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Valley’s Marty Heavey uses strong work ethic to improve on volleyball court

It doesn’t matter what Marty Heavey chooses to do, the Valley senior always goes in with an open mind and identical approach.

“I try to take the skills and work ethic I have and sort of apply it to as many areas as I can,” he said.

It’s this pattern that has made Heavey a first-class student and one of the top volleyball players in Southern Nevada.

“You’re not going to play well in the game or perform well on the test unless you put in the work beforehand,” said Heavey, a three-year varsity player. “What I like to say is, ‘You put in the work, you get the results.’

“You’re not going to be able to just show up and perform.”

The 6-foot-5-inch Heavey is starting to see the effects of his hard work — in the classroom and on the court — and continues to disprove the “dumb jock” stigma.

He has a weighted 4.8 GPA in Valley’s esteemed International Baccalaureate magnet program and is on pace to become the school’s valedictorian in June. But that hasn’t stopped him from also turning into a formidable doubles tennis player in the fall and the face of the boys volleyball program in the spring.

“The sky’s the limit for Marty,” said coach Matt Porter, in his 12th season. “He’s just one of those exceptional people. I think he can really do anything he wants to do.”

Heavey, a four-year varsity tennis player, said he thinks his success off the court has translated to athletics.

“At the deepest level, they are very similar,” he said. “It’s really just about working hard and doing what you need to do. In academics, you have to study, do your homework and pay attention in class. In athletics, obviously, you have to work hard. You have to be present in practice. It’s like paying attention in class.”

Porter, also the boys tennis coach, has seen Heavey’s improvement in both sports, particularly as an outside hitter in volleyball, where he’s a threat to have 20-plus kills each match.

“He’s constantly gotten better in every aspect of the game,” Porter said. “That’s the thing that’s really made him exceptional. He’s probably our best passer, our best server and our best hitter. He can do everything. He plays the entire game at a really high level.”

Heavey, the reigning Northeast League Player of the Year, hopes his improvement helps the Vikings (16-9) reach the state tournament for the second time in three years. They made it when he was a sophomore.

Heavey said his drive and work ethic come from his parents. His father, Chris Heavey, is a vice provost at UNLV, and his mother, Nancy Heavey, is a master’s-holding principal at Nate Mack Elementary School.

“They always encouraged my brother and I to be anything we wanted to be,” Marty Heavey said. “They put us in sports when we were really little. They were always very supportive and pushing us to try new things.”

Heavey didn’t find volleyball — now his favorite sport — until he started club ball as a freshman. He previously delved into soccer, baseball, flag football, tennis and basketball, and even became an Eagle Scout along the way. There also was the three years on varsity quiz.

“Everything I do, I take pride in,” Heavey said. “I want to excel in everything. If I’m doing something, I’m not going to go into it lackadaisical. It’s very important that I work as hard as I can and be the best I can at that specific thing.”

Most of his time today, though, is devoted to volleyball, whether it’s at school or in the sand at Sunset Park and Anthem Country Club with his friends.

Soon it might be at the collegiate level.

Heavey would like to join his brother, Jack — a sophomore at Harvard — on the Crimson’s volleyball team next year. Marty Heavey is on Harvard’s waitlist, and he is also looking at Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Princeton and UNLV.

Contact reporter Ashton Ferguson at aferguson@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0430. Follow him on Twitter: @af_ferguson

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