From Venus and Serena Williams to Steph and Seth Curry, sibling duos in sports are famously recognized. At Portola High, boys’ volleyball had one sibling duo dominating opponents on the courts: junior Jayce Fukuda and alumni Jett Fukuda.
Jayce Fukuda said he owes it to his older brother Jett Fukuda, a 2023 graduate, for inspiring him to start volleyball and to eventually prioritize the sport after also playing basketball during his freshman year.
“It’s really cool to always have that person to look up to, which for me was Jett, because he did everything, basically, before I did it,”Jayce Fukuda said. “He played club, and then I also wanted to play club. He played at the school; I also wanted to play at the school. So I’ve followed in his footsteps in a lot of ways.”
The brothers’ two-year age gap meant that they had the rare opportunity to play alongside each other on the varsity team last year, which was a memorable experience for Fukuda since his parents and grandparents would come out to watch numerous games.
“We always warmed up together, and when there was partner stuff, we always tried to do it together,” Jayce Fukuda said. “Me and my brother have always been super close, so I just felt really lucky to be able to play with him.”
Jayce Fukuda and his brother were similar in the sense of their self-awareness — recognizing what they need to work on and knowing what is important about being on a team — according to boys’ volleyball head coach Eric Graham.
“If someone asked me, ‘Hey, how do you know the volleyball program has been successful?’ you can always point to results, but really it’s the fact that we do have these siblings who are wanting to come back,” Graham said. “It says something about the families when you’re encouraging your kid to come out and knowing this sibling had a good experience and now wanting the younger one to continue it.”
Training with multiple clubs in the past, such as the Pacific Coast Hitters, OCVC and T-Street, Jayce Fukuda has grown over his high school career to be an extremely versatile player, according to Graham. Graham has helped Jayce Fukuda develop strong foundational skills that allow him to fill a variety of positions, such as hitter and setter, on the court but wants him to transition into focus on more specialized skills.
“I definitely do think sports can bring siblings together for sure,” Graham said. “But for me, it’s more special to see that this is a family affair. We do this together, we win together, we lose together, we celebrate together. And so that’s just been special for me, and I’m sure it’s equally special for the kids as well.”
