Achieving Greater Heights

Emanuel Barriga is a 17-year-old senior who plays volleyball for the Yerba Buena High School team. Interestingly, Barriga wasn’t always into volleyball and actually didn't like it, but he is into volleyball now. 

Barriga started getting into volleyball when he was in middle school; joined the middle school volleyball team during the 7th grade. Barriga was nervous because volleyball was something he had never done before.

Barriga: “I got initially into volleyball in middleschool my 8th grade year, I decided to join volleyball because my friends convinced me to join the team, and from there I just had a lot of fun, and decided to keep going”

Barriga joined the team and developed a strong liking for volleyball. He kept playing volleyball, and he kept practicing his skills so he could become better than he was before. 

Barriga was not the best volleyball player,  he knew that he was slow and wasnt strong, but that didn't stop him. Even though he was training his hardest to be better, that wasn't enough.  

During Barriga’s sophomore year, the Yerba Buena volleyball team was formed. Barriga tried out for the volleyball team, and he realized that there were people with a much higher skill level than him. 

He felt a sense of joy because even though he was not as good as the other players, he kept trying to keep up with them. 

Barriga found a new goal and decided that he needed to reach that goal. His goal was to become better than he was before.

Barriga: I want to improve my defense cause i feel like i could always do better, so i want to improve like reaction times, like my  how fast I move my feet, and everything that goes into being a good defensive player 

Barriga made the volleyball team, and he felt a surreal feeling that he had never experienced before, he never thought he was going to make it. 

Even though Barriga made the team, he felt off and didn't feel like he was at the level he wanted to be at, so he quit and devoted himself to working hard on his volleyball skills for next season. Barriga tried out for the team his junior year and made it again. This season, he was better and more confident than he was before. 

He wasn't always confident; before his games barriga would be nervous, and when he got nervous, he would prepare himself mentally and drink a lot of water to play the game to his fullest potential. 

Barriga: “Personally, the way I prepare is I get mentally prepared first, and then I drink a lot of water”

Throughout Barriga's volleyball season he faced a lot of challenges that really pushed him through his limits, Barriga endured a lot of wins and losses but those matches that he lost would really get to him especially when he would make fatal mistakes that would cost the team winning the game. But even though he made these mistakes his teammates never blamed him and supported him and always brought him up. 

Barriga: “One challenge I definitely had and have experienced countless times is me getting into my own head; it's difficult because when you're on the court, you want to perform cause it's a team sport, and and whenever I feel like im having a bad day or a bad game, I just beat myself up on it, and definitely like i overcome it  by communicating with my teammates, and my teammates motivate me”

With Barriga's teammates around supporting him and motivating him, he kept focus on the game and that helped him a lot. Even if they scored or lost a point, they always motivated each other 

Barriga:theres countless ways we support each other, but I think one of the most effective ways for me is like whenever we either make a point or we lose a point we high-five each other regardless of the play, and we try to like move on from either the mistake or just like do a quick celebration on our point. 

Barriga would have a lot of pressure on him because he was the libero of the team and he was the core defense of the team and he was always there to save a ball from the ground.

Barrga: The position I play is libero. I enjoy playing this position because I'm really like the defense of our team, and I really like try to make big plays and save the ball from touching the ground

At the end of Barriga's volleyball season, he actually won Rookie of the Year. barriga proud of himself because of all thw work he has put and was awarded the rookie of the year award, but he was also grateful for his team because without his team he wouldnt have gotten this far.

Barriga:Volleyball has taught me that teamwork definitely makes the dream work; you know, without my teammates in volleyball, we wouldn't have gone as far as we did