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By Andre C. Fernandez |
Miami, FL, March 9, 2005: Ariel Apolinario started playing volleyball two years ago. At this time last year, his coach was reading Volleyball for Dummies.For a team of ''nobodies'' who knew little to nothing about the sport, the Miami High boys have come a long way.
''We're like a street ball team,'' Miami High coach Carlos Ferralls said. 'Before last year, I couldn't get anyone to come play volleyball. The guys in school thought it was a girls' sport.''
Now everybody wants to play for the Stingarees -- and next to Apolinario, a 6-5 middle hitter who almost single-handedly propelled Miami High to its first trip to the state tournament at FIU last season.
The Stingarees (2-0) opened the season Monday ranked fifth in The Herald's preseason rankings. But that doesn't mean a return trip to state is impossible, because Miami High wouldn't face Dade's top four -- Southwest, Sunset, Killian, Westminster Christian -- in the playoffs unless they reach the state tournament.
The four teams each have talented players leading them, but no player might be more valuable to his team this season than Apolinario.
''When Ariel first got to the school, I told him that if he wanted to play basketball, he had to play volleyball, too,'' said Ferralls, a former football receiver at Miami High and West Virginia University. 'I laughed after I said it, but he didn't. He was like, `All right, when do we start?' That's the kind of kid he is. He's a great athlete, but he's an even better person.''
With a 3.2 GPA and 1030 SAT, 18-year-old Apolinario is less than a year from possibly playing one of the two sports he loves in college. Ferralls said he has already received plenty of letters from top volleyball schools as Ohio State, College of Charleston and Mississippi. He is also being recruited by Florida Atlantic for basketball.
JOURNEY FROM CUBA
Two and a half years ago, Apolinario's life changed when his parents left Cuba by plane and arrived in Miami. Apolinario, however, did not make the journey. He had to wait to be released from his mandatory military service enlistment. For four months, he lived with his grandmother and wondered when he again would see his parents, Carlos and Laudelina, younger brother Anniel and older sister Misleydys.
''I had not known any life without my parents,'' Apolinario said. ``I cried a lot because all I could do was talk to them on the phone.''
Once Apolinario was given his release, he hopped on a plane by himself, eager to start his new life. He enrolled at Miami High in January 2003 and had to sit out his sophomore season. It didn't take long to overcome the culture shock of living in a big city. But like many people who flee Cuba, he struggled to learn English.
''That first year was bad,'' Apolinario said. ``I was so frustrated because I was a very good student in Cuba, but here everything was so different and I was embarrassed to speak English because I thought people would laugh at me. I used to cry when I got home because my grades were getting worse.''
That summer, Apolinario's mother had him take some English courses. He's still reluctant to speak it but now understands every word.
''He caught on really quick for someone who hadn't lived here a long time,'' said Apolinario's girlfriend, Gisela Santana, a volleyball and softball player at Miami High. ``He's just really shy to talk in English around people.''
BOLD GAME
Apolinario didn't have any trouble expressing himself once he stepped on the court his junior season. He totaled 251 kills, 49 aces and 51 digs while leading a team made up mostly of players who had never played volleyball before. He became a more than capable reserve during the past two seasons, subbing in for key players such as point guard Edwin Rios during the Stingarees' recent run to the state final four in boys' basketball.
Last season the volleyball team's unexpected run ended with a school-best 17-5 record, a state tournament appearance and, more importantly, the respect of a school that hardly knew it existed. For most of its 103 years, Miami High has been known for its 18 basketball titles. So boys' volleyball, a sport still in relative infancy in Miami-Dade County, took a back seat.
'It's almost like `ghetto volleyball,' '' Ferralls said. ``We could barely use the gym because, naturally, basketball rules. On the weekends, you have NBA or former NBA players that come and play pick-up games here. You think they're going to step aside to let us practice. They would laugh at us.''
The school isn't laughing anymore. Fans are feeding off the enthusiasm generated by Ferralls, who provided his team with new equipment and personally painted volleyball dimensions on the hallowed floor of the Miami High gym. The team still has to work around the basketball team's practices, occasionally practicing outdoors, but with a year of experience, his players aren't just playing ''street ball'' anymore.
The Stings have begun running more complex attacks in practice, and the confidence is high after a season-opening victory against defending district champion Palmetto -- a game in which Apolinario didn't even play.
''They kept calling us a Cinderella team last year,'' Apolinario said. ``But this season, the Cinderella story is getting thrown away. Everyone knows who we are now.'