Boys volleyball: Libertyville's Kharasch finds his calling
Libertyville volleyball player Sam Kharasch has a sibling who stands under 5 feet.
"My parents aren't tall," Kharasch said.
Sam made it to 5-6. OK, no basketball for him. But there was soccer when he was young. And then volleyball appeared for him in seventh grade. The rest, as they say, is history.
Five-six volleyball kids do not lead the league in blocks or kills. So, at Libertyville, they put a different shirt on him and called him the libero.
His coach, Jenny Smith, has a host of stories about her favorite libero.
Like on the first day of tryouts for the volleyball team. Kharasch showed off his interest in the game by diving for a ball and busted his chin open doing it.
How bout the time he ran into a wall at Palatine and suffered a near concussion?
"We still refer to that school by 'the place Sam ran into the wall,' " Smith said.
Libertyville went 14-23 in Kharasch's first season on the team. This season, the Wildcats posted a 33-3, mark, which was the best record in school history.
Kharasch finished the season with a school-record 519 digs, hiking his career total to 1,540, which also ranks No. 1 in program history. His startling performance earned him the honor of captain of the Daily Herald Lake County All-Area team.
"He is the player with the highest passer rating with the highest number of receptions," Smith said. "All that aside, Sam is such a funny and good-natured kid who is incredibly intelligent and personable. He's been a pleasure to coach and has taught me a thing or two. Kharasch is somebody that will be forever remembered by Libertyville volleyball, the players and coaches in our program and, of course, by me."
So how did this former soccer player find this indoor sport so much to his liking? Of course, he joined a club team (Adversity) to get used to the action on the floor.
"I was playing with a lot of older guys," Kharasch said. "There were some scary hitters there. But I started going after every ball. I just found volleyball to be a lot of fun."
As the area's most successful libero, Kharasch didn't have time to worry about not hitting the volleyball. He was diving all over the place for Lake County's top volleyball squad.
"He's turned himself into not only a tremendous volleyball player, but a guy that everyone in the program and opponents alike look up to and respect," Smith said. "He's patient and encouraging with the lower-level kids in our program, and it lights fires under them to work harder and improve to 'be like Sam.' "
Yes, it's the Wildcats' spin on the old "I wanna be like Mike" Michael Jordan commercial.
"That's said often in our gyms," Smith said.
Kharasch will take his diving and ball skills to nearby North Central College in Naperville next year. He'll be expected to bring his defensive skills to that school next year.
"Even when I run into a top server, I still try and get the majority of touches," Kharasch said.
"As a libero, he hardly gets the glory for our success," Smith said. "And those who have watched him play or competed against him only get a small peek at what Sam does day in and day out, in season and out of season. He strives to get better and improve his team. He lives to stop hitters from getting kills."
Smith added that Kharasch came into the season with a "hunger to improve on a very successful previous season."
He did just that. Which was no small feat for the libero.