Waubonsie Valley sophomore Michael Johnson grew up playing basketball, like nearly everyone else in his family.
He never gave volleyball a thought, even though his mother, Tornita, played that sport in high school. Then came the coronavirus pandemic.
“I used to watch anime a lot,” Johnson said. “One I used to watch all the time was ‘Haikyu!!’ I started watching that during quarantine time. I had nothing better to do. That got me into really loving volleyball.”
Johnson’s middle school doesn’t offer boys volleyball, so he had no playing experience or formal training coming into high school. That soon changed.
“Ninth grade, as soon as I heard they had a volleyball program, I signed up immediately,” he said.
The timing proved to be fortuitous. Johnson tried out for the basketball team during his freshman year at Waubonsie Valley but got cut. Wanting to stay involved with the sport, Johnson worked as a team manager. He tried out again this school year and got cut again.
The news stunned Waubonsie Valley volleyball coach Noel Soto, who witnessed Johnson’s raw athleticism when he played on the freshman boys volleyball team last spring.
“When he got cut, he came to open gym, and I said, ‘Hey, you got basketball,’” Soto said. “He said he got cut. I said, ‘How?’
“I don’t know what they’ve got there that’s better than this kid.”
Johnson told Soto he was a full-time volleyball player. That was music to Soto’s ears.
“I said, ‘We’ll take you. We will not cut you,’” Soto said.
Basketball’s loss has been volleyball’s gain. Johnson, a 6-foot-2 right-side hitter, has used his athleticism and drive to quickly adapt to volleyball.
Johnson demonstrated those skills Monday when he was assigned to counter Geneva senior outside hitter Jack Mally, a 6-6 Loyola recruit who is a member of the U.S. U19 national team.
Though the visiting Vikings rolled to a 25-11, 25-20 victory, Mally was held to four kills. Johnson blocked him four times for points and got touches on several other balls.
“(Mally) is phenomenal,” Soto said. “That’s a four-year varsity starter for Geneva, and for Michael as a sophomore to go do what he did against him, (Mally) is not used to that. He’s not used to getting blocked. That one block went right off his forehead.”
Soto had no qualms about assigning Johnson to Mally despite the height mismatch.
“He’s got crazy bunnies for legs,” Soto said of Johnson. “He can hop.”
But Soto didn’t disclose Mally’s resume to Johnson.
“I did not know that,” Johnson said. “I’m glad they didn’t tell me that.”
Johnson knew the Warriors (8-20) were facing a rebuilding year, but it didn’t sap his enthusiasm entering his first varsity season.
“It’s everything that I expected plus more,” he said. “Over the summer, I was training, trying to be prepared for the season, and this season swept me away with how fun and exciting it is.”
That has rubbed off on everyone.
“You can’t bring that kid down,” Soto said. “He always has a smile. He’s a great kid all-around, a great teammate.”
Indeed, Johnson has many interests away from the court. He plays drums in the school band and is interested in several potential careers.
“I used to love playing with Legos, so I could see myself doing engineering,” he said. “I’m an artist, so I can basically help with designing and things like that.
“I like drawing people and robots. I can draw buildings, so I can see me doing architecture.”
This season has Johnson foreseeing a future in volleyball.
“I feel like I’m doing great for my first year (on varsity),” he said. “Obviously, there’s some things I wish I could have done better in, but overall, I feel great.
“It changed my mentality. It changed my attitude toward the sport. My dream now is to go to a really good university. I want coaches to see that I’m good enough to be on a DI team like UCLA or Hawaii.”
As for his former sport, Johnson said that’s in his rearview mirror.
“I’m a retired basketball player now,” he said.
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
