Southern California is known for producing the best volleyball players in the world, and it’s only a matter of time before 17-year-old T.J. DeFalco of Huntington Beach joins the list.
“He’s one of the top 10 players in the world for his age group,” Coach Craig Pazanti said.
DeFalco didn’t start playing volleyball until four years ago, but once the 6-foot-4 1/2 junior discovered his love for the sport, his skills and talent became evident.
“It’s just happened,” DeFalco said. “I got immersed. I was fascinated by it. Every once in a while, people try new things and like it. That’s what happened to me. I loved it.”
By last summer, he was winning a bronze medal in Portugal at the FIVB Beach Volleyball U19 World Championships. That came a month after he had 26 kills in the Southern Section Division 1 championship match against Los Angeles Loyola and 17 kills in the Southern Regional Division I final against Loyola.
“What separates him from a lot of players his age is his IQ,” Pazanti said. “He sees the game. The game moves pretty slow for him. He manipulates it.”
Huntington Beach is trying to win its second consecutive Southern Section Division 1 championship and will face Loyola on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Cerritos College.
Last season was DeFalco’s first playing high school volleyball. He had lived in Missouri, moved to San Diego, then Huntington Beach. He had been home schooled and taking public school classes for the first time. He knew lots of his teammates from club ball, but the championship matches were so intense and memorable that to this day he has difficulty describing the moment of triumph.
“I couldn’t explain it a year after if I tried,” he said. “It was such a great feeling to be around such good teammates playing a competitive team working together and coming out on top.”
Both of the matches against Loyola went five sets. DeFalco was a difference maker, rising up as the pressure kept increasing.
DeFalco said he studies pro players from around the world watching video while trying to imitate their strengths.
Just last week, in a playoff match against Palos Verdes, DeFalco displayed some of the skills that have him on a path to the top in volleyball during a nearly 20-second rally. He put down a spike that Palos Verdes somehow kept alive. Then he helped block a shot that Palos Verdes again kept alive. Then he used his right hand to dig a ball that was going to hit the floor. Finally, he leaped up with sudden power and sent the ball crashing to the court with a right-hand spike to give Huntington Beach the point and tie the set.
DeFalco’s versatility and ability to pass, dig, serve, block or spike make him invaluable on the court at any position.
The big challenge one day for DeFalco will be deciding whether to focus on beach or indoor volleyball. It was the same dilemma encountered by some of the sport’s greatest players — Karch Kiraly, Mike Dodd, Kent Steffes, Sinjin Smith and Tim Hovland. Each was successful in both.
“He’s one talented player for this age and is only going to get better,” Loyola Coach Michael Boehle said. “I don’t think I’ve seen an outside hitter like him in my 17 years of coaching at Loyola.”
DeFalco has committed to Long Beach State but wants to one day be a pro and earn money playing overseas.
“I’m hooked on volleyball, the competitive nature of it,” he said. “I wouldn’t play any other sport.”
Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times
