Opposite hitter will play for Warriors

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www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050720/SPORTS0202/507200339/1032/SPORTS

Posted on: Wednesday, July 20, 2005



Opposite hitter will play for Warriors

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer






Steven Grgas yesterday agreed to join the University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team, completing a recruiting process that he started when he was 5.

"Ever since I was a little kid," said Grgas, a 6-foot-7 opposite hitter from Seal Beach, Calif., "I knew I would end up in Hawai'i. It always felt like home."

Grgas played on the silver-medal-winning Junior Olympic team. As a senior at Los Alamitos High School, he was named one of Volleyball Magazine's Fab 50 for 2005.

He said he also received offers from UCLA, UC Irvine and Southern California.

"It was the toughest decision of my life," he said. "The other programs are very good, but I fell in the direction of Hawai'i. I've wanted to go there for a long time. This is the best decision for me."

Grgas said Hawai'i has become his summer home. He spent 2 1/2 weeks in Kona in 2003, and a month there last year. He returns today for a three-week stay.

"I just train and play volleyball with all of the locals," said Grgas, who stays at a family friend's home. "I love it over there. I can't get enough of it."

He said his mother often retells stories of his first visit to Hawai'i.

"I was 5, and she said she couldn't get me to take a bath, but I had no problems going into the ocean water in Hawai'i," he recalled. "She couldn't get me to come out of the water in Hawai'i. Ever since, it's been the same. I can't go into the ocean water in California. I only go into the water in Hawai'i. I feel at ease in Hawai'i."

Grgas, who began playing volleyball three years ago, has developed into an effective middle blocker and powerful opposite hitter.

Grgas was named to the Junior Olympic All-Tournament team. One of his team's assistant coaches was Jake Schkud, UH's sophomore outside hitter. At Schkud's recommendation, the coaches evaluated videotapes of Grgas, then extended an offer. Grgas is projected to compete at opposite hitter at UH.

Reach Stephen Tsai at [e-mail].



[glow=red,2,300]so, does anyone know about this guy, is he any good?.. [/glow]

[konane96734]

The Star-Bulletin's story on the guy: starbulletin.com/2005/07/20/sports/story4.html

By Cindy Luis
[e-mail]

Undecided no longer.

Last week when Volleyball Magazine's Fab 50 list for high school boys volleyball came out, Steven Grgas was one of two graduated seniors who hadn't decided which college he'd be attending. This week is a different story.

Grgas, a 6-foot-7 middle blocker/opposite from Seal Beach, Calif., has committed to play for Hawaii this coming season. Grgas helped lead Los Alamitos High to a third-place finish in the California Interscholastic Federation championships and was named to the 18s Open All-Tournament team at last week's USA Volleyball Junior Olympics for silver medalist The Long Beach Club.

"I'm very excited about coming out," Grgas said in a phone interview yesterday. "UCLA and UC Irvine were very interested, but then Hawaii stepped in. It came down to personal preference. I had always wanted to play volleyball in Hawaii.

"The way things worked out, it seemed that it was meant to be."

The assistant coach for Grgas' team was current Warrior middle/hitter Jake Schkud, "who had a lot of good things to say about the program," Grgas said. "It made the decision more solid when I heard good things from him."

Grgas leaves today for the Big Island for his annual volleyball training trip with a friend whose mother lives there. Schkud, on the other hand, leaves for the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, N.Y., where he is hoping to make the final cut for the USA Volleyball Junior National Team along with UH setter Brian Beckwith and 2004 Iolani graduate Mike Contee, a libero who played at Quincy (Ill.) last season.

"Steve has tremendous talent and I wish I had his talent," Schkud said of Grgas. "I know he'll have a tremendous impact on the Warriors. I'm glad to have him because it will help me get closer to my personal goal of winning a national championship.

"He's a hard worker, doesn't like to lose, and will put in the effort to get us over the hump."

Grgas is one of two incoming freshmen for Hawaii who were named to the Fab 50 list. The other is Matt Rawson, a 6-8 middle from Mira Costa High in Manhattan Beach, Calif.

Contee in the running: Beckwith and Schkud have risen through the USA Volleyball ranks together, beginning with the High Performance level. This is Contee's first showing on the national scene.

The team will be trimmed from 16 players to 12 by July 29. Contee's competition at libero is UCLA's much-heralded Tony Ker.

"I'm so excited and I am ready," said Contee, who left for New York last night. "All of this is a surprise. Out of a couple thousand players who tried out, they only chose two liberos, Tony and me.

"It's going to be a battle. Tony is a very consistent passer and I feel I'm pretty consistent. It's go time, time to leave it all on the court."

The U.S. will go on to compete at the Men's Under-21 World Championships, Aug. 6-14, in Visakahapatnam, India. The site gives Contee extra incentive.

"My mother's family is from India and it would be great to be able to go there for the first time," Contee said.

No posting yet: Although the vacancy for Warrior assistant coach has not been posted, UH coach Mike Wilton said he already has had inquiries from six or seven serious candidates.

"And I'm sure there will be more once it's posted," Wilton said yesterday.

The program is losing Wilton's son Aaron, who will attend graduate school on the mainland. Aaron Wilton, a second-team All-America hitter who played for UH from 1994 to 1997, has been on the staff the past four seasons.

[warriordudette88]

It will be interesting to see who applies for the assistant job in Hawaii. It seems that there is a lot of interest. I want to see who Wilton picks to fill the vacant spot.