Forever Pirates -- Jordan Hoppe

This week's "Forever Pirates" feature is courtesy of Orange Coast College men's volleyball player, Jordan Hoppe, who attended OCC from 2015-17.

"It's about the journey not the destination" (Ralph Waldo Emerson). 

Before attending Orange Coast College, I grew up in Greendale, Wisconsin. While growing up, I played just about every sport and did every type of athletic activity you can think of … volleyball, basketball, baseball, football, golf, mountain biking, skiing, snowboarding … and the list goes on.

Today, it seems that a lot of parents are putting all of their kids in only one sport. They think by putting their kid in one specific sport, this will, in return, help them become the best at the given sport. This may work for a small number of kids, but I am a believer in diversifying and allowing your son or daughter to try as many sports as possible.

After trying all of the different sports in my youth, I found myself enjoying both baseball and volleyball equally. As I was going into high school, I made the decision to pursue volleyball. Due to the fact both baseball and volleyball were fall sports, I ended up choosing volleyball because it was the sport which pushed me most athletically. I was up for the challenge. 

Once I made this decision, my path was set. I was going to give my all at becoming the best volleyball player. My freshman year of high school I was able to make the varsity volleyball team. I had a small role on the team, but I was happy to be there. Each year on the team I was able to level up in my play and maturity. I was also playing for one of the top volleyball clubs in the state of Wisconsin.

From my 14's to my 18's year of club volleyball, the team would make a trip out to Anaheim to play. For me, this was huge. It opened my eyes to some of the best volleyball players at my age level and made me even more driven to get better at this sport. It not only motivated me to get better, but it also made me aware of how much I liked the State of California.

Looking back on myself as a student at Greendale high school, my motivation was solely on volleyball. There was zero realization that in order to play volleyball at the next level, I needed to be a great student. This became a problem once I started playing a really high level but my grades were not at the same level. I had all of these great offers at all of these top universities, such as UCLA, Pepperdine, Harvard, and Loyola. But … I was unable to attend because there was little to no chance at being admitted and even if I was going to be able to, there would be no academic money for me.

My options were dwindling. I had a few choices … Cal State Northridge, Lewis University and some Wisconsin state schools with club volleyball programs and NAIA programs. It seemed as if all of my club volleyball teammates were singing their letters of intent and mine was still up in the air, I so badly wanted to figure it all out.

Right at this time, I was put in contact with a volleyball player from Wisconsin who was then playing at Orange Coast College. The conversation that I had with him led me out to California to check out the campus and meet the coach. My experience on campus was great and it soon became clear to me that this would be the very best option for me. At the age of 18, I hopped on an airplane with just a big suitcase to attend Orange Coast College in order to pursue my collegiate volleyball dreams at a school that would support me academically and athletically.

In the Fall of 2016 at OCC, I was quick to find out I had a lot to learn and adjust to. Nothing could have prepared me for the many experiences ahead. I was so excited to embark on my journey as a student-athlete. One memory that stands out is the first few days of practice with the OCC men's volleyball team. Testing my commitment level, head coach Travis Turner put us through a grueling test of endurance to get a radar of everyone's physical abilities and overall attitude toward the tough challenges that were put in front of us. After the team formed, we moved on to more formal practices and really were able to create our team identity. The program that Coach Travis ran gave me the ability that I have today to play at a high level and I am thankful to now call him a close friend.

We started out by having very intense practices at a very high level of play, with the help from some of our most talented players. Each practice was a grind and our coaches Travis Turner, Mike D'Alessandro, Vinny Rodriguez, and McKay Smith pushed us every single day to be the very best versions of ourselves. That season we ended up going 21-3. We were able to win the conference title but came up a bit short in the state championships.

This was an especially difficult time for me because I dropped below 12 units at OCC and this deemed me ineligible for the final two games of the season … the state semifinal and the state final. It was an incredibly emotional time for me and all that I could do was cheer my team on and support them the best that I could. We ended up winning the state semifinal game against Santa Monica City College but shortly after, we lost in the finals against our rivals, Long Beach City College. After this loss, we held our heads high knowing that the result was not a reflection of what we created as brothers. Some of the best times I had during that year was with those guys and although we came up a bit short, we will always have countless memories together.

The following summer, I found myself back in Wisconsin reflecting on my time at Orange Coast. I was very disappointed in myself and how things turned out and I almost let this paralyze me from coming back out to California. I thought to myself a lot that summer and then it finally hit me, I did not want this to be the end of my story. I wanted to go back to the OCC volleyball team and make something special happen.

In the fall of 2017 at OCC, we had some new faces on the team that would make an instant impact. J.B. Kam, Colby Elder, and Cole Aidnik were all new and helped maintain a high level of competition in the gym. Along with these additions we also had some other players that created such a high level of play day in and day out.

This year for me was one of the most important years in my life. I treated every day as a must to get better. I worked tirelessly to make sure that I did all that I could athletically and academically to help the team succeed. The team also just clicked this year. We were all on board with each other and all had each other's backs. We also all supported other teams at Orange Coast together which helped us become closer. I will always have great memories of us cheering at our Coast basketball teams home games … we were relentless to say the least.

Another key to our success was one of our teammates, Ivan Garcia-Burgos. He joined the team the previous year and he showed us all what true strength was as we watched him bravely battle and beat cancer. Ivan's story was one of the most impactful things that had happened to us. This 2017 team was one of the most selfless teams I have ever been on and it is for this reason that I believe we were so successful together.

Beginning the season in the spring of 2017, we weren't sure how everything was going to look as a team. I was transitioning from right side to outside hitter and we also had some other players filling in new spots on the court. Through hard work and a great team identity, we then proceeded to win all but one of the rest of our games that season, including the 2017 State Championship game. Our overall record that season was 21-1.

The team and the coaches all bought into the program and each other which made for an incredible display of camaraderie and unity. Each coach and player played such an important role in the success of this team.

My time at Orange Coast College is something that I can always look back on and smile about … the countless amounts of memories that were made and my overall journey from starting out as a boy and turning into a young man. I will never be able to say thank you enough to everyone involved at Orange Coast College and to everyone that impacted me. It is truly an incredible junior college and it helped me get to where I am at currently. Without the impact OCC had on me, I would not be playing Division-I volleyball at Concordia University, Irvine today.

I am proud to be a Forever Pirate.