For sophomore Dean Brocker, volleyball was not always something that he envisioned playing in high school.

Brocker’s first sport was basketball, which he started playing in fourth grade but gave up on due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“I probably should’ve kept with [basketball], because then I got really tall,” Brocker said. “Sometimes you quit too early.”

Brocker’s first introduction to volleyball was in seventh grade, playing volleyball outside at recess with many of his friends.

After hearing that his friends were trying out for the newly-formed La Salle boys volleyball team, Brocker was intrigued and mentioned to them that he was considering trying out for the team. 

Once he joined, Brocker fell in love with the sport, enjoying the company of his teammates each practice.

“Last year, when we were in the season, we would go to practice and have a lot of fun,” Brocker said. “Lots of goofing around, joking and stuff … lots of positivity.”

Brocker’s favorite memories with the team were during last season’s tournaments, when they had a couple hours of free time between sets.

“When we had a break, we would all go hang out together, wander around, eat lunch and all that,” Brocker said. “That was really fun. I really enjoyed just hanging out with everybody on the team in between games.”

Another contributing factor to Brocker’s enjoyment of the team has been his head coach, Denis Zhukov. Brocker appreciates Zhukov’s chill and laid-back attitude with the team, along with his helpful constructive criticism and humor.

“I’ve never heard him yell at anyone in any way,” Brocker said. “He’s just very calm, unless we’re being really stupid.”

Going into their second season, the boys volleyball team is now officially sanctioned by OSAA.

As a team, Brocker says that their goal is to win the state championship this year.

“We all want to win state,” Brocker said. “We tried our best last year, but it was hard because the seniors were at graduation, so they had to come and go … This year, I think we’re gonna do pretty well.”    

However, Brocker does concede that it will be tough to adapt as a group after Jack Gill and Tyler Smith graduated after last season.

“The seniors were pretty amazing,” Brocker said. “It’s gonna be hard to adjust to the new setup.”

Brocker explained that Smith played a huge role in getting the team started up last season, convincing coach Zhukov to come to La Salle and influencing many members of the La Salle community to participate on the team.

“He pushed everybody pretty loudly sometimes, but he was a big motivation to do volleyball,” Brocker said. “He was pretty cool.”

With Gill and Smith gone, Brocker plans to look for inspiration from junior Evan O’Neil and sophomore Zephir Wilson. “I’d love to get to their level,” Brocker said.

Outside of volleyball, Brocker loves to walk his dog Cooper, explore places, and hang out with his friends.

Brocker has loved his experience at La Salle so far, describing it as “amazing.” He enjoys how supportive and accessible his teachers have been, and how they have helped him manage his balance between academics and athletics.