Point Loma High School men’s volleyball coach James Sakasegawa has announced a new academic standard for players this season: “Rather than the CIF-mandated minimum GPA of 2.0 to be eligible to play, the Pointers men’s volleyball team will set a new standard of a 3.0 GPA for our players.”
Sakasegawa has been the Pointers coach since 2010 and thinks the team and the time is right for this change. “We’re lucky to have a terrific group of hardworking student-athletes in our program right now,” he says, “and they’ll allow us to set a high standard that this and future teams can be proud of.” His philosophy is to challenge his players to be good teammates and even better all-around people. Sakasegawa has put a high value on academics and team bonding, which really paid off last fall. Point Loma VBC boys beach volleyball team had a very successful season, starting in June of 2015. All the weekly practices and California Beach Volleyball Association tournaments helped improve the club’s performance in the 2015 San Diego County high school boys beach volleyball season. Point Loma’s record was 6-1 overall, with a 4-0 league record, placing Point Loma in Division I for the first time in three years. Looking back to the 2014 season, Sakasegawa said, “We had 16 freshmen, two sophomores and two seniors with minimal beach volleyball experience competing in a tough Western League of eight teams. Point Loma VBC only won one match the entire season. What a difference a whole year makes. The players continue to have fun while learning to play the game with more confidence and determination.”
Indoors, the Pointers have won three league titles and have an overall league record of 44-16 for the past five seasons. This coming season, the Pointers will field a mixed lineup of young and more experienced players that Sakasegawa has a lot of confidence in. “These young men are wonderful to coach,” said Sakasegawa. “You tell them something once, and they know it. I sometimes feel we get two or three practices in each day with all the teaching we get done.” Sakasegawa said that “The program continues to grow in popularity with all types of student-athletes, and we have moved from one of the weaker programs to one of the best throughout the school. Our student-athletes have not only performed on the court but also in the classroom. Our collective varsity GPA this year is estimated to be 4.19 as compared to the 2015 season of 3.85.  “In the past, we had a goal for our players to achieve a 2.5 GPA to participate, and this year we’re setting the net at a 3.0 GPA.  This goal continues to be accomplished by our philosophy of schoolwork first, sports second.  Our student-athletes are driven for success on and off the court. One reason they are so successful is the motto of being selfless and supporting their teammates: ‘Challenge yourself to be a good teammate; challenge your teammate to be a better player.’”