Lamp Shining Brightly for Lake Forest Volleyball

Henry Lamp has been lighting it up on the volleyball court at

The 6-foot-6 senior outside hitter for the Scouts is a raw talent in a sport where he has little background. He didn’t start playing volleyball until the summer before his freshman year, when he played with his father’s intramural league on the beach courts in Gurnee.

“I was terrible,” Lamp said with a laugh. “But I liked everything about the sport and just kept getting better and better.”

Signs with St. Ambrose

Lamp has made such an improvement that he recently accepted a scholarship to play at Division II St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa. He plans to major in mechanical engineering.

As a freshman, he was the tallest player on the Scouts’ at 6-0, and played numerous positions. He was a middle blocker in his second season on the junior varsity and then made the transition to outside hitter as a junior, his first season on the varsity. He wound up earning co-most valuable player last year.

“Henry has come a long way, both offensively and defensively,” said Lake Forest coach Marla Day. “Mentally, he has really come into his own. He’s been our go-to player and has learned to pace himself in tense situations.”

Raw Talent

“He really is an inexperienced raw talent. However, he is very coachable and I see a lot of improvement ahead for him.”

Those early days of being moved around the court left an impression on Lamp, who doesn’t favor one position over another.

“I really don’t have a preference between outside hitter or middle blocker,” Lamp says. “Outside hitter is a lot of fun because it seems like you get a lot more sets. As a middle blocker, you have to make sure you are quick on your feet and be more conscious of your defense. When I visited St. Ambrose, the coach talked to me a lot about playing the middle.”

Heading into last week’s action, Lamp was leading the Scouts with 153 kills (4.78 per game) and 25 blocks. He had a hitting percentage of .269.

“I would like to see that hitting percentage improve,” Day said.

Lamp admitted the improvement he has made thus far is linked directly to joining the Adversity Club program in Vernon Hills as a sophomore. Starting to hit the weight room on a regular basis didn’t hurt his progress either.

“There was a point where it seemed like I was hitting the weight room every day,” he said. “But with my junior year being so critical from an academic standpoint, I had to start cutting back and I’m probably going two or three times a week now.”

Hitting the Beach

Lamp also has sharpened his game by playing in several beach matches. This summer, he plans to enter some tournaments with Warren senior Tyler Smith, who will be joining him on the St. Ambrose roster next year.

“I really prefer playing on the beach than the hard court,” he said. “The sand acts as a cushion, so it’s a lot easier on the legs. I think I’m getting better and better at it.”

Lamp really hasn’t thought much about where he hopes this sport will take him beyond St. Ambrose.

“I really would like to play for some clubs in Europe,” he said. “If that doesn’t happen, I know I’ll keep playing for a long time, because there are a lot of opportunities around Chicago.”

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