February 1, 2020 – By NJP

One of our favorite interviews thus far has been Anthony Lorenzo of Passaic. You get a great sense of who Anthony is in this session. From our point of you, Anthony is just a good kid. He is a passionate player and leader on the court. Off the court, he has the same passion for science, music and his future. He is currently attending the Passaic Academy for Science and Engineering, a specialized program with specific curriculum to better prepare you for studying engineering in college. He must maintain a 3.0 average to take advantage of this opportunity. Anthony has a 3.4.

NJP Coach of the Year in 2019 Omar Munoz can’t talk enough about this young man. “I am just blessed to have this kid” said Omar. “He is a true competitor on and off the court”. As Anthony enters his senior year, he has surpassed the 1,000 assist mark while playing two years at the varsity level. He was First Team All County as a junior. Munoz continued… “He just makes our hitters better, always allowing them to stay in rhythm.” All this from a player who does not participate on a club team due to conflicts with his band practices and events. Truly remarkable.

Passaic lost 8 seniors to graduation from the varsity squad and a ton of talent that propelled them to a top 20 ranking in 2019 with a 19-4 record in the Big North. But! With Anthony returning as the quarterback, he will need some new uprising teammates to rise up and fill the gap on the attack side. They have a 58% positive impact factor on returning stats and NJP still has them in the top 20 in preseason rankings. So stay tuned…

As a senior, Anthony’s leadership will be tested more than ever. From our brief interactions, we totally expect he will be up for the task. We think Anthony Lorenzo’s future is bright, whether on the court or not after this season. But Passaic should be proud to have such a fine representative in their community.

Here is our interview with Anthony…

Hi Anthony…Tell us a bit about yourself?

I currently attend Passaic Academy of Science and Engineering and live in Passaic. I’ll be graduating high school in the year 2020.

How long have you played volleyball?  

I’ve been playing volleyball since my freshman year of high school.

What are your metrics/details? Height, vertical, position, club team, etc…

I am 5’10, my vertical is 30 inches, and I am a setter.

Who is your support group?

I don’t really have a support group. Growing up in an Urban community, most people grow up in a one parent household. But if I had to choose, it would definitely be my teammates.

How will your high school team do in the upcoming season? Do you have a lot of returning players? What will be the key to success?

It’s really hard to tell how my high school team will do this upcoming season, especially that my team is a combination of returning players and new players that will be taking on new roles this season. The key to success for us will definitely be to hold each other accountable.

Tell us about your school?

My school is practically brand new, it was created in our district last year (2018-2019). It is very challenging for many students who go to my school, especially since it’s really heavy in mathematics and science, because after all it is a STEM based school, and a lot of AP classes are thrown at us, but we have the capacity to withstand it.

Tell us about your high school coach? Club Coach?

My volleyball coach is Omar Muñoz. He’s very passionate about the game, and literally eats, sleeps, and showers volleyball. He saw potential in me at the end of my freshman season and going into my Sophomore year, he chose me to start for the Varsity team.

What is your favorite inspirational video that you like to watch before the games?

Ha…I really don’t have inspirational videos that I watch before games, but I do watch Science videos sometimes on the bus if that counts.

Which player last season was the toughest competitor that you faced and why?

The toughest competitor I would have to say is for sure George Gonzalez from Paterson Eastside. We played his team in a total of 4 times and every time it was really hard to shut him down to the point where we had to switch some rotations around to win the game which luckily worked for us.

NJP considers you as one of the top players in the state. Do you plan on playing in College? (If so, which ones are you looking at?)

I would love to play volleyball in college. Playing volleyball at Stevens Institute of Technology would be great.

Which schools are your biggest rivals?

Wayne Valley

What are your other hobbies?

I’ve been in the Marching band for 5 years, I play Trumpet, I played soccer for a club team, I love to learn about Science, play video games, and of course my favorite hobby is volleyball.

What do you do during the offseason to stay in shape and prepare for next year? (Club team? Workouts? Watch VB vids? Go to College games?) Do you play other sports? (if so, which ones?)

I usually run around the field close to where I live to stay in shape and condition during the off season. I watch volleyball videos all the time.

What is your favorite part of the NJP website?

The in depth statistics that take every factor into consideration when displaying player stats. 

Who is your favorite college or pro volleyball player and why?

My favorite college player has to be Micah Ma’a, he’s the true clarity of what it means to be a well rounded player, and his setting is very smooth.

What else would you like us to know about you?

My favorite food is rice and beans, my favorite colors are blue and purple, and I love mint chocolate chip ice cream. I am Latino, specifically Mexican and Puerto Rican. I’ve been accepted to Penn State so far I am currently enrolled in an early college program at Bergen Community College.

Who is your favorite teammate and why?

My favorite teammate is Anthony Contreras (has the same first name as me). He has been my best friend since we were in third grade and he’s one of the people that convinced me to try volleyball.

Who is your favorite person in the world?

Melina Arly Ortiz 🙂

What is your favorite volleyball story?

This happened freshman year… the score was 24-22, I shanked the ball towards my teammates and he kicks it over to the other side of the net and get’s the game winning point which was pretty funny to all of us.

Is there a teacher or coach who really helped you along the way?

My volleyball coach Omar Muñoz. He has motivated me since the beginning and made me the player I am today. Without his wisdom, I know I wouldn’t have received the credibility I have within my county.