One Last Rally: Volleyball Seniors

Photo by Vignesh Kalyanasundaram | Boys volleyball players huddle up while preparing for a game.

As their season came to a close, the seniors of the John F. Kennedy Boys Volleyball team were left to reflect on their time with the team, beyond their wins and losses. For them, this final season became a reminder of how quick time can pass by and how meaningful the opportunity to play the sport they loved really was.

“Some of my memorable things from the season were making some crazy plays and hearing the crowd cheer for me,” explained James Dizon (12), the team’s captain.

For Khanh Do (12), the bonding moments he had with his teammates are what will last for years to come.

“...I remember car rides with my friends, or even teammates I've never interacted with before, we would have talks during those rides, and we would go get food afterwards as a team,” described Do. “And all of that time in between where we didn't have anything to do during tournaments, we would just sit and just chat and play around as a team, and I think those little moments within the season that really encapsulates it and ties it all together. It makes it a really heartwarming season.”

Senior Armando Dominguez Martinez, who joined volleyball for the first time this season, shared a similar sentiment about the connections he formed with teammates. Although he admitted he was nervous joining varsity as a senior, he said the people around him made the experience worthwhile.

“My teammates really made the experience memorable and enjoyable for me,” explained Martinez. “I got to meet a lot of new people.”

Martinez said he originally joined because he wanted to try something new and challenge himself during his final year of high school. Over the course of the season, he learned the sport while contributing to the team both on and off the court.

With this year being their final year on the team, seniors noticed how their perspective on the sport changed, with this year being more centered around appreciating the sport as a whole.

“And I accomplished my personal goal, which was to just try to have fun, focusing on the game and not just the score, and I feel like I did a really good job with that this year,” commented Dizon.

“Being a senior changed my mentality a lot this season,” explained Birru. “Since this may be one of my last opportunities, I tried extra hard to play whenever I could. Being a captain made me want to establish a culture of hard work and playing with 100% effort.”

Although the team faced difficult opponents and other challenges throughout the season, seniors instead chose to focus on the highlights of their season, rather than the lows.

Do noted the team's resilience, and how they even surprised themselves with their performances, coming close at certain sets to teams that should give them a hard time.

Vidhu Birru, senior and captain, echoed Do’s statements, saying that despite the team’s struggles, he is still happy with the environment they fostered.

“This season had a lot of ups and downs for me. We didn’t really win a lot of games but I felt like as a team we played really well. I feel proud of the way we played and the culture that we established,” said Birru.

Dizon told of how the season was not always easy for him, but he still persevered, a defining characteristic of both him and the team.

“My relationship with volleyball was definitely off and on,” explained Dizon. “There were moments where I wanted to quit and just stop playing but I think I really wanted to compete and when I wanted to quit, I just remembered how much I love the sport.”

Even though their high school volleyball careers are over, seniors wanted to pass down advice to underclassmen so that they may enjoy the sport as much as they did.

“I think just no matter what, trying to remember that you really play the game because you love it and it doesn't matter how bad or how low we are or how high we are,” concluded Dizon.