With 29 total sports and more than 1,000 student athletes at Dougherty Valley, numerous spots on team rosters are available, and aspiring athletes are striving to fill them. However, internal and external factors lead some athletes to transition into an entirely new sport. 

Junior Matthew Kong played JV basketball during his freshman and sophomore years under Coach Mike Hansen. But once the 2024 basketball season concluded, he decided to switch to volleyball in preparation for the 2025 spring mens volleyball season. 

“At first, the shift from basketball to volleyball was really challenging, because I’ve played basketball for roughly 10 years and just started playing volleyball last year,” Kong explained. “One of the reasons that I wasn’t enjoying basketball was that [the environment of DVHS basketball] was so competitive and it took a big toll on my mental state, so the switch to volleyball was definitely needed.” 

While Kong explains that he did switch sports partially due to mental health reasons, another prominent reason was not having enough time during the season. Similarly, senior Kaylee Tang switched from stunt to pole-vaulting due to limited free time, since stunt and track and field (another sport she plays) were both spring sports. 

Originally, Tang joined stunt due to an 11-year gymnastics background as well as having multiple friends on the team at the time. One key component of stunt teams are tumblers, which in her case correlated with prior gymnastic experience to create a balanced routine.

“Last year, my junior year, my schedule was really complicated and having to coordinate each sport was difficult. So this year, my senior season, I decided just to stick with pole vaulting and track,” Tang said.

Senior Christian “CJ” Silva also joined the mens volleyball team from the mens basketball team, albeit for a different reason. Silva first discovered volleyball from a friend who played varsity volleyball and suggested that Silva would be a good fit to the team. Over time, through open gyms and practices, he noticed that he enjoyed the sport as a substitute to basketball. Just like Kong, Silva also had played club basketball for “basically his whole life”. 

“Last year, I made it on the JV team, which really surprised me because I never played volleyball in my life,” Silva explained.” There’s a lot of rules and I’m still in the process of learning about volleyball.” 

“Basketball is more of a contact sport, which can allow you to [play a basketball game] more hot-headed, while volleyball, you need to have a calm head with good thoughts throughout each set,” Silva observed. 

One takeaway from each athlete is the importance of respecting yourself and your athletic abilities. Kong observes that sports are supposed to be fun and enjoyable during time spent in high school. He aims to have a positive impact on the underclassmen while also helping support his teammates as much as possible. 

“My main takeaway from my personal journey is for other athletes to evaluate if you still want to play a certain sport or if you want to switch,” Kong stated. “Also, having a group around you such as teammates and having parents being supportive of your decisions helped lead me towards volleyball.” 

When picking a sport, Tang emphasized each sport’s high commitment level, which can lead to some uncomfortable practices and long days. Many of the sports offered at Dougherty, including basketball, volleyball, often have practices up to six times a week as well as lasting for multiple hours. 

“Do something that you’re willing to commit to, because there will be days where you’re going to have off-days and you might want to choose a sport where you’re willing to put in the effort to succeed,” Tang explained.

As Silva reflected on his journey from basketball to volleyball, he revealed his main philosophy that helped him switch sports and gives advice for future athletes. 

“Just try something new. Maybe you’ll like [the sport] or maybe you won’t. You’ll never know unless you try,” Silva noted.