Pueblo South High School co-op volleyball player Jack Beltran has been playing volleyball for some time now and is currently enjoying the best season of his athletics career.
But Beltran is more than just a center on the court for the Colts — he’s become a jack of all trades.
Beltran, one of 10 kids in his family, has been competitive his entire life. From fighting for his spot at the dinner table to trying to get noticed in his big family, Beltran has always been one to rise above obstacles.
“I’m the only one that plays volleyball,” Beltran said. “So, I got to stand out in something.”
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Beltran does stand out on the court. The 5-foot-9 center is a team captain and one of its leaders.
He started playing volleyball at a young age and was playing casually in the gym one day when a coach saw him and told him to “give (volleyball) a shot” because he might be missing out on something in which he had potential.
Beltran listened. It was a good thing he did.
He has since developed into a solid player for the Colts and in recent years, has made volleyball his main focus.
But getting there hasn’t been easy.
A couple of years ago, as Beltran began to fully immerse himself in the sport, the pandemic hit, putting him in a difficult situation where he had to learn on his own while COVID-19 put many school sports and activities on hold.
“It gave me a chance to kind of start doing things on my own,” Beltran said. “I got my own net. I started playing at a park.”
Word of those park games soon got around town, Beltran said, and eventually, some local club players began to participate. Before long, some club team coaches heard about Beltran and went to pay him a visit.
“One of the people from the park, they asked me to go up to a tournament,” Beltran said. “So I got recruited from the club coaches up in (Colorado Springs) and so I started playing club volleyball with them.”
During his first year playing club volleyball, Beltran was a practice player. The next year he made the team as a libero.
He’s since played on the South co-op team during the school year as well as his club team in the offseason.
“I enjoy the sport a lot. It’s probably something I found I have the most confidence in,” Beltran said. “And being able to play with my teams, both teams keep me going.”
Playing for the co-op team is slightly different from his club team, Beltran said.
Beltran attends Pueblo Central High School along with a few others on his team, as boys from all Pueblo area schools play together for South.
He said the players from different schools and backgrounds coming together to compete is the biggest similarity between his club team and South. The game pace is the biggest difference.
“With my club team it’s a little bit more (fast-paced) because it’s a national team,” Beltran said. “That means I play people from all over the state, against people that have grown up playing.”
“Then coming here, this is kind of a new thing. It’s the second year of this volleyball co-op so it’s kind of new here, so everybody is a little bit fresh to it.”
The slower pace of play works in Beltran’s favor. It helps put him in a position to dominate on the offensive side of the ball.
Beltran used to compete in other sports — he played soccer and ran track at Central — but volleyball has become his biggest passion, at least as far as sports are concerned.
Off the court, he wants to save lives. He’s currently planning to pursue a career as a firefighter.
“I think I could get recruited (for volleyball), but I’m just not too sure where yet. But my plans right now are … leaning towards being a firefighter,” Beltran said.
Beltran plans to enroll in Pueblo Community College’s two-year firefighting program. Until then, he is enjoying his time on the court and said if he does receive an offer to play in college it’s likely he will take advantage of it.
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Christopher Abdelmalek is a sports reporter for the Pueblo Chieftain and can be reached at cabdelmalek@gannett.com or on Twitter @chowebacca