[UH VOLLEYBALL]
|
Ching’s in the swing The Hawaii volleyball team considers the conference playoffs the second part of its season. But for Tony Ching, it feels like the season is just beginning.
The UH outside hitter has
battled injuries and a suspension,
but he's back to being upbeatBy Grace Wen
gwen@starbulletin.comThe junior outside hitter is finally healthy after battling injuries most of this year. A strained right shoulder kept him out of seven matches, including the Outrigger Classic and Hawaii's first road trip to Stanford. Ching missed another road trip after being briefly suspended from the team in March.
"It's been frustrating with all my injuries and the suspension," Ching said. "It was just an argument that got blown out of proportion. I felt at the time I wasn't getting my fair shot and that's what fueled it. Coach and I didn't communicate well.
"We've gotten past it for sure. We communicate a lot better, so that's good. We've both grown from that experience. It hurt the team for a while, but now it's past us. We've learned from our mistakes and I've learned how to help the team better."
Ching has definitely helped to diversify the Warriors' attack. He averages 2.67 kills a game and provides another legitimate option for setter Kimo Tuyay. Though he's played in just 37 games, a little over one-third of the Warriors' matches, Ching looks like he has found his groove again.
Ching, who is 6-foot-2 with shoes, used his 40-plus vertical leap to soar over the BYU block last Friday and lead Hawaii with 14 kills.
"He's been doing real well," Hawaii coach Mike Wilton said. "He's got a lot of game in him. He's really done well in two areas that have kind of held him back --serving and passing.
"You never have to worry about his efforts. He always gives it his all. He's had such a fragmented year and I understand it was very frustrating for him. I couldn't get a feel for him because he was hurt, then he wasn't. It was hard to count on him on a regular basis."
As last year's super-sub, the outside hitter could always be counted on for a spark. Ching was poised for a breakout junior year after spending part of the summer training with the Junior National team and traveling to Brazil.
But shoulder surgery in October hampered him during the fall when freshman Jose Delgado stepped up to gain the starting spot.
"My first two years, I'd be able to walk in the gym and not even need to warm up and start hammering balls and play," Ching said. "I guess you could say I was younger then. Now my body is catching up to all those years of not stretching. I've never experienced anything like this. It's helped me grow so much."
After being reinstated to the team, Ching was ready to accept his role as a backup, but a lineup change two weeks ago, (Costas Theocharidis moved to the right side), opened up a spot for him on the court. The experience has changed his perspective.
"(I approach volleyball) one day at a time now," Ching said. "Every day there's new obstacles, new challenges. It taught me a lot about myself and my resiliency. And it taught me that I had a lot to learn in volleyball.
"Earlier in my career, I always wanted to stand out. But now, lately when I've been playing my best, I'm just one of the boys. I'm just hanging out on the court playing volleyball."
Injuries have been a constant in his life, but they weren't always sports related. Last season, he suffered a deep gash in his right arm when he had a mo-ped accident.
It wasn't too different from small-kid time when Ching had an abundance of energy and a plethora of broken bones.
From his collarbone, to fingers, feet, legs, and arms, Ching was a frequent visitor to the hospital. It got to the point where Ching's mom, Lynn, said a parking space had been reserved for them at Kapiolani hospital.
"I was very active," Ching said. "I was constantly getting hurt and having doctor bills."
"He was just a rough kid," Lynn Ching said. "He's not accident-prone. He just played everything 100 percent."
Lynn remembers the time when Tony was 5 years old and another parent yelled at him during a soccer game for being too aggressive.
Not much has changed since then, though Ching does have a softer side when it comes to his family. He is the oldest of three boys and was the "man of the house" at an early age after his parents separated and his mom became a single parent.
Though he wanted to attend college on the mainland, Ching is glad that he opted to stay closer to home for college.
It is one of his goals to be the first in his immediate family to graduate from college and perhaps earn a master's degree.
None of which seems impossible given all that he's overcome on the court this year.
Hawaii athletic director Hugh Yoshida has announced that tomorrow's playoff match vs. Long Beach State will be televised live on KFVE-TV (Channel 5). UH-Long Beach match will air live
Yoshida said that 4,400 tickets had been sold as of yesterday.
"We made a decision," Yoshida said. "It's far enough along that we feel comfortable it will work out. We believe people will come out to support our volleyball team."
KFVE secured the rights from the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation but was waiting for approval from the University of Hawaii.
"It's not surprising that we're going to do it," KFVE programming director Dan Schmidt said. "We're certainly happy to do it."
UH Athletics