Athletes of the Week: Don Assamongkol and Sam Michaels

Senior co-captains Sam Michaels and Don Assamongkol lead Boys’ Varsity Volleyball’s current undefeated season. The team has won almost all of their sets with a score of 3-0 and they hope to do the same with their last competitor, St. John’s Prep, before heading into their Final Four tournament this weekend.

Both captains started playing volleyball together as preps. “It’s actually really funny because [Sam] taught me how to play squash and I taught him how to play volleyball,” Assamongkol remarked. Both of them played varsity squash together in the winter and this term, lead the boys’ varsity volleyball team.

When asked why they wanted to serve as captains, Michaels and Assamongkol said that they were inspired by the volleyball captains during their underclassmen years. “The captains were helpful, kind, patient, and transformative in my development as a volleyball player and a person,” Michaels recalled. Assamongkol added that his previous captains had shown him what good, hardworking sportsmanship was like and he hopes he can do the same for others on the team.

Lower Emilio Abelmann praised his captains’ efforts to aid younger players. “By pulling the underclassmen aside, they are able to connect 1-on-1 and give personal advice to each player.”

In practice, the captains’ focus on keeping the energy high throughout every drill. At the start of practice, Don leads the hitters and liberos through a dynamic warmup while Sam leads the setters warmups. “Don does a great job running the warms and is by far the leader of warm-ups. Sam also is a great leader because he’s our starting setter and wins a majority of the drills,” senior Cole Glennon noted.

The team is constantly striving for improvement and to make sure the team follows through with this goal, they have a team motto: “get better.” “[We] focus on keeping team morale high by always providing developing players with constructive criticism when needed and always recognizing when players work hard and do well,” Michaels elaborated. When asked how the captains energized the team during practice, lower and team newcomer Wiley Bahr said, “They are always giving me tips and helping me make edits to how I play.”

Before games and during their warm-ups, the team plays music and celebrates loudly when their teammates hit or pass well. For example, Assamongkol screams when someone hits a good spike. “When things aren’t going too well we’ll help each other out on court like most team sports, but we [also] literally pick each other up if someone messes up because it’s all about the next point and getting things going,” Assamongkol said. Because the sport is seen as one of the more vocal sports, Assamongkol explained that the best strategy is to “talk, talk, talk.” He added that “When I can’t hear myself on court because everybody’s running up calling for their hits, we’re in a good spot.”

Glennon described that during games, Michaels runs the whole court due to his position. “He is very caring and understands and makes sure to constantly get feedback to help improve both his game and our team’s performance,” Glennon said. During games, Glennon described Assamongkol as a “silent leader” who is a great influence on the underclassmen. Both are the ideal teammate.

During the games and throughout the season, there are traditions that the captains love and are sure to continue. For example, the team yells specific cheers, such as ‘Sharkbait,” for a good block. In addition, a few years ago, the team felt that it was crucial to become friends off the court, and thus a new tradition was born. Now, at the end of each year’s season, the team travels to Hampton Beach and then to Flatbread Company to have a final celebration with their seniors and as a team.

Due to the team’s overwhelmingly positive energy, Head Coach Bruce Shang is more than willing to sub in as many players as he can during games so that everyone can gain experience playing competitively. “This gives everyone extra motivation to try hard because they see other first-year players getting playing time, so they know that their hard work will be rewarded,” Michaels said.

Michaels believes that Boys’ Volleyball’s unique, upbeat environment is what differentiates them from other teams on campus. He said, “It’s one of the main reasons our team hasn’t lost a single game in years and is looking to win five straight championships.”