Quick Study in Volleyball

Bill Kauffman
Manager, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: 719-228-6800
E-Mail: bill.kauffman@usav.org

AUSTIN, Texas (July 4, 2010) – Jakub Ciesla (Boca Raton, Fla.) grew up playing soccer, but has found a home on the courts of the USA Volleyball Boys’ Junior National Championships being held July 2-9 at the Austin Convention Center in Texas.

Ciesla, a member of the Ocean Bay 16 Quiksilver squad from the Florida Region, started playing soccer when he was seven years old and currently plays varsity soccer for his high school team.

However, he has transitioned from the soccer pitch to the volleyball court in the last four months. Playing volleyball for the first time, he played outside hitter for Olympic Heights High School and earned all-conference honorable mention.

After watching how quickly he picked up the sport, his high school coach suggested he try out for a volleyball club team. Since then, Ciesla has continued his rapid progression in the sport and has a new top sport.

“Volleyball is awesome,” Ciesla said. “I love it. I am starting to like it better than soccer.”

While Ciesla mainly played outside hitter in high school, he has found that he can play any of the front row positions using his 6-5 height.

“I started at outside hitter in high school and played some opposite when needed,” Ciesla said. “In club, my coached needed m at middle one tournament, so I made that transition. So I have been playing middle for only about a month.”

With the help of Ciesla’s quick transition to the sport and his ability to learn the middle blocker position, Ocean Bay 16 Quik is pushing itself to be in position for a gold medal in the Boys’ 16 Club Division at the USA Volleyball Boys’ Junior National Championships. After logging a 25-14, 25-18 victory over Beach Bones 16 Black Sunday morning, Ocean Bay 16 Quik improved to 5-0 in the tournament without dropping a single set. The squad is winning sets by an average of 7.8 points.

Not bad for a team that Ciesla did not know anyone on the squad until after the tryout process. But the team bonded quickly, resulting in success and happy times in just its fourth tournament of the year. Earlier this year, the team won the AAU National 16s Division.

“Winning games and hanging out with friends,” Ciesla said when asked about the best thing about the tournament so far. “I had seen my club teammates through the high school season, but really didn’t know them until joining the team. Now we get along well.”

Ciesla still has his soccer cleats as he “plays for fun.” But he has caught the volleyball bug as his new favorite sport.

Tags: USA Volleyball Boys' Junior National Championships