Since his first introduction to volleyball five years ago, Mustafa Haq has pushed through pain and growing pains.
The 16-year-old middle hitter, now a player with Team B.C. and the top 10-ranked Van Tech Talismen, was hopelessly gawky. He stood out, and not for the right reasons.
Paulo Pequeno, Van Tech's senior team coach, remembers.
"In Grade 8, he didn't see the floor because he was clumsy. We couldn't play him because he was just so awkward. He didn't have the proper footwork, didn't have the proper skills, could not pass."
Pequeno offered these less-than-flattering observations in service of this point: "He's worked very hard."
Haq grew five inches during his Grade 8 year, a growth spurt that left the teenager, now nearly six-foot-five, disconnected from his lengthening limbs. At the same time, he opted for volleyball over basketball because he preferred the technical aspects of the sport as well as the challenge of self-improvement.
"I wanted to be the person that everyone looked up to. I wanted to play a lot more," he said.
Haq laughed at the description of his ungainly younger self, a portrayal he agreed with. "I was really clumsy, really slow. It was terrible.
"I just kept on working as hard as I could. I was tired of being the guy on the bench, of always playing catch up."
Two years later, he said, "I got serious."
Haq joined two friends at Paranoia Volleyball Club, which is now Apex and one of the city's largest volleyball clubs. He hit the weight room. He practiced countless repetitions.
He also had to convince his parents that the money and time was well invested in volleyball.
"They've always been there, always pushed me to succeed," said Haq, the youngest of five kids, who works at the PNE as a vendor to contribute to his athletic goals. He also volunteers with a youth-oriented charity.
"I wasn't the best player but they still supported what I wanted to do. Also with friends who really pushed me, I think they're the reason I've gone as far as I have."
Ken Li, the president of the Apex volleyball club, wrote the Courier using capital letters to commend Haq's work ethic. He also praised two coaches-as did Haq himself-for influencing his development.
"I credit his Grade 8 and 9 coaches, Steven Kong and Alex Pappas, for working hard with him," wrote Li, who coached the senior Van Tech team last year when the Talismen won the city championships. "Not only does he have good size, but he also takes the game very seriously."
But Haq, who turns 17 in two weeks, has been back on the bench this season with patella tendonitis, commonly known in the sport as "jumper's knee."
"When you jump, it's that sharp pain under the knee cap," he explained. With physiotherapy and rest, the injury can heal.
Haq nonetheless played through the discomfort this week in Richmond at the regional Lower Mainlaind tournament, which is also a provincial qualifier.
Haq played. He's worked too hard to sit on the bench.
Twitter: @MHStewart
