A Harrisdale teen has been selected to represent the state in an interstate volleyball competition through School Sports Western Australian (SSWA).
Kaito “Kai” Onoshita, 14, has been playing volleyball since primary school, and has been selected to compete in his third interstate competition.
He said competing in South Australia was a new experience for him, but he was familiar with the team.
“I had a beach volleyball competition in 2024 and indoor volleyball in 2024 too, which we won a silver medal at the indoor championships in September last year,” Kai said.
“We’ve played with each other many times and we have good chemistry.
“We work like a well-oiled machine.”
Arriving at the airport by 5:15 Sunday morning, the state team returns on Friday after playing two to three games per day before the finals on Thursday.
Kai said he was “very excited” to experience Adelaide after he travelled to Coolangatta and Bendigo for volleyball last year.
“I’m very excited to meet new people and play volleyball because it’s the best way to get to know people through sports in my opinion,” he said.
“All my friends, when they hear me talk about volleyball just say stop because they’re not all volleyball players. Most of them are basketball and soccer players.”
Kai, who also plays basketball, is kept busy during the week playing for two volleyball teams outside of the SSWA competition, including Horizons and its sister club Apex.
“When I come back, I’ll probably keep going with the same things like club, going to trainings, continuously trying to get better because then I’ll maybe try out for state Volleyball WA Under 16,” he said.
His mum, Marissa, said she was very proud of the hard work her son puts into his sport.
“He’s always got a ball in his hand, and in the evenings, he likes to go outside, and he hits the volleyball up against the house and the window,” she said.
“It’s been really amazing seeing his progress. He did start essentially not really knowing much about volleyball and it wasn’t long before we could see that he could play well.
“We were just lucky to have met some good people on the way that sort of showed us how to go about approaching the trials for state teams and things like that.
“My husband and I are both incredibly proud of his hard work. He’s really worked hard to get to where he is now.”
Mrs Onoshita said whilst Kai has excelled in volleyball, he still managed to keep up with his schoolwork by making up assessments before leaving for the week-long championships.
“He’s doing a really good job of juggling his studies because for us it’s important he has that balance because he does play sport pretty much every night of the week,” she said.
“We’ve always said his grades are just as important and he doesn’t necessarily agree, but he works really hard so we’re proud of him.
“I know he just loves his volleyball, so it’ll be good for him and good for him to stay with his friends. He’s made a lot of friends through volleyball.”
Kai said having won silver in the indoor competition last year, he and the rest of the team were working towards bringing home the gold to WA.
“We’ll just work hard, continuously. We always keep our head up,” he said.
“Getting gold is definitely the end goal.”
Mrs Onoshita said while it was difficult to be away from her son, she was excited for his upcoming volleyball tournament.
“I’m really proud of him. Naturally apprehensive about him being away from home for a few days, but I think it’ll be really good for him, and he will grow a lot as a person,” she said.
“I think he’s been really lucky with the places he’s been as we’ve managed to make holidays as a family.
“This one’s a little bit different, so only my husband is going but I think it’ll be really exciting for Kai to go to Adelaide and see another part of the country.
“Hopefully the boys bring back a medal for us.”
Kai’s parents are huge supporters of his sporting skills, with Marissa driving him to trainings, and his dad recording all his games.
Mrs Onoshita said her husband watches Kai’s recorded volleyball games “over and over”.
“We’re hoping to get to 50 subscribers so then we can do a livestream,” she said.
“He sends the videos to Kai’s grandma in Japan.”
Kai said he was grateful for the support of his parents and grandparents and was looking forward to the start of the competition this weekend.
“It just feels really nice and surreal in the morning once we’re at the airport going with the team,” he said.
“You feel really strong like a pack.”
The School Sports Australia competition is between other states and territories in Australia, for students with a maximum age of 15.
Kai was one of 10 players selected for the boys’ competition.
