GHS sophomore blocker selected to play for Fresno’s elite
volleyball team
By BRETT EDGERTON
Special to the Dispatch
GILROY – Dominic Jackson, a Gilroy High volleyball player, wanted a chance to be seen by college scouts.
Roy Verduzco, coach of the Fresno 16-and-under Elite Team, wanted a tall and talented middle blocker.
On the day before Easter, at a gym in Salinas, the two needs collided.
Playing in the Alisal Invitational, the 6-foot-4 Jackson immediately caught the eye of Verduzco, whose powerhouse team from Bullard High was placed in the same bracket as the Mustangs.
“What impressed me right away was his athletic ability … the quickness and the footwork,” Verduzco said. “I really thought he was older than he was.”
When Verduzco found out Jackson was just a sophomore, he informed Gilroy High head coach Craig Martin of his interest.
The interest was mutual.
And as a result, the Mustangs’ volleyball program sent a player to an elite traveling squad for the first time ever. And before long, that player will find himself traveling in an airplane for the first time ever.
It almost didn’t happen, though.
Before the excitement of the last couple months, Jackson first had some convincing to do. Before he could play volleyball at all, he had to pitch the sport to his mother, Monica Chipman, who wouldn’t allow her son to play his freshman year.
“Playing football in the fall kind of destroyed my grades and she was afraid the same thing was going to happen in the spring,” Jackson said.
So when he agreed to drop football and track off the busy sports schedule, mom was pleased.
And when Jackson, who said he had previously “only seen a volleyball in P.E. class,” told her about the potential benefits of playing the sport, she was sold.
“I had to convince her this was the best way to get a scholarship,” Jackson said. “Because I know she doesn’t want to pay for college if she doesn’t have to.”
He read his mom right.
“When I heard him say that,” Chipman said. “I was convinced.”
Let me play and you might not have to pay – it’s a hypothetical that now looks genius.
The club team Jackson recently earned a spot on has a sterling reputation for sending players to the next level. Since Verduzco started the program in 1989, 28 of his players have received college scholarships.
And the list includes a who’s who of volleyball powers – the UCLAs, USCs and Stanfords of the world.
“Because of the success we’ve had, people know who we are when we walk into the gym,” Verduzco said. “We walk in with credibility.”
So when the team travels to Austin, Texas for the USA Junior Nationals (June 30 – July 4), a vast array of scouts will be on hand to check out players from 64 teams around the country.
“If you want to play in college, it’s the type of place you definitely need to go to display your skills,” said Verduzco, whose last 16-and-under team won the event’s gold medal in 2002.
But the experience doesn’t come cheap.
The trip – along with the uniforms and everything else associated with a top-flight program – costs each player around $1,300.
“That’s a bit of a concern,” Jackson said. “I’m not sure how we’re going to be able to come up with that much.”
Martin is hitting up alumni and local businesses in a fundraising effort, but still remains $815 short. If the money isn’t collected by the end of next week, Jackson will not be able to make the trip.
“I hope it doesn’t come to that, because he’s got such a wonderful work ethic and attitude and you can tell that he’s real sincere about wanting to get better.” said Verduzco, who houses Jackson when the team practices every Tuesday through Thursday in Fresno.
“He’s like a sponge now,” Verduzco added. “He just has an unlimited amount of potential.”
Now it’s just time for it to be tapped.
If you would like to make a donation to Jackson’s fundraising efforts, contact Monica Chipman at 315-9112 or Coach Craig Martin at 813-7755.
In Verduzco’s opinion, Jackson has earned the city’s support.
“Gilroy hasn’t traditionally produced many standout volleyball players in the past, but I can tell you Dominic is pretty unique.
“So far, he’s been such a great ambassador for his school and his community. The coaching staff almost instantly took a liking to him because he’s so gregarious and outgoing … just a great kid.”
