Volleyball is a kind of sports activities the place households can play collectively whatever the variety of gamers on a facet, no matter questionable touches, ignoring all internet calls and – most significantly – permitting everybody to play.
Jungle ball is normally an apt description.
So in 2017, on the seaside in Puerto Vallarta for a household marriage ceremony, the Connells performed a pleasant recreation of volleyball. Pleased relations stood towards the background of the sundown and performed a rally with a number of touches on one.
Seventh grader Christian Connell touched a volleyball on this seaside for the primary time in his life. He ended up attending class there along with his cousins and taking part in for every week at a time, including seaside volleyball as his sport at Earl Warren Excessive Faculty after returning dwelling.
5 years later and throughout the nation away, Connell leads a Torrey Pines Excessive Faculty group that’s ranked No. 1 in San Diego, No. 6 within the nation by MaxPreps.com and No. 8 by USA Right now Sports activities/AVCA.
Within the fall, he’ll head to USC to play for 13Thursday-included Trojans.
Not a foul exit from the seashores of Puerto Vallarta.
“That's how volleyball began for me,” stated Connell, a 6-foot-5 exterior hitter. “Earlier than that, I did every little thing, like soccer, basketball, soccer, baseball. A little bit of every little thing. I suppose I used to be good at volleyball, higher than my pals who have been additionally simply beginning out. And I believed, oh, that's fairly enjoyable.
As a varsity freshman at Torrey Pines, Connell began at one outfield spot whereas Matthew Lim — at the moment out and in of the beginning lineup at No. 19 at UC San Diego — was the opposite outfielder.
With Lim being an excellent ball-handling senior, Connell was picked off by opponents on a serve reception. However Lim remembers that his younger teammate possessed all of the bodily instruments in addition to the intangible quiet confidence.
“Originally of the season, Christian struggled to obtain passes, however because the season went on, his progress as a passer was spectacular,” stated Lim, who was named the 2021 North County Coastal League Participant of the Yr. “On the finish of the yr, Christian was well-versed there in a ability that’s fairly troublesome to get used to. When he received the expertise of taking part in towards the most effective groups, he actually gained the arrogance and maturity that made him a extra full participant.”
Connell was in all probability born with a few of these bodily instruments. He developed others by taking part in varied sports activities.
He began as some extent guard on each the freshman and JV groups earlier than deciding to play seaside volleyball within the fall. Earlier this yr, he performed for the Falcons varsity basketball group, which was the No. 4 seed within the Open Division playoffs.
Though a naturally gifted athlete, Connell spends a number of time making ready and strengthening his physique within the fitness center.
Early rising pains have helped create a pacesetter whose blood stress stays regular towards the nation's high groups. His calm demeanor permits teammates to stay in management even when feelings run excessive throughout massive moments.
In the course of the quarterfinals of the Better of the West event earlier this season, the Falcons confronted match level towards fourth-ranked Glendale (Ariz.) Sandra Day O'Connor.
With senior setter/counterpart Brandon Pho returning to serve, Torrey Pines put collectively a run and ultimately gained 17-15 on a crossing kill by none aside from Connell.
“He's at all times uplifting,” stated Pho, who will play at Division I Fairleigh Dickinson subsequent yr. “He at all times makes positive everyone seems to be calm and doing their job. He can get the most effective out of everybody. You’ll be able to actually throw the ball wherever and he'll kill it. He’s so dependable. You’ll be able to at all times take a look at him and tell us we're going to be okay.”
Torrey Pines coach Nick Rubacky has watched Connell develop into a pacesetter. His quiet freshman confidence has grow to be louder when obligatory, lighter and inspiring when issues are tight.
Rubacky appears again fondly on final yr's group, which set a program report for wins and superior to the CIF State regional finals, the place the Falcons misplaced in 5 to El Segundo.
He watched Connell personal moments and thrive in stress conditions because the group's undisputed chief.
“It's nice to see one thing occur the place he doesn't must be as a lot of a vocal chief as a result of he leads a lot by instance with what he does on the court docket; together with her recreation,” stated Rubacky, who additionally coached Connell on a 15-1 group on the Wave Volleyball Membership. “That claims lots to his teammates as a result of it provides that component of confidence that's arduous to seek out. There may be such confidence that if we give Christian the ball, one thing good will occur. That provides the opposite guys on the sector a way of reassurance. That quiet confidence spreads all through the group.”
Connell isn’t just a pacesetter in sports activities. He’s senior class vice chairman at Torrey Pines and owns a 4.2 GPA going into his final semester.
He’ll research at one of many nation's premier undergraduate enterprise packages at USC's Marshall Faculty of Enterprise.
USC was the primary program to recruit Connell, and he stored that in thoughts all through his course of. Different faculties he critically thought-about have been Hawaii for its current nationwide championships and Harvard for its tutorial pedigree.
Can Connell contribute on the subsequent degree instantly?
“Completely,” Lim stated. “He's already there bodily.” He must adapt to the tempo of the varsity recreation and I absolutely imagine he’ll be capable of do this.”
However first.
Though ranked within the high 10 in San Diego yearly, Torrey Pines hasn't gained a CIF boys volleyball championship since 1993. The Falcons haven't gained the realm's high division since 1991, once they captured the 3A crown.
Final yr's semifinal loss to Del Mar Heights Highway rival Cathedral Catholic within the Open Division semifinals.
Torrey Pines (15-2) shall be examined Friday in Carlsbad towards Parker Tomkinson and 6-10 Hawaii and U19 Nationwide Workforce member Max Payne. The Falcons will end the North County Convention Coastal League and common season with the Lancers and Poway at dwelling.
The one blemishes on the season are a loss to Manhattan Seashore Mira Costa, the No. 4 group on MaxPreps.com, within the Better of the West semifinals and a loss to Sage Creek within the La Jolla Seashore Cities Invitational.
Connell would love nothing extra to complete his prep profession than to deliver that elusive CIF banner into the fitness center with Falcons legends.
“It doesn't occur yearly {that a} particular expertise like him comes alongside,” Rubacky stated. “She has an opportunity to carry principally each offensive, defensive and blocking report in Torrey Pines volleyball historical past by the top of the yr. He has been taking part in at a excessive degree for therefore lengthy that he brings a component of reliability that may be a fantastic asset to a coach. We all know we will throw the ball at him and he's going to offer us the most effective likelihood within the county to get out, kill him any time we want him to. We all know he can carry a reasonably heavy load if we ask him to.”
Meehan is a contract author.