Postcards from Asia: Time For Departure
August 27, 2018 | Men's Volleyball
Monday, August 27 – Pre-Tour, Packing, etc.
David Kniffin, Head Coach and UC Irvine Alum ('04)
In 2004, I graduated UC Irvine and left the country for my first time on a one-way ticket to Europe in search of a professional volleyball contract. After traveling through six countries, I landed a job in Teruel, Spain. Over the next two years, I read the news, socialized and lived with Spanish, Slovakian and Venezuelan teammates. For the first time I saw the world through the lens of a different culture, language and place. I have referred to that time as the beginning of my informal graduate study in cultural awareness. Volleyball, my student-athlete experience at UC Irvine, was my passport. As I steward this iconic program, I believe it is my obligation to continue to engage our student-athletes in our greater global community. Thank you for your trust and support as we embark on this adventure.
Dante Chakravorti, Senior Setter, Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Science
Walk around the UCI campus on any school day and you will immediately feel the international nature of our campus. You will undoubtedly hear multiple languages and smell foods you may have never seen. Students in classes are not afraid to discuss complex international issues expressing varied and refined points. Many professors are themselves from somewhere other than here or extremely well-traveled and constantly offer unique perspectives.
When I first arrived at UCI from Glencoe, Illinois I was immediately struck by how our campus was so woven into the global community. This extended into my experience as a student athlete. In fact, the first match I ever played was an exhibition against a professional team from Shanghai, China that we will have the opportunity to visit soon. One of my fondest memories from that time however took place long after the match was completed. Coach Kniffin asked a few of us if we would like to eat dinner with a few members of the Chinese delegation. That opportunity to actually engage with people from a completely different culture and hear their own unique perspectives was fascinating.
It is with that lens that I approach the upcoming foreign tour. While the excitement of being in three foreign countries over 20 days full of new and interesting experiences is certainly palpable, it is the personal connections and relationships that I am most excited for. I am grateful that we will have such a rare opportunity to live and train with professional and university teams in Seoul, Osaka, Tokyo, and Shanghai. Comparing and contrasting our ways of life and views on the world will only strengthen the strands that weave UCI into the growingly global fabric of humanity.
In my last year I am lucky enough to be in a position to approach my final tour of duty with one filter, does this help us win the 2019 NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship? This tour does. The training days and different challenges Asian teams will present will prepare us on the court. The relationships we build with other and within our own team will also set the foundation for our team as we discover and refine our identity going into the competitive season.
As the current iteration of our team is making the final preparations for the longest journey in our history, one feeling overcomes my spirit. Gratitude. Gratitude to all those that have come before and all those making this chapter and my entire journey possible.
David Kniffin, Head Coach and UC Irvine Alum ('04)
In 2004, I graduated UC Irvine and left the country for my first time on a one-way ticket to Europe in search of a professional volleyball contract. After traveling through six countries, I landed a job in Teruel, Spain. Over the next two years, I read the news, socialized and lived with Spanish, Slovakian and Venezuelan teammates. For the first time I saw the world through the lens of a different culture, language and place. I have referred to that time as the beginning of my informal graduate study in cultural awareness. Volleyball, my student-athlete experience at UC Irvine, was my passport. As I steward this iconic program, I believe it is my obligation to continue to engage our student-athletes in our greater global community. Thank you for your trust and support as we embark on this adventure.
Dante Chakravorti, Senior Setter, Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Science
Walk around the UCI campus on any school day and you will immediately feel the international nature of our campus. You will undoubtedly hear multiple languages and smell foods you may have never seen. Students in classes are not afraid to discuss complex international issues expressing varied and refined points. Many professors are themselves from somewhere other than here or extremely well-traveled and constantly offer unique perspectives.
When I first arrived at UCI from Glencoe, Illinois I was immediately struck by how our campus was so woven into the global community. This extended into my experience as a student athlete. In fact, the first match I ever played was an exhibition against a professional team from Shanghai, China that we will have the opportunity to visit soon. One of my fondest memories from that time however took place long after the match was completed. Coach Kniffin asked a few of us if we would like to eat dinner with a few members of the Chinese delegation. That opportunity to actually engage with people from a completely different culture and hear their own unique perspectives was fascinating.
It is with that lens that I approach the upcoming foreign tour. While the excitement of being in three foreign countries over 20 days full of new and interesting experiences is certainly palpable, it is the personal connections and relationships that I am most excited for. I am grateful that we will have such a rare opportunity to live and train with professional and university teams in Seoul, Osaka, Tokyo, and Shanghai. Comparing and contrasting our ways of life and views on the world will only strengthen the strands that weave UCI into the growingly global fabric of humanity.
In my last year I am lucky enough to be in a position to approach my final tour of duty with one filter, does this help us win the 2019 NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship? This tour does. The training days and different challenges Asian teams will present will prepare us on the court. The relationships we build with other and within our own team will also set the foundation for our team as we discover and refine our identity going into the competitive season.
As the current iteration of our team is making the final preparations for the longest journey in our history, one feeling overcomes my spirit. Gratitude. Gratitude to all those that have come before and all those making this chapter and my entire journey possible.
Players Mentioned
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