Athletes to watch: We're diggin' Keckin

Chelsea BrandweinSports EditorTerms like ‘set’ and ‘bump pass’ were never foreign to sophomore Dane Keckin, who started playing beach volleyball at the age of seven. Growing up, Keckin was greatly influenced by his father and uncle, both of whom are former Samo volleyball players. Keckin’s sister, Emma Keckin, a player on the girl’s junior varsity team, has also had a large impact on his volleyball journey.As he committed more to the sport, Keckin advanced from beach volleyball to club volleyball. As a result, he landed a spot on Samo’s junior varsity team as a freshman.This year marked Keckin’s first on the recent CIF winning varsity team. Volleyball coach Liane Sato believes that Keckin is an extremely valuable player who contributed a lot to their CIF victory.“During our playoff run Dane was in the zone. His intensity and focus was unbelievable. He shut down the opponent’s big outside hitters and played disciplined defense,” Sato said.Sato added that Keckin was responsible for several “match ending blocks” in games against Culver City and Beverly Hills.“It was a team of mostly seniors so I had to step it up,” Keckin said.Next year Keckin will be serving as an opposite hitter. To prepare, he will be playing club and beach volleyball and will be attending the USA Volleyball High Performance Camp.As a skilled defense player and major contributor to the CIF win, Dane Keckin is a player worth watching next year.“[Dane] is someone who works really hard and strives to be the best player on the court,” sophomore and teammate Spencer Cramer said.“I have no doubt that Dane is going to be a key contributor next season,” Sato said.cbrandwein@thesamohi.com