Hand's Condrin Setting New Learning Curve Standard
There's always that one person who messes up the grading curve for the rest of the class, but Hand junior Sean Condrin is dismissing that curve on the volleyball court despite having less than two years of experience.
Sean, a Hand middle blocker for the boys' volleyball team, is grasping the sport of volleyball much faster than anyone could have ever predicted. Introduced to the sport just over a year ago, Sean has already passed his first big test: capturing a starting varsity spot, while earning extra credit by bringing a contagious level of enthusiasm and dedication.
"Sean came into this season with fire in his eyes and is our team's biggest enthusiast," said Hand Coach Crystal Procaccini. "He's always cheering on his teammates and works so hard in practice that he has scored a spot in the starting lineup on varsity. Sean has improved so much since last year it almost shocked me. Whether on the bench or on the court, Sean is always pumped and encouraging his team."
Originally from the Long Beach area of California, Sean had some volleyball experience on the beaches of the Pacific Ocean and then at summer camps when he moved to Connecticut, yet had received no formal training until his friend, Mike Cole, pushed him to join the Tigers as a sophomore.
"Coach put me in as the middle blocker and I've been doing that since then," Sean says. "I was alright my first season. I was brand new to the sport, but by the end of the season, I had figured out how to do things correctly."
That first season was like a pop quiz Sean hadn't prepared for. There were rotations, passing, and getting out of his teammates' way, but after some initial struggles, Sean began to find his own way.
"My sophomore year, [Procaccini] said I was flailing my arms and legs at the ball," says Sean. "I had to learn to control the ball, hit the ball, and block the ball. Last year, I jumped so awkwardly that I sprained both my ankles."
So this past offseason, Sean started playing with friends, working on positioning and hitting all the way until the start of the 2012 campaign. All of this studying was rewarded when Sean became a starter on the varsity team when Cole moved from middle blocker to strong-side hitter. However, just earning a passing grade on the varsity squad isn't what Sean is all about as he continues to try to improve and skew the learning curve for future Hand volleyball players.
"I think right now my weakness is receiving a spike or a strong serve," he says. "I'm working on controlling and pushing the ball towards the center, as well as my hitting."
As Procaccini alluded to, Sean's impact is felt just as much off the court as it is on it as he fills the role as Hand's emotional leader.
"I'm a very competitive person-even in small things I get really competitive," Sean says. "I tend to be really loud, and when that competitiveness and loudness flows together, it brings up the team. I don't think about it; I just do it. It gets them motivated and drowns out the other team. It works and the team has no complaints because it just flows naturally for me. I come home with no voice."
Sean hopes his impact is ultimately felt in the win-loss column as the Tigers currently sit at 3-5. Last year, Hand played in both the Southern Connecticut Conference and state tournaments, but lost a large portion of its core due to graduation. Yet Sean still believes that despite the team's slow start the Tigers can turn things around and make it back to the postseason.
"We've been doing well; I've seen a few games before we could have won, but we are doing better now," Sean says. "I expect the team to at least break even and have a good win-to-loss ratio and maybe get to SCCs and states."
Also a Boy Scout who is currently working on his Eagle Scout project, Sean has been part of the Hand stage crew and Interact Club. And when future Hand volleyball players compare their grades to Sean's, he'll try to be polite about the learning curve he has ruined for the rest.
Says Sean: "I got used to it and now it just feels natural."