Owen Romzek, a senior at Shadow Ridge High School, has recently committed to Aurora University in Illinois. He has played on the Ridge’s Men’s Volleyball Team throughout his high school years and has chosen to take his volleyball career to the collegiate level after he graduates in May of 2025.
He chose to sign with Aurora State on November 13th at a club gym he plays for, Vegas United Volleyball Club. This university opened up realizations to him; he would be playing volleyball full-time and also struggling with the problems of an average college student, such as having to learn to manage oneself during busy times.
“I am really excited to be on a volleyball team basically all year. It will help me stay motivated and also help me achieve more goals that I have. I am nervous for the beginning of my experience, living on my own, finding new friends, as well as living in a new place. I am also nervous about not being able to manage my time well, but I am confident in myself that I won’t do that. I chose this school because of a visit I took recently, I also took into consideration that Coach Dan, the head coach, wanted me to come and play for him,” mentions Romzek.
Romzek chose to continue playing in the collegiate level for men’s volleyball due to the support from teammates and coaches, as well as family members. Many things gave him inspiration to continue playing as well as a spark to achieve something in his volleyball career.
He comments, “It is hard to say when I exactly fell in love with the sport, because I have been playing competitively since my freshman year. I think it was probably during my 17s club season, when I was with a group of guys that I loved being around and loved playing with. I began to value that, and the relationships that came with it. All of my family, from day one, has always been at my side at every tournament and every game. Coach Rios from VUVC has always had this belief in me, I used to hate him but I realized he was in it to make us better, so every day, I am grateful for what Coach Rios has taught and done for me.”
Romzek is currently on the men’s 18s Team for VUVC playing for Robert Rios, the Executive Director of the club volleyball program. He hopes that Romzek will go far in his sports career and wants to see him grow on, as well as off the court.
“Some advice to Owen would be to continue to play volleyball with the mindset that physical strength matters, and to continue to improve and stay healthy. Definitely create connections with your future teammates, and enjoy the experience because you never know what could happen. The level of competition increases so make sure you control the things you can control, so that you have a better opportunity to have the experience you want. His future career may be good and bad, however he just has to control what he can,” comments Rios.
