Riley Tan '24 Recruiting Profile

Athletic achievements: MVP for Sr boys team, captained school team for 2 years, won MRPM banner on Jr boys team, played in the North Fraser tournament on Jr team, placed 2nd in MRPM on Sr boys team, played 15u in 2021-2022 and played up 2 years on the 18u team in 2022-2023 (both at cougars volleyball club) 

Firstly I will mention that I am very studious, hardworking, and a team player. I made the honour roll every year and have high As in most of my classes. Also I am actively involved in numerous clubs which include Link crew, Student Government, Student Leadership, Jazz band, Rebels for a cause, and one I am currently the co-president of The Good Guys Garibaldi (a club that helps raise awareness on homelessness in BC). 

When I first started volleyball in grade 8, I was not very good. As a kid who had always focused on academics and arts, it was a difficult one to grasp. Digging, setting, serving spiking, it was a lot for me to take in, but it was also what made me fall in love with the game. The moment I touched a volleyball, I fell in love, which is what gave me the drive, the passion, and the discipline to push myself to new limits to one day reach the top. Working out came naturally with the sport as my desire to jump higher and improve my game motivated me to start going to the gym. Going off my first school season, my team made it into the Fraser North conference after we placed first in the the MRPM district. That gave me my first taste of victory. My first club season was a great experience where I learned how much higher level club volleyball was. This further motivated me even more as I wanted to be on the court as much as I could as we had 15 players with a coach who evened out the playing time. The next school season I worked hard and received the MVP award by my coach. I also captained (and currently captain) my school team. We came close to winning the MRPM district but lost the final game by 2 points and was disqualified. during my club season, I had really been put through a refinement process that would help me fix my weaknesses and fuel my motivation for success. As a 16u player, I tried out for the 18u team at Cougars volleyball and made the team. during this time, I was following an intense 6 day a week workout program given to me by, now gone pro in Denmark, former UFV opposite Shub Wander. I followed this program until I got tendonitis due to over training in my Achilles. At the start of my club season, I was doing well, starting during most of our scrimmages and playing my best. Everything was great until my tendonitis interrupted my season high. This happened during our first tournament where I hit into the net due to my inability to jump high because of my injury. This lead me to have an off day before eventually asking to be subbed off, leading to further discouragement throughout the season. Even with my injury, I was still able to play but only came in as a pinch server and during matches for one set. Due to the fact that I was used to having more play time, I developed sports anxiety but overcame it with the help of my coach. This led me to research and design a 6 day workout plan to improve my jump while working on injury prevention which increased my vertical by 5 inches (from 27” to 32”). Currently I am going into my last school season before graduation with no injuries and am going to definitely bring a highlight reel back from it!