Quan Tran is a 16-year junior at Glendale High School, he was born in Glendale, and he is the captain of the boys varsity volleyball team at our school. Our boys recently completed their 2024 season, losing to Campbell Hall in the first round of the CIF Playoffs on April 23rd. This is the first time that our boys volleyball teams has qualified for CIF in over fifteen years
Quan enjoys staying active, even when he isn’t playing volleyball, and he does this by working out and going for runs. In his free time, Quan likes watching movies and TV shows. Some of his favorites include La La Land, 500 Days of Summer, Invincible, and SpongeBob SquarePants.
Quan became a part of the volleyball team during his freshman year. He happens to be family friends with the volleyball coach, and she has always wanted for him to start playing the sport for GHS. Going into high school, Quan thought he’d be a part of the soccer team, but his whole volleyball journey began when his coach invited him to practice with the team, and from then on, he loved it.
What interested Quan the most about playing volleyball was getting to jump around a lot and hitting a ball at other people. Quan was named captain of the team during his sophomore year, and he earned this position, due to the coaches having trust in him, and because he’s a good motivator and a strong leader for the team.
The way that a high school volleyball match works is that the first team to score 25 points wins each set, and the first team to win three sets in a game is the winner. Quan plays outside hitter, where he passes, hits, and sets the ball for his teammates. This position is key for the success of the team. During games, Quan says that the team puts in all their effort when they’re on court, and their practices help them to build on their skills.
Quan’s favorite part of being on the team is how everyone on the team has grown closer together, due to how much they see each other, so they have all become like brothers. He also likes how everyone gets taken seriously and how they all have their own roles to keep up.
“Everyone on the team is fairly new to volleyball,” Quan admitted. “No one had experience starting the sport, but I feel like we are doing so well and have grown so much from when we first started.”
As great as volleyball seems, there still are some challenges. Quan started off the season with a hamstring injury, which made him miss a couple of games. Thankfully, he was able to eventually return to the team, while some of his other teammates have also faced serious injuries.
Quan is proud that his team made it into the CIF Playoffs this season, since they have never competed in them before. Although balancing sports and school can be hard, since it’s sometimes difficult for him to stay motivated, Quan believes that sometimes you just need to just suck it up to earn good grades.
Quan thinks that all students should try out for the volleyball team next season, because they have lots of fun. The coaches are always very supportive, and they’re great at teaching you to become a better player. Quan believes that this team has the ability to go far in the future.
After graduating from high school, Quan hopes to continue playing volleyball. He’d like to attend a four-year university, where he plans on majoring in biomedical research, and he’d also like to pursue dentistry.
If you’re interested in joining the Nitro boys volleyball team, their Instagram account is @nitroboysvolleyball. Keep the ball in play, Nitros!
