f you’re wondering what it is that makes TJ DeFalco a good enough volleyball player at age 18 to get invited to practice with the U.S. Men’s National Team, you might start by watching one or two of the 41 kills he put down for a .522 hitting percentage in leading Huntington Beach High School (California) in May to its third consecutive California Interscholastic Federation – Southern Section championship and 101st victory in a row. Specifically, go to
foxsports.com and fast- forward to the end of Set 3 of the team’s 5-set win over Corona Del Mar in the title match. More specifically, start with DeFalco’s wicked bic to make it 24-21. Then, keep watching. Two points later, he bombs another bic to close out the set. As live arms go, DeFalco’s is really live. “He has a world-class arm,” U.S. Men’s Assistant Coach Matt Fuerbringer says. “In a gym full of world-class arms, his arm stands out.”
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U.S. Men’s Head Coach John Speraw is similarly enthusiastic about DeFalco’s arm, but he also emphasizes that the early success of the 6-4 outside hitter from Huntington Beach, Calif., is not all about genetics. “Besides the arm speed, he’s actually not that tall and doesn’t jump that high,” Speraw says. “I think he’s proof of what lots of coaches have been talking about for years – that skill is acquired through repetition and training and experience. If you look into TJ’s past, you see a guy who had a lot of intrinsic motivation and experiences that he really gained on his own to develop acuity. His vision for the game, particularly defensively, is beyond what you would see in a typical player of his age.”
DeFalco, the fourth of seven siblings in a volleyball-playing family, has a resume with impressive diversity. Last year alone, he was named MVP and Best Spiker in the U.S.’s win at the NORCECA Boys’ U-19 Continen- tal Championship and he also competed in beach at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games. This summer, before beginning his col- legiate career at Long Beach State University, he’ll play a lot of volleyball. Along with training with the national team, he recently was selected to play with the team that will represent the U.S. at the Pan American Games in Toronto in July. After that, it’s likely that he’ll return to the U.S. Boys’ Youth National Team for an August trip to the FIVB Boys’ Youth World Championship in Argentina.
On a recent weekday, after a double-day that included a three-hour national team practice and a high school practice, DeFalco sat down with V
olleyballUSA to talk some volleyball.
VolleyballUSA: You
recently got invited to train with the national team. What’s it like to be in your high school gym and the USA gym in the same afternoon?
DeFalco: At the begin- ning it was tough to go back and forth because there’s a huge difference in the level of play. Not just play. It’s all-around focus and determination. Everyone (in the national team gym) is fighting for a spot, and it’s clashing all day. I go back to high school, and it’s having fun.
You go from being the guy to a guy just scrap- ping for a spot.
Yeah, the worst guy. (Laughs) I’ve never had to go through this – fighting for a spot and being on the bottom of the food chain and groveling to play the best I can 100 per- cent of the time. It’s really helped my attitude toward other players on my high school team because they’re trying their best and fighting for a spot as well. It’s kind of been an eye- opener for me.
First time you walked into the national team gym, what were your thoughts?
I was a little jittery. Who wouldn’t be? A high school kid who plays high school vol- leyball coming into the national team gym.
Is there anything in particular about volleyball that you’ve been enlightened to since you began training with the national team?
So much of the game at this level is vi- sion – knowing how the passer’s shoulders work and looking at the setter and seeing what he’s going to do at the last second and reacting to it. Before, I thought it was just getting up and banging a ball or doing the best you can to put up a block in front of the hitter, but there’s a big strategy to it. I had a feeling there was strategy, but not this much pinpoint detail.
Until you moved to California at age 7, your family lived on a big farm in Mis- souri. How was that as a life experience?
It definitely fed the adventurous side of
a little kid. We had 200 acres and trees for miles, ponds, fishing. It was a lot of fun. Big contrast coming to California. It was weird because we were in a cul- de-sac and we could see our neighbors. Back
STERLING REP: U.S. Men’s National Team Coach John Speraw calls TJ DeFalco’s unusual rise a product of practice and repetition.
in Missouri, we were 15 minutes from the
nearest town. Your coaches on the U.S. team, John Speraw and Matt Fuerbringer, both say you came to the USA gym with really good volleyball vision. Where do you think that comes from?
I’ve watched a lot of volleyball, and I still do. Back when I was homeschooled my freshman year, I’d spend hours going to web- sites watching different international matches and different players’ highlight reels. I’d no- tice how they do things and try to translate it to my game as best as I could. I also played a lot of beach, and beach is a big reading game.
If you could steal a few skills from some of the top players in the world, what would they be?
Well, for starters, I’d like to have Matt
Anderson’s height. (Laughs) It would be great to be 6-10.
On the height subject, you’re listed on
the roster as 6-5, but Coach Speraw says that’s a bit of an exaggeration.
I think with shoes on I’m 6-5. (Laughs) But I push for all that I can get. It’s a height
game in these waters. Your parents both play volleyball, but
they aren’t particularly tall — your dad is 5-10, mom is 5-8. Where’d you get the height?
My dad’s little brother is 6-10. Aside from length, what else would
you take from other players? I’d say Reid Priddy’s ability to pass. Ev- ery time, whether he looks like he’s there or not, he puts the ball right there (to the target). Every time. He’s focused and he’s into the moment. It’s mind-boggling when you have guys like Matt Anderson or Max Holt (also 6-10) just ripping serves and Reid puts it there.
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