Contributed by Coach Elle Reitsma
With tired eyes and bed hair, the eighth grade boys volleyball team pulls on their knee pads and tightens their shoes. Today it’s a 6:30 a.m. practice. Soon after, the guys are darting across the court to get the ball that’s descending from its highest point in the air. The ball is still another three feet away, and they know if they don’t get down and dirty, they will not reach it in time. With a shuffle, skid and an arm stretched out, they reach for the ball before it hits the ground. A quick pop back up and a hop to their spot, they are ready to do it again.
Volleyball has become a way of life for the O’Neill Middle School eighth boys team including: Jack Zizek, Zachary Mead, Michael Piotrowski, Patrick Laurich, Zander Johnson, Will Schuesler, Ryan Howell, Dominick Passo, Evan Sumida, Tim Neumann, Ryan Perry, Fawaz Illumoka, Aidan Kurzweil and Jose Olvera, with managers Olivia Ray, Abby Turek and Coach Reitsma.
OMS won the Conference Championship this year and there has not been a team that deserved to win more. The guys are tall, talented and their best quality is that they learned to trust each other. They learned that when they asked for help, they got it. When they made a mistake, they got encouragement, and when they triumph, the whole team shared the victory. Trusting each other made each one of the boys, champions. Congratulations to the 2018 O’Neill Middle School Eighth Grade Boys Volleyball Team!!