What is your name and your grade? Rafael Bartilad, 9th grade.

How does it feel to be a freshman on JV? It’s a pretty big privilege for me, I have a lot of friends on it as well, like Andrew and Haktan.

What’s your favorite song to get you hyped before a game? I don’t really know, recently a teammate of mine made a playlist, so whatever’s on there. 

What are your pre game rituals Usually for me to have a good game I have a really tough warmup. 

How long have you been playing volleyball for? Since like 7th-8th grade, so like two years, one year. 

What’s your favorite memory from this season so far The bus rides are really fun with the team. 

Is there any coach or teammate that you look up to?There’s this senior, Nick Le. He’s really good, he plays the same position as me

What is your favorite part of being a student athlete?Balancing is pretty hard, but I find it really fun

How do you and your teammates celebrate your wins?After games or wins, we go out to eat. 

Do you plan on playing volleyball after high school? Yeah, I wanna try playing for a team in college. 

Why do you play volleyball? I want to play a sport and I love the game 

What are some struggles as being a freshman on JV?Playing your role,it’s hard being a freshman.

Do you play club outside of school, if so, for who?Yeah, I play for Velocity, next year I’m playing for Forza 

What causes the most stress in the sport? People counting on you to do your role and to do well

Is there anything that a coach has said to you that’s stuck?The coach this year, Coach Booker said that you shouldn’t be nervous and you should just have fun.