Charles "Whit" Courage '21 Recruiting Profile

I’ve always been athletic and interested in playing every sport, sometimes to the detriment of any one sport. When I was younger I swam, played baseball, basketball, tennis, & lacrosse. I did well, making several All-Star teams and competitive travel teams. But I was never willing to make a full year-round commitment to any one sport until I discovered volleyball. Volleyball is the perfect sport for me because it’s all about teamwork, strategy, agility and skills, not only power and the “killer instinct”. I was first exposed to volleyball in middle school, and then at 14 joined an independent travel team called Chicago Bounce. I learned to love the game at Bounce, with inspirational, committed coaches and the kind of teamwork that I hadn’t found anywhere before. We went to the Nationals in Columbus as a seeded team and my love of volleyball was sealed.

Our family moved back East to Riverside, CT in the summer of 2017 as I was starting my freshman year in high school. Even before we moved, I realized that boys volleyball in the area was not as strong as it was in Chicago. I tried crew in the fall to build up my strength and then played for Mizuno East Volleyball Club in Trumbull, CT which was roughly an 1 ½ hrs from my house.  I did play on the 17s as a 15 yr old and it ended up being a good experience. That spring I was thrilled to be the only freshman who made the Varsity team at Greenwich High School. I think my coach saw that I was an experienced, calm player (even though I was the youngest) so he made me the Floor Captain for the entire season.

Last summer (2018), I went to several volleyball clinics in the area including Springfield College and Bob Bertucci Volleyball Camp at Greenwich Academy. In the fall of 2018, I was asked to be team manager of the Girls Varsity Volleyball team which was good practice and a lot of fun!  This winter, I’m  a co-captain of the 16-1s team at MEVB and we’re getting off to a great start. We’ve made it to the finals in every tournament we’ve played thus far.

I’ve always been tall, but had a major growth spurt this last summer, and have worked hard to gain strength and agility. I am currently 6’5” and 165 pounds. I’ve evolved tremendously as a player and have played every position. Last year on the GHS Varsity team, for instance, I played setter the entire season and became a defensive specialist as well. Now at my current height I mostly play Outside Hitter, but am extremely well-rounded and versatile. I am a responsible player and do consider my strength to be in my maturity, court sense and athleticism, not just my height.

I am very excited about my upcoming sophomore season and determined to lead the team to more deliberate and confident playing. GHS has yet to have much success at the state level and I’m hoping to turn that around.

 As a student, I test very high, but my grades do not reflect my abilities. I’ve gone through my parents’ divorce, constant moving and self-esteem issues the last 6 years and have had a hard time prioritizing schoolwork. I did just receive my PSAT scores which qualified me to take AP classes in all subjects so I will be “upping my game” this semester and certainly next year. I’m very motivated to raise them, and I don’t believe straight A’s are too high a goal.