This October, Panther Press is excited to introduce the Athlete Highlight of the Month to our newspaper! With such an abundance of talent at VPCI, we want to shine light onto some of our exceptional students. This month, our featured athlete is Angjelo Kola, a twelfth-grader on the volleyball and rugby team.
Gloria Chen: What led you to join the volleyball team?
Angjelo Kola: I’ve always played volleyball with my family and friends, so I decided to try out for fun. I’ve never gotten any formal training for it, so I didn’t think I would make the team. I even told [my coach] that I could play on the practice team, but he ended up playing me as a left side hitter.
GC: What do you love most about being on the volleyball team?
AK: I love the people. I know everyone on the team; we’re all friends, and we’ve grown together as a team. It feels like a family. Volleyball itself feels like more than just a sport – you wake up, you train with the same guys; it’s a fun atmosphere. I feel excited to go to practice.
GC: What do you think your most notable athletic achievement is?
AK: I think my biggest achievement was building a community – a team – from scratch with my teammate Mehdi. He has always been around, supported, and tried to help build the team. For some context, since tenth grade, I’ve been part of the Rugby 7’s team. I remember our first season being terrible: we went in, and had four losses and one tie. In our second season, we improved a lot and made repechage. In my final year of 7s, we actually made it to the semi finals for Tier 1 Rugby, which is the first time a senior team has done that. Most schools have really competitive players, so it was a big achievement.
GC: When it comes to being an athlete, what do you believe your greatest strength is?
AK: I think it’s my ability to commit to something. No matter what sports team I join, I’m always very passionate about it, and strive to make success possible. Regardless of whether our team is performing well or not, I adopt a mentality of, “We’re the best team of the league” to power through. I’m also always encouraging, so no matter how good the other team is, I’ll say that we can do better. Overall, my mentality and commitment are my biggest strengths.