When someone mentions volleyball, several different images may come to mind. Maybe you see gym volleyball with winter tournaments and class competitions. Or maybe you see the girl’s volleyball school team, passing, setting, and hitting with ease.
To junior Shane Sullivan, volleyball means more than that. For Shane, volleyball is an outlet for him to prove his hard work, a path to pursue in college, and a way to spend time with close friends.
Shane initially found out that he had an interest in volleyball in 7th grade after watching his sister play for the Timberlane Middle School team. This passion was only fueled when he discovered the professional aspects of the sport: Tobias Krick on the German national team and nationally recognized Zanze Kuba McCoy, who plays on Shane’s club team. These people inspired Shane to pursue volleyball more competitively and gave him the confidence to try out for Central Jersey Volleyball Academy (CJVA) as well.
While boy’s volleyball is not as popular as girl’s volleyball, it is quickly gaining traction competitively, and Shane contributes to this through his serious play. He spends eight hours a week practicing, interweaving conditioning with hitting practice, passing practice, and competitive scrimmages. Shane plays middle blocker, often described as the highest-difficulty hitting position. It requires superior timing and athleticism, meaning Shane needs to work hard to stay dominant on the court.
Along with these weekly practices, he is a member of the most successful club teams in New Jersey at CJVA. They participate in tournaments regularly and often emerge victorious, like they did at the competition in Rust Bucket last year. Alumni of CJVA are represented on D1 college teams as well, including the men’s team at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and the women’s team at Lehigh University.
Shane hopes to follow in the footsteps of these graduates. With his history of clinic attendance from 2021-2022 and playing year-round in 5 to 10-hour-long tournaments, he is on track to achieve his goal. While Shane does need to balance his workload in school, he uses study halls throughout the year to balance his academic and sports commitments. Shane’s current schedule does not stop him from thinking about the future and he has already started the scouting process for volleyball in the hopes of being picked up to play in college.
Shane has a real passion for the sport, and we are excited to see what the future has in store for him!
