Journey to the Top

Written by Faraz Tahir

The Pakmen Black 15U Boys volleyball team had a tremendous year of development in which they displayed dedication and hard work especially during practice, earning them the 2013 Eastern National Championship. The coaches had many obstacles to overcome by having a new team with new skill and experience to work with, but each athlete had the drive to compete, which gave the coaches more desire to help the boys attain their goal of becoming Eastern National Champions.

The journey to the top wasn’t easy for both the boys and the coaches as the chemistry had to be rebuilt, the inexperienced individuals needed extra help and the team had to be refocused for a new season. With what was foreseen of the team, parents took responsibility of assuring their sons were healthy and active, making it that much easier for the coaches to focus on the team.

With the team now reenergized and refocused, as the boys took on the court for their quarter finals, semi finals and finals, they only had one goal in mind, to play the way they practiced all year but with more intensity, passion and love for the sport. Pakmen Black won 2 sets straight against Lakeside [25-12 & 25-13], in the semi finals they battled against Pakmen 15U and won the semi finals in 3 sets [25-21, 16-25 & 15-13]. In the finals Pakmen Black knew the storm was coming when they went to the final to face Aurora Storm, but once again battled through in their sets by losing their first but winning their last two [23-25, 25-23 & 15-13].

The Pakmen Black boys are more thrilled than ever to play the sport throughout their summer as they have embarked on a new journey that Pakmen Volleyball Club has given the greatest opportunity for young athletes. This experience has given a proud name to the athletes, parents and the coaches of the Pakmen Volleyball Club, as we all look forward to another bright year ahead.

The Pakmen Black athletes are: Aleem Khan, Alex Raita, Alex Reiner, Caleb Ren, Jordi Palacio, Josh Morgan, Karim Mohamed, Kenneth Ong, Liam Butchereit, Matthew Bowers, Matthew Lauer, Nicholas Guitierrez & Sean Leschak Klugman. The Pakmen Black Coaches are: Amar Balkaran & Faraz Tahir.