Volleyball was more than a sport to me, it was a way of life. This sounds overdramatic, but I truly think that men's volleyball was the one thing that kelp me going through my high school career. I know it sound stupid, but I was never the popular kid growing up. I was always under weight and got made fun of at school for this which obviously didn't help my mental health. I'd say a huge turning point for me was when I started to get into the sport. Starting 8th grade I went to a clinic just to try it out. Of course, I was the only guy there which was embarrassing for my younger self, but I managed to ignore that fact for the love of the sport. That might make it sound like I was good but if I'm being honest I was the worse one there. I can't begin to even count how many times I just completely missed the ball on serve receive or just dodged it because I was scared. I honestly think being bad is what pushed me to keep playing. When I started high school I finally started club volleyball, a huge thing at the time. I went into the sport having no clue what I was doing for my freshman year. Also, for some reason the coaches thought I should be moved up an age group for my height. I was really scared at the time but this belief from the coaching staff at the club made me a better play. This push helped me to keep pushing myself harder and harder. At husky volleyball club I was finally able to grow as a player and a person. Now, my high school volleyball team is really where I'd like to start to think that I showed leadership. After these countless hours of playing I finally started becoming a more confident person. I hyped up the freshman and helped them learn correct technique as most players don't start until they enter high school. I also managed the varsity team my freshman year and assisted as they tested their luck in states. I also started working out. I know not a huge thing, but this ritual became a huge part of my life. I loved knowing I was able to get stronger and become more athletic even when I couldn't practice with a team or have access to a court. At first the solo activity became something that I got my friends into as we went after school every day trying different vertical programs to get as we say "bunnies". I led my teammates through the training to help us prepare for our men's volleyball team. Lifting and working out wasn't really implemented in our team other than suicides and some box jumps. By getting my teammates off their behinds and working I felt that I was actually able to help the varsity and jv roster. After this season I also started to manage the girls volleyball team. If I'm being honest I did this because I realized I could practice more volleyball. What I soon realized however is that helping people learn volleyball was way more fun. Not did it only improve my skills as I focused on the basics, I was also able to help people in their future volleyball careers and give them a solid foundation that I felt wouldn't have been given if just a member of the team. I mainly helped the freshman team as they were a blank slate, but I also contributed to drills with the JV and Varsity roster as well. Now even with coronavirus I also encouraged my own high school team to stay in shape with lifting and other healthy eating and dieting habits that I truly felt helped me. With all this in mind I was able to secure my spot on Sacred Heart University's D1 roster. An accomplishment no one has ever achieved from my school's men's volleyball team before. I hopefully look forward to being a role model to the incoming students to my high school if we have a season and truly be able to help my high school program.