Ty Bogdanovich joined Belchertown’s boys volleyball program to help grow his vertical leap for basketball season.

Orioles coach Chris Shea hooked the now-senior when he was a sophomore, leaning on their longstanding relationship that dates back to third grade.

“After I started, I played it because I enjoyed it. I loved it so much,” Bogdanovich said. “I also play golf and I equate it to having a perfect drive on the golf course. When you get a perfect spike it’s an adrenaline boost, it’s awesome.”

Bogdanovich provides that same bump to Belchertown whether he’s in the rotation or not. Sometimes ankylosing spondylitis, an autoimmune condition that causes inflammation in his hip joints that can occasionally lead to “really, really bad pain, excruciating,” Bogdanovich said, keeps him on the bench.

“I've passed out in the past from this condition from the pain, but when I'm healthy I try to be out here,” Bogdanovich said. “Even when I'm not healthy, I try to fight through it. But sometimes I just can't play.”

Shea wants him around even when he can’t. Sometimes especially when he can’t. Bogdanovich is a co-captain and one of just two seniors that have three years of varsity experience.

“He inspires me every single day and try to be better and to work through stuff. At the end of the day, this is just sports. Real life, you’ve got to be able to take punches, get up, get knocked down, get back up, keep fighting, and that's what he does every single day. He fights more than anyone else,” Shea said.

Bogdanovich ranks high in Belchertown’s senior class academically and will attend Wake Forest next year. He’s traveled to Ethiopia for humanitarian trips, organized coat donations for the unhoused and raised more than $10,000 for suicide awareness in the fall.

“He's one of the toughest kids, one of the smartest kids, a great captain, a great leader, a great teammate, you know, we're better when he's around us,” Shea said.

Shea largely leaves managing the disease and associated pain up to Bogdanovich. He asks how he’s doing, and Bogdanovich tells him if he can go. The coach can usually trust his player in that instance, but Shea had to pull Bodganovich off the floor once last season where he noticed something wasn’t right.

“He’ll never take himself out of a game,” Shea said.

When he can’t go, Bogdanovich is happy to turn the reins over to Belchertown’s younger players or play in the back row until he feels healthy enough to jump, block and spike.

“It's not going to help me to stay down on myself. I just got to do what I can and stick with it,” Bogdanovich said. “I'd rather have some good than no good. Gotta stay positive.”

His zeal washes over his teammates. Shea regularly says “if Ty’s out here, everyone should be putting in their best work.”

“I'm hoping my impact makes everyone else want to play harder,” Bodganovich said.

Belchertown has faced a challenging start to 2023 at 1-7 but has won at least a set in six of eight matches with defending state champion Westfield on deck Friday. But the Orioles younger pieces are learning and coalescing around Bogdanovich, fellow senior and AIC commit Connor White and junior Rainer Kristensen with an aim of qualifying for the postseason.

“They can see that he puts in the work, that he cares about each of the kids,” Shea said. “He's interested in the future of our program, not just for him. He's all about what we're trying to do here.”

Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski@gazettenet.com. Follow him on Twitter @kylegrbwsk.]]>