When Chris Cooper, boys volleyball head coach, saw senior Jonathan Simon during volleyball summer camps, he knew he had to convince Simon to play for Glenbrook North.

“There [are] not too many people that have the natural jumping ability that Jon has,” said Cooper. “You just can’t teach a 40-inch vertical.”

Simon had never played volleyball competitively. His main athletic focus growing up had been basketball, and Cooper convinced Simon to play volleyball as a way to improve the skills necessary in basketball.

“I think initially we just sold it as it would be a good opportunity for him to keep working on the skills that would help him become a better basketball player,” Cooper said.

When Simon was a sophomore, he made the varsity basketball team, which he said had been a dream of his. At that time, Simon began having an increased interest in volleyball after playing for the freshman volleyball team his freshman year.

“I guess it really started changing sophomore year,” said Simon. “[Volleyball] had a lot of success that year, and it was a really good time.”

During his junior year, Simon played volleyball as a practice player for a club team, but he stopped once basketball season started. Simon played for the varsity volleyball team following the basketball season.

Simon said he made the decision to focus solely on volleyball his senior year. This was the first year he decided to play volleyball competitively outside of school and the first year he decided to give up basketball.

“A big factor [in why I chose volleyball] was just because I was better at it,” said Simon. “I could be good at both or great at one sport.”

Senior Jeremy Doman said their club volleyball team “went crazy” when Simon told them he was not playing basketball anymore.

  Doman said he remembered a game during Simon’s first year of playing competitive club volleyball when he played across from a 7-foot tall U.S. Boys’ Youth National Team member. On the final point, Simon, who is a 6-foot-1 middle hitter, jumped and blocked his hit, winning the game for his team and helping lead them to a second place finish.

“Jon just took that kid on [and] played out of his mind,” said Doman. “[Simon] was meant to play volleyball.”

Simon said he thought it was the right choice to stop playing basketball, but he missed it in the end.

“I went to a couple games over the season, and it was [my] first time sitting in the student section, and that was really strange,” said Simon. “It was like, ‘Wow, I should be on the court. That could be me.’”