Nick Shenker didn’t play high school volleyball at Sheepshead Bay this past spring. Instead, the 6-foot-4 senior, who admittedly did not see eye to eye with coach Joe Perazzo, played in tournaments with the Creole men’s team – an invaluable experience for someone who has only been playing volleyball for three years.
“I wouldn’t have had the same opportunities [playing in the PSAL],” Shenker said.
The greatest opportunity came in March. While at a tournament with Creole, Shenker was seen by coaches from NJIT, a Division I program in Newark. They liked him and two weeks later he committed to play for the Highlanders next year.
Playing with the men’s team had other benefits, too. The higher level of competition, Shenker said, pushed him to be better.
“Playing with men, I get to see how intense everything is,” he said. “It gets your timing better and increases your skills. If you don’t get better, you’re gonna get ripped on all day.”
In many ways, it was a warmup for college. But Shenker never expected to be earning a scholarship to play volleyball at the next level. He only started playing the sport seriously as a sophomore when Perazzo saw his tall frame walking the halls at Sheepshead and prodded him to join the team. Shenker improved rapidly from then on after joining the Stellar club team.
Last year, he became one of the best offensive players in the PSAL and that was evident this past winter with Stellar.
“He played really well for us this year – especially offensively,” said Stellar coach Mike Salak, who brought Shenker onto the Creole men’s team. “His attack was really good. … We had the best Stellar team that we ever had. We did really well and he was an important part.”
There was one match that really stood out for Salak, though. The coach has been pushing Shenker to get better at the finer points of volleyball – defense, passing and blocking. Those things come with experience and his career was still in its infant stages. But in the finals of a tournament in Albany, Shenker really stepped up with the subtler aspects of the game.
“His offense just fell apart, but he was able to contribute in other ways,” Salak said. “He came up with a big dig or a big block. For me that was my favorite match for him. That was a big victory for us.”
For Shenker, too. He feels like he’s still absorbing things like a sponge every time he gets on a court. Shenker, who was actually briefly recruited by powerhouse Penn State, has played mostly middle hitter with Sheepshead and even the Creole men’s team. He had to play opposite hitter this season with Stellar and that’s where he’s going to be played at NJIT as well.
“For me, there is a lot to learn,” Shenker said. “I learn new things every time I play.”
In college, he’ll also learn about architecture. That’s the major he’s decided on. So far, he seems like he knows what he’s doing in that respect. Shenker has built himself a nice little future playing volleyball.
“Everyone is my family is surprised,” Shenker said about getting an athletic scholarship. “I guess I just had a knack for the sport.”