Volleyball has grown on Weinreb brothers
Jake Wienreb (20)and his brother Zach (37) share a strategy moment before a match against Hicksville. (April 22, 2010) Credit: Photo by Joseph D. Sullivan
Amid the clutter of basketballs, baseballs, stray pads and pucks, there was no place for volleyballs in the Weinreb home.
The two boys, Jake, 18, and Zack, 15, had no early training in the game that one day would overshadow the lure of everything else. Jake gravitated toward the sport after excelling in gym class, but Zack took more convincing.
"I just didn't find volleyball to be a fun, athletic sport," Zack said. "My mom and dad had to convince me to try out" because of Jake's involvement. "But it started growing on me. I really love the game. I love the competition and the skill level involved."
Both now are starters for Syosset. Zack, a freshman, is a setter and an anomaly. Setters, like point guards in basketball, control pace and possession. It's usually a task given to an upperclassman with high court acumen. In his first year on varsity, Zack is sharing court time with a senior and starts nearly every game.
Jake, a senior and an All-Conference middle hitter turned outside hitter, is the team captain. The two brothers, three years removed from each other, form something of a peculiar arrangement in a sport that values height and physical maturity. At a little under 6 feet, however, Zack has just about eclipsed his older brother.
It's more than enough for the Braves (4-4), who are very much in the mix in Conference II. And leave it to the Weinreb brothers to know a little about survival of the fit enough.
Two years ago, as part of Zack's bar mitzvah, the family visited the Galapagos Islands - widely regarded as Charles Darwin's inspiration for "Origin of Species" - to work with naturalists and observe the native flora and fauna.
"It was either a trip or a party,'' Zack said. Following in his brother's footsteps (one could call it a theme), Zack picked the trip - something of an uncommon choice (another theme).
"It's like you take a step out of life or out of the world," Jake said. "On Long Island, the best thing you're going to see is a flock of geese flying away." Not penguins, tortoises and ground that may have been untouched by humans.
"Everything is scheduled here," Jake said. Indeed, the boys, just out of school that Thursday, had a practice in an hour and a game about a half-hour after that. Then there was homework, sleep and another day of school.
"I know what the rest of my day is going to be like," Jake said. "The only thing we knew when we were there was that we were getting on a boat and we were going somewhere."
The trip further strengthened the boys' relationship. It translates on the court.
"We know each other's capabilities," Jake said. "You need to have faith in your setter or your outside hitter."
There are other benefits: "I know what to say to Zack to get him motivated," Jake said with an impish grin.
Zack squirmed slightly next to his brother, a hair away from rolling his eyes. Yes, he admitted, his brother will get on him during games. "I just get used to it," he said. "At home he acts the same way."
On cue, both brothers chipped in - same sardonic tone, same undertone of amusement.
"It doesn't end on the court."
