According to head coach Omar Ramon, the Menor’s boys volleyball team is looking to build on last year’s successes and advance even further in the journey to becoming a dominant force in their league.
“I see potential in the team,” Ramon said. “This new team has many more years before they graduate (which will help us) get to full capacity during this time.”
Ramon is confident that the team has more potential than ever and that the best players have more time to improve until they graduate.
“I think that the team has what it takes to win the tournaments,” he added. “We’ve been practicing with teams at higher categories so that we have more experience with our own team, because I want the team to achieve more.”
Winning more tournaments is going to be the goal for this year, according to the coach.
But in order to do so, they have to set their sights on more personal things, like being more prepared mentally. That also means raising their expectation levels and playing against competition that is top quality.
“I want the players to play with teams of a higher level so that they get some more pressure,” Ramon said. “Our team’s success depends on the level of the other teams that we play.”
The Bears have had some early success this season, after a slightly slow start. The Bears placed fifth in the AMISSA tournament on October 14, before rattling of wins over Cotopaxi on Oct. 26 and Alliance Academy on Nov. 7.
While there is a lot of focus being placed on the mental side of the game, another area of attention has been the front line. Ramon is putting in extra time with the attackers in order to create a more potent offensive threat.
“I want the attackers to have more trust in themselves, because I think that sometimes they are scared of failure,” he said.
The result of extra time spent on execution, he hopes, is that they are more willing to take risks on game day. It has also been a process creating the type of communication needed on the court.
“I think that one main thing about this team is that I want to participate more in the decisions that we make,” Juan Martin Vela said. “I want to help the team connect more by doing something outside of school so that we all get along.”
“I do not want the players to arrive late to the practices, be lazy during games, or even be lazy during the matches,” said Vela.
Juan Ignacio Morcillo, a junior, also echoes the need for this year’s team to find mental toughness.
“As a whole team, I think that even if we lose a point, the key is not to be discouraged,” said Morcillo. ” We do not need to overthink or get too frustrated so we can overcome it as a team.”
It was these types of struggles that challenged the young team early on in their season.
“Once the team connects and communicates we play well,” added Morcillo. “When we get distracted, we begin to lose more, and it’s important for us to not get too unmotivated.”
This will be important in their coming games, which will be the semi-finals and (hopefully) finals of the QUISSA tournament, which will be played on Nov. 20-21.
Stay tuned to the Instagram page for Menor Athletics for all the most recent results.
At the heart of Colegio Menor, a volleyball team is on the rise to success. By passing the group stage of the QUISSA Tournament, the team aims to reach the final and win the tournament.
This year, a new player has emerged, determined to help the Menor Bears reach the top. Meet Santiago Gutierrez, a senior libero of the Menor Bears.
Although the team’s aspirations are high, the road to success is not without challenges for this first year player. The Menor Bear’s strengths are undeniable, but what really stands out are his defensive skills.
As the team’s libero, his job is to make sure the ball never touches the ground on his team’s side of the net. Gutierrez’s quick reflexes and good sense of the game make him an important weapon.
“I have accepted the fact that I may not score with spikes,” said Gutierrez, who is a tennis player by nature, “But I can make sure that the other team’s players won’t.”
He is the last line of defense. Even though it is an obstacle, he refuses to let it define him. Instead, he works to compensate for his height. His agility, anticipation, and positioning have become important parts of his game.
The Menor Bears’ biggest weakness, he believes, is their ability to communicate.
Almost everyone on the team is new to the varsity level, where trust and confidence among the players is still developing.
Volleyball’s rhythm depends on coordination, and without effective communication, the team’s full potential is untapped.
As the only senior on the team, Gutierrez believes he has to carry some of the leadership on his shoulders.
It was a role he had anticipated and accepted.
“It’s both an honor and a challenge to be the oldest member of the team,” he said. “I have a responsibility to guide my younger teammates.”