Attack It With All Your Heart 

Attack It With All Your Heart

Damien Memorial School has been a hot spot for many sports over the years it has been open. Many people from other schools have seen the potential in all sports, including girls and boys. The team that has made such a massive climb in sports has been boy’s volleyball. Boy’s volleyball here at Damien has been on a roll. They have been training for roughly a month and they have had many boys come out and put their best efforts in. 

Coach Julie has been playing volleyball at a young age. She played for 2 years with a pal league. She continued to play volleyball into her high school career she tried out for the JV team her sophomore year. Then following into her Junior and Senior years she was on the varsity team. She then continued on her volleyball journey into college at Clariton. She played for 2 years there. Coach Kam has been playing volleyball a little longer than Coach Julie. His career started early being a stand-out player during the late 90’s early 2000. He was the starting setter for Castle High school and played club volleyball for Outrigger Volleyball Club, one of the best boys club teams on the island to this day. After high school ball he went to follow his college career at a college in orange county he came back home due to his grades. This is the reason why both coaches stress grades with kids. His coaching experience started right when he got out of high school, starting with the Campbell boy’s team from 2002-2003. He also helped out his parents whenever his parents needed him at Castle High school. Coach Kam has over 10 years of experience coaching. Altogether experience is 20 years of coaching experience. Coach Julie and Coach Kam have been coaching at Damien for five years now. Four years with girls' volleyball and one year with boys' volleyball. 

The Damien Monarchs have had a rough time at the beginning of the season losing their crucial player Zachary Yewchuck. Volleyball Head Coaches Julie and Kam say that “We were upset not gonna lie we are upset and disappointed for whatever reason it was.” They don’t know what the reason was for Zach leaving in the first place but they are upset as they did create a bond with him and wish him nothing but the best. This doesn’t seem to affect much of where they are going now as they prepare for the season. Even though Zach did have a huge role, others seemed to step up from the shadows to show their talents and skill sets. Such as Tyler, as coach Julie says “Tyler is being a good leader, he is playing that leadership role.” Tyler was on the volleyball team back in 2020 when the Damien volleyball boys won the Division II Title. Jonah Ching has also been stepping it up as well with volleyball. Although this may not be his first sport the coaching staff is happy to have him on. Roscco Torres, Raiden Silva, and others have been stepping up their games to help the team rise and grow. 

Coach Julie and Coach Kameron are looking for specific skills and attitudes in players. They want to see if you have what it takes to fight for the people on the court and for the ball as well to keep it alive, who shows the proper characteristics of an elite volleyball player, who is going to uplift their teammates but also who will lead the team or step up to the plate for everyone around them. These coaches have seen the ups and downs of those they have coached, and how it changes the way people think and react in the real world. They also say that “They want the player to have the drive, the integrity, and wanting to learn and grow.” 

This year's goal for the Damien boys is very much possible. This year's team has the grit it needs to survive and get through whatever battles they need and whatever else may come in its path. Their end goal for this season is to win the Championships and go to States. Coach Julie says “I'm not gonna promise them anything, we can’t make any promises. What looks promising is that compared to last year we have more boys this year than last year. I feel the next thing we can promise, is we promise the boys will learn and they will grow if they continue to stay with us and they continue to play volleyball as far as winning and making it to states we can’t promise that” Although things may change in the course of time they will find a way around it to get to their goals. 

Lately, Damien’s name has gone up in popularity amongst the volleyball community. Not only because of the girl’s volleyball team but also because of the boy’s volleyball team. As said by Nene Hawkins who plays for Lejardin’s Girl's Varsity Team, “Damien is a good strong team that seems to have a good bond between players and the coaching staff.” Nene has been playing volleyball since seventh grade and has been very passionate about the sport for a long time. She knows the feeling of losing, winning, and growing as a player more than anyone else. She has succeeded in every one of her goals especially going to her dream college. She knows that hard work and dedication will get you where you want to be. 

The Damien boy's team was just in a tournament with the biggest schools out there. They went up against Moanalua, Radford, Iolani, and Punahou. This tournament was made up of the most intense hard playing volleyball teams in the state. Damien played hard and fought well but did not end up where they wanted to be. These boys showed hard work and determination, and they mostly had fun. 

Things for the Damien team have been looking pretty well. They might not be able to have the height they need but they do have the heart to continue and persevere through any battle that they face. Damien has been through a lot in the last few years, and it has been looking brighter than ever. During the pandemic and even now with all the last-minute changes they still show the characteristics that the coaches want but also the passion for the sport. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how tall you are to play volleyball it’s really about the heart and soul you have behind it and these boys have shown that through every aspect of their games.