At first glance it isn’t difficult to see why athletic, 6-foot-4 senior wide receiver Tristen D’Angelo is a two-sport standout at Boulder Creek High School in Anthem. However, you may have a difficult time guessing his second sport.
“I started playing volleyball my sophomore year,” D’Angelo said to Sports360AZ.com. “I finally gave it a try and I fell in love with it. I’m glad I did it.”
His transition from the football field to the court wasn’t easy, admitting early in his volleyball career “I wasn’t too good” but with practice came steady improvement as the middle blocker leaned on the tutelage of experienced coaches Troy Dueling and Taylor Stallman to help develop his game at the net.
Two volleyball state championships later D’Angelo is hoping that Boulder Creek winning attitude carries over from the gym to the gridiron entering his final prep season in BC.
Back 2 back ? ? pic.twitter.com/v79Z690kqb
— Tristen (@DangeloTristen) May 13, 2017
“It’s incredible to be around a state championship atmosphere like that, especially two years in a row,” D’Angelo explained. “It’s shown me what it takes to get there, the competitiveness and the attitude you need to bring to the game.”
— Tristen (@DangeloTristen) June 5, 2017
The well-liked and respected teammate has also received interest from Cal, Vanderbilt and Montana among others.
For now the bigger, faster and much stronger D’Angelo is solely focused on the present, hoping to hoist a different kind of state championship trophy this fall.