Final hurrah for dynamic duo at RB High
Those poor high school and college kids just trying to have a good time on spring break in Cabo San Lucas never stood a chance once Jonah Kay and Brandon Rattray found the beach volleyball courts.
The two close friends and Rancho Bernardo High seniors could not resist getting between the lines, especially with a scorekeeper and announcer calling the two-on-two matches.
The competition had no idea they were going up against two Division I-bound volleyball stars. The outcome was Kay and Rattray dispatching one team after another for about a half hour.
“Wherever we travel we like to have fun like that,” said Kay, who earned a scholarship to UCLA. “We play at Mission Beach sometimes and just run the courts. We were just beating people on the beach in Cabo for a half hour. It was awesome.”
“It is pretty fun,” said Rattray, who earned a scholarship to University of Hawaii. “We will be out at the beach for hours sometimes beating people because winner stays on. It is pretty cool.”
Just five years ago it was more likely that Kay and Rattray’s future was beating people on a basketball court. The two, who met in the seventh grade at Bernardo Heights Middle School, did not touch a volleyball until freshman year of high school.
“We started playing basketball together,” said Rattray, a 6-foot-5, 175-pound outside hitter for the Broncos’ volleyball team. “We played freshman and JV the first couple years and then we stopped to focus on volleyball.”
And both of their careers took off.
Kay, a 6-foot-6, 190-pound middle blocker, was recruited to play for Coast Club Volleyball. He excelled there and eventually was invited to play for the USA Youth 1A team in Oklahoma in July of 2014. He helped USA earn a silver medal.
“It’s crazy and unbelievable how this all turned out,” Kay said. “I never imagined when I first started playing volleyball that I would have this opportunity to play in college. It is crazy.”
Rattray also caught on quickly. He played his first few years of club volleyball with Coast before switching to Seaside. He will be competing with Seaside in the 18U national championships over the summer. He was recruited by Hawaii over last summer at the Junior Olympics in Texas.
“The coaches pulled me aside and told me they wanted me in Hawaii,” Rattray said. “I had a couple of other coaches talking to me at the time, but I have always wanted to go to Hawaii. I went on a visit and the beaches and the water is so nice. I love surfing and am always down at the water so it was perfect for me.”
Kay and Rattray give each other credit for making their games better over the last four years. The two Rancho Bernardo team captains workout just about everyday with each other and their competitive nature keeps them striving to get better.
“It has been awesome growing up with Jonah,” Rattray said. “We played a lot of sports together: basketball, baseball, volleyball and even tennis. We are both competitive and always want to win so I think that pushes us to succeed.”
Their time together is winding down. Once the season ends the summer will whisk them away to their club teams and then their colleges. There will be no more hanging out after school, working out in the gym and playing pepper together on a daily basis.
“I am trying to cherish all the time we have to play together, because I know next year we will be kicking each other’s butts on the court,” Kay said. “Until then, though, I am just enjoying it.”
Said Rattray: “It is going to be hard. I am definitely going to miss a lot and I am going to cherish all the memories we have together. It has been special to play with such a good friend for all these years.”
The duo hopes to extend the Broncos’ season as long as possible. Rancho Bernardo is 10-13 and is hoping to make the Division I playoffs. Rattray thinks the Broncos can get there and make some noise.
“Our team is getting a lot better,” he said. “I think we could get there and take down some of those top teams.”
With Kay and Rattray leading the way one last time, anything is possible.