The highest honor in all of American sports. Team USA. Every athlete aspires to represent the country they love by playing the sport that they love, but very few ever come close to getting that opportunity. One Titan has been given the highest honor one could receive for their sport and led our country to volleyball glory, winning the U-19 gold medal in Puerto Rico.
Grant Lamoureux, a junior volleyball player, was one of 21 players invited to Team USA training in California last month, at the time just being invited was an honor in and of itself. Then the 12 player tournament roster was announced and not only was Lamoureux on it, he was selected as the team captain for the national team.
“The day before we left they announced that I was going to be the captain because of how I acted and helped teammates on the court and off the court throughout the week,” Lamoureux said.
With the captains’ bars placed on his jersey, the team began the U-19 international tournament with a win over Canada on May 12 and never looked back.
“It was a different experience playing with that jersey and with the flag on my chest. Playing in the Olympics has always been a dream of mine and this is basically the step before the Olympics so it was very special to get to play for and represent my country,” Lamoureux said.
The team flew through the tournament, going undefeated over the nine day competition, capped by a victory over Cuba in the gold medal game.
“We never really focused on winning the whole thing. Mainly just took it one game at a time, but we knew we could win if we played the way we knew we could. So when we did win it was an amazing feeling and knowing how hard we worked for two and a half weeks paid off,” Lamoureux said.
What’s next for Grant? The junior is currently committed to play Division 1 volleyball at Pepperdine University in California, one of the top collegiate teams in the entire country.
“Now I finish out club season through the summer and then probably more of the training camps through the USA program and hopefully get selected to compete in world championships next summer. After that I go to continue my career at Pepperdine University in California and see what comes after that whether it’s playing professionally somewhere or hopefully the Olympics one day,” Lamoureux said.
No matter what the future holds for Grant’s volleyball career, the accomplishments and honors he’s earned this month and over his entire high school career are enough to last a lifetime.
