Freshman at Mira Costa Dane Schafer is recruited to the U17 boys National Team. As of Oct 24, 2025 17 athletes from all around the United States were selected for this team, Schafer being one of them. These Athletes are then chosen to represent the U.S. at the NORCECA Boys U17 Continental Championships in Managua Nicaragua. The boys ultimately took home a bronze medal finishing the tournament with a 4-1 record winning against teams such as Cuba, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic. Their first game was played against Mexico, the U.S. won in 3 short matches. The second was played against Cuba with 3 matches won and one lost. The Dominican Republic lost against the U.S. in three matches, the U.S. lost to Cuba winning one match and losing three. Lastly the bronze medal match was played against Mexico, the U.S. won three matches and lost two ultimately taking home the win. Schafer was first invited to be on this team through a National Team Development Program.
“Everyone here is super fun to be around,” Schaefer said.” “We have all gotten to know each other really well with all the time we have spent together.”
According to Schaefer a typical training day in Colorado would include waking up around six in the morning then going straight to breakfast. After breakfast they would watch around 30 minutes of film followed by practice. After practice they got a lunch break followed by some free time for homework, then a second training session. After their second training session they would have dinner, then more time for homework and hanging out with friends before getting up the next day to do it all again. Once done with training in Colorado athletes are flown straight to Nicaragua. While in Nicaragua the U17 team plays one game a day. In order to prepare they get to the stadium a few hours early to watch film and talk about the game. Schafer explains his love for volleyball came from his dad who is also his biggest hero.
“My biggest inspiration is definitely my dad. He works harder than anyone I know and he really inspired me to work hard from a very young age.”
As Schafer has played on many different teams including clubs he shares the contrast between the two.
“Being on the USA team is definitely different from any other team. When you are playing club you are playing for your teammates and your club. If you lose or you don’t play well then it looks bad on your team and not much else. Playing for the USA team definitely adds more pressure. You are representing your country and you feel like there is a much bigger weight on your shoulders because you want to represent something much bigger than yourself and you want to make your country look good.”
Lastly he shares advice for other volleyball players.
“If I could give another volleyball player any advice it would be to try to get good at everything, not just the thing that you do most at your position. For example if you are a setter like me don’t just focus on setting, try to get good at hitting and playing defense too.
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