Join the Bensalem volleyball team and, according to senior James Koodathil, you’re ‘one of the family.’
“No matter what happens, you’re part of the family,” he said. “We’re family on and off the court.”
And that’s not just lip service. This group of players is tight, and they’re anything but your typical volleyball squad.
For starters, take a glance at the Owls’ roster that includes Bhavi Patel, Chintan Patel, another Chintan Patel, Darshan Patel, Daveshu Patel, Dip Patel, Dipant Patel, Keval Patel, Neel Patel, Rikesh Patel, Sheel Patel and Tapas Patel.
If you’re counting, that’s 12 Patels, and that number doesn’t include managers Nina Patel, Parth Patel and Vima Patel.
“It’s just a common name in our school,” Keval Patel said. “During graduation, they count off the Patels because we have so many.”
Add Koodathil, Jake Curichiyil and Yash Rao - who are also of Indian descent - to the Owls’ roster, and it doesn’t take long to figure out why Dave Trotta credits the school’s Indian population for saving the program.
“The program looked like it was about to die, and they all walked in,” the Owls’ coach said. “The previous coach was planning on coaching but took a job elsewhere because there was no interest.”
Until, that is, a few players came on board and began spreading the word.
“One day one of my friends who actually tried out in ninth grade told me I should come out to volleyball intramurals,” Curichiyil said. “I came out and liked it, and I told Keval to come.”
Before long, volleyball had become almost a family affair for the Patels, although only two are actually related to each other. Friends were encouraging friends to join.
“Last year we had a tall, uncoordinated kid, and we told him to come out for the team,” Keval Patel said. “Now we’re good buddies with him, and he turned out to be a good volleyball player.
“We took people from other sports. We basically built this team. People weren’t really familiar with volleyball in our school at all before we started recruiting people. Suddenly, everybody showed up.”
Koodathil gave up tennis to join the team.
“I stopped playing tennis and came to play with these guys because the coaches and all the kids are so great,” he said. “We had a lot of fun, and we were good at it.”
Trotta points to Koodathil, who didn’t begin playing until he was a junior, as an example of one player’s rapid development.
“We’d go against teams, and they’d ask, ‘How long has he been playing?’” the Owls’ coach said. “We told them it was his first year, and he was absolutely killing the ball.
“Over the summer, he wanted to learn how to set so he could be our setter. Other coaches were marveling at his hands – he gets the ball exactly where it needs to be, and as far as a leader, he’s tremendous.”
It’s the kind of success story that explains why the Owls’ program has risen from the ashes to reach the point where the squad just barely missed out on a trip to districts this spring.
“Three years ago, we had no cuts on the team,” Trotta said. “Last year, we had four or five, and this year we had a dozen cuts.
“It’s nice that we can actually be selective.”
While Bensalem has a large Indian population – there are 94 Patels alone in grades nine through 12, they admit they weren’t all that familiar with volleyball until they reached high school.
“I had never heard of volleyball in India,” Keval Patel said. “There were good players on the team that we looked up to. We took over after they left. We felt like it was our responsibility.”
The Owls were 7-10 this year, and while that might not sound like a lot to programs that routinely accumulate double-digit wins, for the Owls, it’s more than respectable.
“We worked so hard this year,” Koodathil said. “These other schools have been playing their whole lives.
“We’re slowly moving up in the ranks. It feels really good because you know you worked so hard for it.”
The players credit their camaraderie as a significant piece of their success.
“One of the reasons we were so successful this year is because we’re all so close,” Curichiyil said.
“If you mess up (on the court), you have five guys, and someone will pick you up,” Koodathil said.
“It makes everything a lot easier,” Keval Patel said. “Even after a tough loss, we have each other to fall back on.”
These young men are about a whole lot more than volleyball. Recently, at least half the seniors were scheduled to take an AP exam the day following an away match.
“During the jayvee game, they were going over calculus,” Trotta said. “If they miss practice or they’re late, it’s because of their involvement in a service club. They’re all very involved in the school.
“I was under the impression volleyball was all they did, but they’re involved in so many other activities – president of this, secretary of that. The fact that they had any time for volleyball at all amazes me.”
While the Owls will not be confused with the likes of Pennsbury and other perennial SOL powers, they have laid the foundation for a solid volleyball program, and this is a program that is about a whole lot more than wins and losses.
“On the basketball team, ‘You might have to worry – oh, am I going to be friends with this guy,’” Curichiyil said. “Right when you get out on the volleyball court, you know you’ll be friends with everyone.”
“It’s been the best part of our four years,” Koodathil said.
And the players believe the tradition they started will continue for years to come.
“All our little cousins are starting to play,” Keval Patel said. “I have a lot of little cousins because I’m one of the older ones in my family, and they’re playing in middle school.”
That bodes well for both the Bensalem program and its coach, who is enjoying every minute of his experience at the helm of a team that has taken on a new and interesting face.
“This doesn’t feel like work to me,” Trotta said. “They make it very fun.”
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