Yahoo Autos 2022 Standard-Times Boys Volleyball Player of the Year: New Bedford's Kishan Patel
Kishan Patel played an integral part in putting New Bedford High boys volleyball back on the map this year.
And to think he almost didn’t come out for the sport as a freshman.
“I was never interested in volleyball,” he admitted. “Me and a bunch of basketball teammates were in the weight room and the volleyball assistant coach Bobby Tetreault came up to us and started talking about volleyball. We told him we were going to try out, but on the first day, I didn’t want to go. Ryan Dosenberg picked me up and took me to the tryouts.
“Coach said, ‘Give it a try for two days.’ After the first two days, I fell in love with it.”
For the next three years, Patel dedicated himself to getting better and helping the program improve and achieved both feats.
“I think he was the reason for our turnaround this year,” said New Bedford High coach Ben Kaeterle. “He changed the mentality of some of his teammates. He took those guys under his wings. Those guys wanted to turn the program around and he led the way. You knew he really cared about this a lot.”
As a senior, Patel helped the Whalers enjoy their best season under Kaeterle by slamming down a team-high 232 kills. He also had 109 digs and 27 service aces to earn the 2022 Standard-Times Boys Volleyball Player of the Year award.
“After my freshman year I was kind of decent at volleyball and I thought I could do something with it,” Patel said. “The coaches talked about bringing the culture back.”
To accomplish that Patel knew it was important to play volleyball year round so he rounded up his teammates.
“What I did was push my teammates and myself to play in the offseason,” he said. “We’d play beach volleyball at Burgo and then go to Attleboro and Warwick for indoor open run. I was trying to get anybody I knew to play volleyball and try it out.”
It worked.
By training in the offseason, Patel and many of his New Bedford teammates improved vastly and it showed this year as they captured a share of the Southeast Conference championship with Brockton, finished with 12 wins, beat GNB Voc-Tech for the first time in seven years and won a playoff game.
“This season was definitely mys had been playing years past. We accomplished the goals that we set off.
“We wanted to make a playoff appearance and win the city cup back which we did.”
Patel said a turning point in the season came when the Bears lost to GNB Voc-Tech and then lost a pair of games to Winchester and O’Bryant in the Winchester tournament.
“My coach got us into a Winchester tournament where we faced two of the top teams in the state,” he said. “We got to see what really good competition is.”
The Whalers went on to win eight of their next 10 games, including a thrilling 3-2 victory over rival GNB Voc-Tech.
“After the first game against Voke, we had hunger for the next game,” Patel said. “That was a top-three moment of my high school career. That was the most packed I’ve seen that gym. I felt the ground shaking at times. We were on cloud nine.”
After playing cautiously in the first meeting with Voc-Tech, Kaeterle sat down with Patel.
“I said, ‘You’re the go-to. The team runs through you.’ After that he took the reins and he really went off for the second half of the season.”
Patel notched 19 kills to help New Bedford beat the Bears for the first time since 2015.
“When we needed him, he really showed up,” Kaeterle said. “He’s the best overall player I’ve coached in my years at New Bedford High.”
Patel’s best performance of the season came in New Bedford’s 3-2 playoff win over Acton-Boxborough in which he slammed down a career-high 21 kills to send the Whalers into the Sweet 16.
“Going into those important games I was excited,” he said of the Voc-Tech and Acton-Boxborough games. “I remember the feeling I had for both of those two games. I couldn’t wait to play. During those games, I didn’t feel any pressure. I felt like no one could stop me in those two games.”
In addition to his ability to play the entire court, Patel stood out for his leadership in helping to make those around him better and also in sacrificing for the betterment of the team.
“I never considered myself as the first option at all because the whole team was filled with weapons,” he said. “I was always trying to do whatever helped the team win. At times there were other guys that were hitting harder than me getting pints. I was letting the team feed off of that.
“I’ve been playing for a little longer than other guys on the team and that experience helped. I always tried to focus on the next play and let my teammates know it was OK to mess up here and there as long as you stayed locked in.”
Patel said the secret to New Bedford’s success this year was the bond the team shared.
“What made it fun for me was playing with my friends,” he said. “Being friends with the whole lineup, it made it easy to trust each other and depend on each other.
“I really hope people look at this team and they say that this team helped change the New Bedford High program.”
ALL ABOUT KISHAN PATEL
WHY HE WAS SELECTED: With his leadership and ability on the court, Patel helped the Whalers double their win total from 2021 with 12 victories this year thanks to his dedication to training in the offseason. … GNB Voc-Tech seniors Alberto Gomes and Ethan Fagundes were also considered for the top honor after leading the Bears to a Div. 2 Final Four appearance.
KEY STATS: The Southeast Conference All-Star had a team-high 232 kills to go along with 109 digs and 27 service aces. He also led the Whalers in serve receive percentage with only 29 errors on 329 attempts.
MVP MOMENT: He shined on the biggest stages, recording 19 kills in a 3-2 regular season win over rival GNB Voc-Tech and slamming down a career-high 21 kills in a 3-2 playoff victory over Acton-Boxborough.
NEW BEDFORD COACH BEN KAETERLE: “For how talented he is, he’s so open to learning. He’s one of the most coachable players I’ve ever had. He was not the biggest vocal leader, but he led by example. He made an impression on not just how to be a great volleyball player but a great person.”
NOTES: Patel recently coached a youth volleyball team at Bay State Games that finished fourth and won the Sportsmanship Award. “It was definitely a great experience and fun,” he said. … Patel plans to study computer science at the University of Rhode Island and wants to try out for the volleyball team there. … Patel, who was born in Milwaukee, moved to New Bedford when he was five. He has a younger sister, Megha, who plays tennis and runs track for the Whalers.
This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: New Bedford's Kishan Patel is the 2022 Volleyball Player of the Year
