Max has been playing volleyball since he was 8 years old. I have coached his CYC CPOP volleyball team since third grade. The guys made it to CYC City / County playoffs 3 years in a row and placed 2nd overall in 2021 and 2022.

This fall, Max tried out for a club team called K-Elites and even got his friends Cormac and Eddie to join. They played their first game as a team in Indianapolis at a boys’ winter classic tournament. Max typically plays setter, but his current club position is DS (defense specialist) –defending the back half of the court with Eddie who is the team’s libero.

Joining the club team has been a great experience. At first it was a bit of an uphill battle…long practices twice per week plus games…and lots of “coaching” from a new coach. Max has had to work hard and learn how to receive constructive criticism. In the beginning, he was really sensitive if he messed up and got pulled off the court. With time he matured and figured out how to acknowledge the feedback and learn from it. It’s been so good for him to receive coaching from someone who isn’t his mom.

As a 13U team, Max’s team is typically one of the youngest at each tournament, but it’s been a great growing and learning year for them. Hopefully, the guys continue to play together as they seem to be a great group of guys and parents.