Yang anxious to lead young Vikes

By: Ken Weingartner
   Josh Yang knows what it’s like to be new to varsity volleyball and struggle with confidence and consistency against established teams.
   He also knows what hard work and dedication can produce in a short amount of time.
   Now, the senior will try to provide this knowledge to an extremely young South Brunswick High squad.
   The Viking program is in just its third year of existence. When Yang was a sophomore, in Year One, South Brunswick won just two matches.
   Last season, thanks to an offseason filled with beach, club and rec play, a senior-laden Viking team went 13-11 and qualified for the state tournament. Unfortunately for South Brunswick, 11 of its 13 regulars graduated from that team.
   "Obviously, the first year, I was new," Yang said. "The first year, we lost a lot but we had a lot of fun. In the second year, with the dedication of a lot of the seniors, we saw what we could do. Making the tournament as a second-year team is kind of unheard of.
   "I took that all in. It’s kind of my responsibility now to show how much dedication can do to build up a program. And to show them how to relax and play the game and have fun. It’s a balance."
   South Brunswick went 1-2 last week and is 1-4 overall. The Vikings got their first win of the campaign over Plainfield — a first-year program — before losing to J.P. Stevens and St. Joseph’s, which is the No. 1-ranked team in the state.
   Yang had 14 assists in the win over Plainfield (25-20, 25-15) while Greg Kilbride, Charlie Parrott and Conor Monaghan each had 15 kills. Steve Smoke had five kills and three digs in the loss to Stevens (25-15, 27-25).
   "We actually played better against J.P. Stevens," Vikings coach Steven Dentler said. "This is Plainfield’s first season fielding a team and they don’t run an offense like everyone else. They just don’t have the consistency of passing, so it’s difficult because you don’t know what to expect from them. Once you start facing a standard offense, everything works better.
   "Even though we didn’t win against Stevens, the progression in our game was a big indicator for me. It’s all a learning process."
   Eight of the 12 players on the Vikings’ varsity roster are underclassmen, with two juniors, five sophomores and a freshman.
   "For most of these kids, the skills are there," Yang said. "A lot of them have good potential. Unfortunately, we don’t have a lot of time to improve on that potential for this year, but they should be really good the next two years.
   "As for this year, I’m not sure what will happen. It depends how fast they build their confidence. The season is still so young, realistically there is still a chance we could make the state tournament, which would be incredible. The goal I sort of set was breaking .500, at least. I still think that’s a realistic goal."
   Against Stevens, the Vikings overcame a six-point deficit in the second game to tie the score. Yang said it was a good example of how quickly a team can get back into a game.
   "I saw us down by big deficits last year and come back, so I sort of know what to expect," Yang said. "I know how to keep going even though the other players might think we’re down a lot. I guess I’m someone they can look to for experience in those situations.
   "The more games we play, the more I think they’ll realize how the game is played, not as far as hitting and positioning, but how matches are played out. Some of the kids hit as well as any other hitters in the state. They can keep up with the best of them. So it all comes back to experience. I’ve definitely seen myself get more confident over the years. The more confident I get, the more consistent I get.
   "But I’m at the end of the tunnel and they’re just at the beginning."
   Yang, though, has the knowledge to help guide them through.
   SIDEOUTS: South Brunswick’s match against Bishop Ahr was removed from the schedule because the Trojans canceled their season. The Vikings were scheduled to play Piscataway yesterday and Old Bridge today. Their match Friday against West Windsor-Plainsboro North has been moved to Monday . . . the 2004 statistics provided for sophomore Jose Camacho in last week’s volleyball story actually belonged to Camacho’s brother, who also is named Jose and graduated last year. "Last season to avoid confusion we called the older one Jos-A and the younger one Jos-B," Dentler said with a laugh.