Senior Jonathan Cho tosses the volleyball in the air. As it descends, he hits the ball with the heel of his palm and it soars across the net, striking the court on the other side. 

Cho has been playing volleyball with Excel for two and a half years now. Although he had an unusual introduction to the sport, he grew to love it. 

“Before I moved to Texas, I lived in New Jersey,” Cho said. “My friend made a bet to see who would get better at volleyball by the end of the year. I moved to Texas, played volleyball – got better than him – simple as that. Now I’m just addicted.”

When Cho moved to Prosper, he was disappointed that there was no mens high school volleyball team.

“I was kind of shocked because Prosper’s kind of big, so it made me really sad,” Cho said. “I had heard they had a team, so I was excited, but I guess it was never official, so that was a false hope.” 

Although Prosper does not have a UIL men’s volleyball team, Cho still has found a way to play volleyball, even if it is not for his school.

“Because Prosper doesn’t have their own team, I just play for another school,” Cho said. “Instead of playing at my school, I play for the Plano East men’s team during the school season.”

Alongside playing for Plano East, he plays competitively on the men’s team at Excel Volleyball.

“There isn’t a huge variety of mens club teams around this area,” Cho said. “But Excel is perfect for me. I’ve had a great time playing there.”

Although he has played with them for a short time, Cho has grown a strong connection with his teammates.

“I’ve played with Jon for seven months now,” Cho’s teammate Omar Briones said. “The first time I met him was when try-outs were happening, and we were doing this blocking and hitting drill, and I remember blocking him. That was just a core memory I had. I was really proud of that because, obviously, he was really good.”

While playing for the Plano East team, Cho has received the chance to continue improving his skills, even though he does not have that opportunity at school.

“He really tries to implement everything we tell him,” Cho’s coach Nicole Chalfant said. “So, if we say we need a change in something that he’s doing out here, whether it’s placement of the ball or like changing his approach a little bit, he’s done a good job of making those changes.”

Although Cho has enjoyed his time playing for Plano East, but says he would still be open to the idea of playing for a Prosper team.