Beach Volleyball team as well as the Track & Field team (competing as a high jumper while also currently developing her javelin skills).
After successful years playing both sports at the high school level, Peranich was recruited to Cal Poly to play beach volleyball. When the track & field coaches found out that she was coming to the school, they saw it as an opportunity to add another talented person on their roster as well. Coming out of St. Ignatius Prep in the Bay Area, Peranich not only was the CIF Central Coast Section high jump champion with a PR of 5' 9", but she also had played for the second-place pairing at the USA Volleyball JBT NorCal Grand Slam.
Assistant track coach specializing in the pole vault and high jump, Brad Pickett, explained his process in obtaining Peranich for the team: "Once we knew that she was being recruited for beach volleyball and that was her main thing, we then saw what she was doing high-jump wise. We knew that we were going to get a really good high jumper and a good athlete. We had to reach out to Coach Rogers and see how we could make this work." As a senior, the Santa Cruz Beach Volleyball Club prospect also took sixth place at the California State high jump finals.
Todd Rogers, Cal Poly beach volleyball's head coach, explained that Delaney playing two sports was never an issue, and in fact, "Mark (director of track & field) is actually the one who asked me about Delaney after she had committed. I asked Delaney if she wanted to play both sports and she said something along the lines of 'You would let me do that?' I thought it would be awesome if she could hold the line in the classroom and on the beach court. So far so good on those fronts!"
During the 2019 beach season as the Mustangs won the Big West title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament on ESPN, she helped her tandem go 15-8 overall.
While her coaches are very confident in her ability to juggle the two sports, Peranich has found that playing both sports has brought challenges that are magnified due to her schedule.
"The biggest struggle is having to stay disciplined all the time because I naturally am not very Type A. I love both of them and I want to do both of them so there are things I have to do to make sure I'm able to do that," explained Peranich. "That includes making sure I'm on top of my sleep schedule, what I fuel my body with; I have to consciously think about everything I have to do."
Despite the time constraints and struggles that come with committing to two programs, there are always the benefits, and Delaney hung these mainly on her community. "I have met so many amazing people on both of my teams," she said, "and it has made my life easier having those relationships, those dependable relationships."
Both coaches understand that what Delaney does for their programs is nothing short of amazing and many great athletes that have come before her don't dare balance two sports at once. Coach Rogers spoke about her work ethic and what it takes to be in her position. He explained that she handles her life "impressively" also noting her success in the classroom as a Kinesiology (Exercise Science) major, where she earned 2020 Big West All-Academic Team status, along with Conference Commissioner's Highest Honors academically.
On Feb. 7 — two weeks before the start of regular-season beach matches — Peranich was in Albuquerque for the New Mexico Collegiate Classic, one of the more competitive indoor track meets out west. Jumping against a field including Alabama, Texas Tech, UNLV, San Diego State, Grand Canyon, Arkansas State, UTEP and Hawaii, among other programs, she cleared 5' 5.25" to finish ninth.
Coach Pickett agreed, "It's not easy obviously just doing one sport and handling school along with it, so two is pretty amazing, and it takes a lot of time management skills."
With the hopes of multiple Big West Championships on the horizon, Delaney will be entering into her third year as a Mustang after her last beach volleyball season was cut short due to COVID-19. Because of this, Delaney will have an extra year of eligibility, so it'll be exciting to see what another year will bring.
After her time in green and gold is up, Peranich thinks she wants to pursue beach volleyball professionally, stating, "I'm not exactly sure which one I want to pursue, but I think beach volleyball. That ultimately is why I came here. I love both but that one definitely has my heart a little bit more."
Photos Courtesy of Owen Main / Wally Nell / Alexander Bohlen ©
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