Junior Rob Chatterton had never stepped on a volleyball court until he was a freshman in high school. Now Chatterton is playing for the  Sports Performance Volleyball Club team, has interest from colleges with some of the top volleyball programs in the NCAA and is a second year starter for the varsity volleyball team.

One day freshman year, when Chatterton was walking through the science halls, he greeted his science teacher, Brian McDonaugh. Head Coach Chris Cooper was nearby and asked McDonaugh who the “tall kid” was. Cooper, knowing the scarcity of height in the building, requested that McDonaugh tell Chatterton to go to the upcoming open gyms for the volleyball team.

It was there that Chatterton found his love for the sport

“It took some coaxing but we finally got [Chatterton] into the gym,” said Cooper. “I think at that point he realized that [volleyball] was kind of fun and I’m hoping [the program] created an atmosphere where he could feel welcome.”

“I didn’t know anything about volleyball,” said Chatterton. “But [freshman A coach Margaret Sullivan] told me she’d teach me everything.”

Chatterton’s father remembers his son’s first spike, which came in his first game while playing for the Freshman A team.

“The ball went straight down,”  said Chatterton’s father. “The look on Rob’s face was as if he had won the lottery.”

After the freshman season, Chatterton decided to get involved in club volleyball. Chatterton has been a member of the Sports Performance Volleyball program, or SPVB, for two years and plays with them during the high school off-season. Playing for SPVB has given Chatterton the opportunity to compete in states such as Florida, Nevada and Texas as well as play abroad in Brazil this past Fall.

In December, Chatterton, though eligible for the 17U division, joined the SPVB 18 Mizuno team.

“I’m always fighting for a spot on [SPVB 18 Mizuno],” said Chatterton. “We’ve got four other middle hitters so I’ve always got to be at a top-tier level of play.”

For Chatterton to be able to play on his club team, he must travel over 45 miles to Aurora for practice up to four times a week. The commute usually takes over two hours round-trip.

“We actually bought a Prius for that specific reason,” Chatterton said.

According to Cooper, a big reason for Chatterton’s success with the Spartans has been senior Zach Lillig’s pivotal role as a “challenger” for Chatterton on the court. Lillig, who was introduced to volleyball in a similar way to Chatterton, is the same height as him at 6-foot-6-inches. Chatterton was moved to outside hitter this year while Lillig plays middle hitter.

“Both [Chatterton and Lillig] are going to have to be the focus of our offense this year,” Cooper said.

With Chatterton returning as a second year starter, Cooper said he expects him to keep developing his skills of the game while also working to understand the sport itself.

“Last year [Chatterton] didn’t really understand why he was doing certain things,” said Cooper. “He just knew what [the coaches] told him [and that] he should do it. But this year, and [I have got] to give a lot of credit to his club team, we’ve increased his knowledge of the game all-around.”

As of April 6, Chatterton leads GBN with 43 kills, while also recording five aces and two blocks.

According to Chatterton, though the two-and-a-half-year experience has been a struggle at times, he would not have had it any other way. Chatterton said one thing he has learned is to not cut corners and to continue to work on improving his volleyball skills each day.

“I guess [volleyball] is just my hidden talent,” said Chatterton. “It’d be a shame if I didn’t try to do something with it.”