Gazette Female Athlete of the Year 2016: Amanda Ollinger, Linn-Mar

CEDAR RAPIDS — Amanda Ollinger came into the world prematurely and precariously.

She was born four weeks before her due date, tangled in her umbilical cord. Her APGAR score was zero. She spent her first two weeks in intensive care, most of her first two years relatively silent.

'She didn't talk. She just kind of grunted,' recalled her mother, Bonnie. 'At about 21 months, she talked for the first time, then you couldn't keep her quiet.'

For someone who entered life in such a dire condition, Ollinger certainly overcame the odds. A piano whiz as a youngster, she discovered sports in middle school, as her body grew toward its present 6-foot-1 frame, one both sturdy and agile.

She became an all-state volleyball and basketball player, earning Division I scholarship offers in both sports before ultimately choosing to play basketball at the University of Iowa.

Today, The Gazette honors her as its 2016 Female Athlete of the Year.

'She's a very deserving kid,' said Linn-Mar girls' basketball coach Jaime Brandt. 'Her work ethic ... she'll go to the (YMCA) and get shots up on her own. She's a very hard-working kid, a very humble kid.'

Ollinger, 18, has moved to Iowa City. She's taking six credit hours this summer (chemistry and business computing). She's rooming with Makenzie Meyer (Miss Iowa Basketball 2016 and a fellow future Hawkeye women's basketball player from Mason City). And she's gearing up for the Game Time League.

'I'm really excited. It will be good to get a clean slate and go on to something new,' Ollinger said.

Ollinger committed to the Hawkeyes before her junior season. Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder became acquainted with her when Ollinger was in eighth grade, when she played on Team Iowa, an AAU team, with Bluder's daughter Hannah.

'Amanda has a great body for this level, great size,' Bluder said. 'She's athletic. Great hops, timing, athleticism.

'She can shoot the 3; she can post up. She has the versatility to fit into our system. The fact that she's a local kid, that's a bonus.'

Video: Amanda Ollinger shares prep sports memories

Ollinger also is a fan of the proximity.

'I like the closeness to home,' she said. 'My parents will be able to come to all the games.'

The Ollinger family is small — 'We thought we would have three kids,' Bonnie said. 'But after everything that happened with Amanda's childbirth, it was no way.' — and tight.

'Their parenting style is pretty unique,' Ollinger said. 'We don't hide stuff from each other. I've never had a curfew. I've never been grounded. If I'm going to make a mistake, it's going to be my mistake.'

'Sometimes, I'll stay out with my friends until 2 or 3 in the morning. I'm usually home at 10:30. My parents trust me enough to make my decisions.'

Ollinger's inner posse consists of Cedar Rapids Jefferson students Sabrina Luongvan and Justin Crockett, who she grew up with. They keep her grounded.

'They're the most real people I know,' Ollinger said. 'They'll tell you straight up, even if you don't ask for it. They don't see me as an athlete. They see me as a person.'

Luongvan said, 'Amanda is really, really talented. I admire her so much.'

The friendship survived Ollinger's sudden move to Linn-Mar in December 2014. It happened during the middle of her junior basketball season, but it wasn't a hasty decision.

The family lived on one side of Cedar Rapids. Most of their construction work was (and is) in Marion.

'Dad had been ready to move before I started high school, but our neighbors were really, really great,' Ollinger said. 'I wasn't ready to move on. Change is scary.

'But watching them go through that, planning out all the extra time ... it just wasn't something we wanted to do any more. Dad finally said, 'We need to do this. You need to be OK with it.'

Brandt was in her first year as head coach when word came down from Linn-Mar assistant athletics director Tonya Moe that Ollinger was moving across town.

'It was challenging,' Brandt said. 'It was like, 'Oh, man, we have momentum going. How's this going to work?' On the other side, 'Wow, I get to coach her.' We just tried to work her in at the right time.'

About six weeks after the transfer, Ollinger joined the Linn-Mar starting lineup when the Lions played at Jefferson.

'A lot of people didn't want me to come back,' she said. 'It's easier just to hate somebody than to find a reason to like them. It was a very intense game, it had the feeling of a state tournament game.'

Ollinger scored eight points in a game-ending 10-0 run, and Linn-Mar prevailed, 46-34.

It was a satisfying moment, but there were brighter highlights in Ollinger's career. For instance, she posted 25 points and 22 rebounds as Linn-Mar downed Indianola, 60-38, in her state tournament debut in March.

No. 1, though, may have come in volleyball, when Ollinger still wore Columbia blue and white. She peppered 44 kills at Iowa City West as Jefferson rallied to a five-set regional semifinal victory in her sophomore season.

'We had a little luck with us that night,' Ollinger said.

Ollinger received several Division I volleyball offers. She led Class 5A in kills at Jefferson as a sophomore (6.11 per set) and a junior (5.27), finishing her career with 1,744 of them.

'She would have been a tremendous college (volleyball) player,' said Teresa Kehe, who coached Ollinger in her senior season at Linn-Mar. 'She brought a lot of strength to the court.'

In basketball, Ollinger finished her prep career with 1,343 points and 780 rebounds, averaging 17.8 points and 10.9 rebounds as a senior.

Yes, she's over 6 feet tall. No, she's not a back-to-the-basket player. Not at all.

'We had five players (at Wilson Middle School), so we had to know all the positions,' Ollinger recalled. 'I was 5-10 or 5-11, and I was handling the point a lot.'

Ollinger will wear the same number (43) at Iowa that she wore in high school. She'll probably be a small forward, and her strength and rebounding skills should make her an immediate asset.

As for her role:

'If they want be to be a practice player, I'll be the best practice player I can be,' she said. 'If they want me to start, I'll be the best starter I can be.

'I will work hard and let the coaching take over.'

Final Voting

Name

School

First-place votes

Total points

Amanda Ollinger

Linn-Mar

6

39

Stephanie Jenks

Linn-Mar

2

30

Megan Maahs

Western Dubuque

2

26

Alyssa Wiebel

Benton Community

 

23

Arika Wooldridge

Center Point-Urbana

 

13

Others receiving votes: Jasmine Blue (Cedar Rapids Jefferson), Kennedy Brown (Iowa City Regina), Hailey Daufeldt (West Liberty), Jenny Dickes (Cedar Rapids Xavier), Katie Maschmann (Montezuma), Haley Poula (West Branch)

Others nominated: Maddie Bach (Marion), Rylee Blood (Cedar Rapids Prairie), Morgan Boer (North Linn), Lynsey Dolphin (Cascade), Tianna Drahn (Cedar Rapids Kennedy), Maci Griffith (Vinton-Shellsburg), Sydney Hayden (Cedar Rapids Kennedy), Julie Hollensbe (Williamsburg), Taylor Huber (Alburnett), Carlee Ketchum (West Delaware), Jolissa Kriegel (BGM), Taylor Moenk (Cedar Rapids Prairie), Abilene Ranschau (Cedar Rapids Jefferson), Tia Saunders (Iowa City West), Haley Schroeder (Elkader Central), Taylor Schuring (Decorah), Breanna Smith (Marion), Kenzie Soeken (Cedar Rapids Prairie), Anne Visser (Cedar Rapids Washington), Megan Wagaman (Springville), Marissa Ward (Iowa Valley)