CHESAPEAKE, VA (WTKR)- Many student-athletes who excel have been playing their respective sports since a young age. Hickory's Elijah Woods didn't find his niche in the athletic world until high school.
Volleyball was orginally not part of Woods' plan, other than to train for a different activity.
"I ended up doing volleyball for jump training for basketball," he recalled. "Because of the team and playing around, I ended up falling in love with it."
That was in 2021, his tenth-grade year. After that, it did not take long for him to take up volleyball as his main sport.
"After having about four three-hour practices that felt like 15 minutes, I felt like I had kind of found my sport," Woods smiled.
Now a senior, Elijah has asserted himself as one of the Hawks' top players. He's been a team captain the last two seasons. It's a rise that even surprises him a little bit.
"He came into it new," remembered Hickory head coach Michael Jump. "You could tell pretty quickly that the switch flipped and he realized this is the game for him."
"I didn't even think about being able to play my first year," added Woods. "I did not think I would pick it up as fast as I did."
Even though he's now one of Hickory's upperclassmen, he's still working to pick things up. Elijah is always looking for tips to improve his game, both on and off the court.
"I'm still learning," he acknowledged. "I think I know a decent amount about volleyball and then it's like, shoot, I don't even know what rule that is."
"Anytime I have notes for him, he listens and he tries to apply that as soon as he can and tries to put that into his game," Jump pointed out.
He may only be in his third year of competitive volleyball play, but Woods plans to make the sport a big part of his future. He's continuing to work hard and hopes to take his game to the college level next fall.
"Absolutely, that's the dream," he said of playing in college. "Ever since I started playing and realized that I can really take off from here, I kind of haven't had the thought of stopping."
"He's absolutely got a lot of skills that teams will be looking for," his head coach noted.
It's a sport that he picked up late, but better late than never.
"If you find your sport, as I did, you'll know."
If you have a nominee for Student-Athlete of the Week, just send an email to marc.davis@wtkr.com.
