Photo Courtesy of Michelle Ho
Athlete of the Month (Volleyball): Nicole Nguyen
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Senior Nicole Nguyen, a three year varsity volleyball player, decided to tryout for volleyball as a freshman because of the program’s overall reputation in high school.
“I wanted to be part of something active and volleyball was known to be one of the more difficult sports at SG,” Nguyen said. “I wanted to take up the challenge and see how far I would get.”
The thought of quitting crossed Nguyen’s mind throughout the years as the program continued to have issues, however, the thought of not being able to live up to the “SGVB” expectation of perseverance kept her in the program.
“All the issues the volleyball program has had to deal with these past couple years have made me a stronger person, since there was a point where we had no one to rely on,” Nguyen said. “I think that SGVB made a lot of players leaders on and off the court.”
Nguyen wanted to see what she would get out of staying in the program for all four years of her high school career.
“I think the most important thing I got out of this program was the people I had the chance to meet,” Nguyen said. “Especially [former Coach] Chris, who helped me gain confidence. The upperclassmen [then] were [also] my role models. I wanted to gain leader-like skills like them.”
Nguyen’s last high school volleyball season is coming to an end, however, she does not plan on playing on a team in college. She says that playing for fun is something she would probably do every once in awhile though.
“I’ve thought about how it’s my senior year and [about how] I’ve recently played my last home game. That’s when it really hit me that it’s almost all over,” Nguyen said. “It was a pretty crazy journey with lot[s] of ups and downs but I think I got the most [out] of it.”
Lastly, a little advice from Nguyen to her underclassmen:
“Just stick through it. Things get rough but in the end you’re playing for your love of the sport. Just always play your heart out because your last game is approaching a lot faster than you think.”
