As he looks onto the court, he sees the net and the leather ball. This is where he saw his sibling thrive. Senior Beck Sanders was always around the game of volleyball as a kid, so when he decided to pick volleyball up for himself, it was not hard to become inspired.
“My sister, Emma Sanders… played volleyball for about 10 to 11 years, and I grew up watching her play volleyball, so her interest in the sport, along with me discovering it online, [is why I started playing],” Sanders said.
Once Sanders gained ground in volleyball, he joined Wando’s boys volleyball team in its first year of the program as a sophomore. When he started his volleyball career at Wando, he brought a big boost for the team with a strong individual performance, but he learned that alone just was not good enough to sustain the team’s success.
“As I grew into volleyball, it was more of I need to work with my team. We need to be better people together. And once we really mesh together, we can do better,” Sanders said. “I have to listen to authority figures more, because my coach, when I don’t listen to him, he gets really mad. I get benched.”
A big part of his demeanor change comes from leading and influencing younger players as a senior.
“Sophomore, junior year… I was kind of hot-headed,” Sanders said. “I’ve learned to control myself a little better, which has been a better influence [on] the younger guys.”
Growth has been a big part of his volleyball journey and he has built himself into a standout in a short amount of time.
“Sophomore year, I was not good at all… I was athletic, but I didn’t know any of the techniques. [My coach got me] private sessions for money. And I’ve put in the work, and now… I’m good enough that I’ve progressed” Sanders said.
Sanders started building up skills and his social media accounts to influence other boys to get into the sport of volleyball, and to get noticed for possible opportunities at the collegiate level.
“I’m thinking about going to Illinois Tech, Wittenberg University, [or] Wentworth Institute of Technology, which is up in, like, Boston, New York area. And then also University of Charleston, West Virginia, And lastly, St Francis” Sanders said.
Head coach Bruno Kretzschmar sees a strong future for Sanders because of the player and person he has become over their three years together.
“I think both physically and mentally, he has grown a lot… [He’s] just willing to put the work in physically… he’s a lot stronger, he jumps a lot higher, a lot faster, and that’s always great to see,” Kretzchmar said. “He’s been very eager, always throughout the years, to take in feedback and get better”.
Kretzschmar knows about Sanders’ social media, but chooses to stay behind the camera.
“I’ve stayed away from that, just because, first, I don’t want to blur any lines… People might think I’m showing favoritism, or people might think it’s weird that an adult is doing that type of video with their athlete… Also, I don’t want to steal their spotlight. You know, they’re doing this for themselves, so I think it would be cool to have this type of collaboration,” Kretzschmar said.
Kretzschmar can not wait to see what Beck’s future holds.
“I expect a lot from him. I think he’s a very smart guy. He does very well at school, so he definitely is gonna go to college,” Kretzschmar said. “His plan is to keep playing volleyball in college. So I would hope that he gets a scholarship, or… either through academics or athletics, he will be able to, you know, fulfill that dream of his.”