SAN JOSE, Calif. ( KRON ) – Team USA volleyball star Taylor Averill, 32, hasn’t visited his San Jose high school for over 14 years. This week, he not only revisited his youth, but he did so as a bronze medalist after competing in his first-ever Olympic competition in Paris this summer.
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On Saturday, Averill met up with his former San Jose volleyball team, Bay-to-Bay, to celebrate his win with the city and the second “family” that raised him.
“This is the coolest part of winning an Olympic medal and having success– Getting to give back to the kids and the people who were there along the way… And I’m honored to be in a privileged position to be able to do that.”
Averill hadn’t been to Branham High School since his graduation ceremony in 2010. He told KRON4 that revisiting his old stomping grounds was “humbling,” to say the least.
“It’s always a trip; it really is… I mean, I played my first-ever beach volleyball game up here, I had my first-ever practice here… It’s a lot, emotionally especially, and the Olympics are already enough of an emotional time on their own!”