Jasmine John
AMONG the CNMI athletes competing in indoor volleyball at the Pacific Mini Games in Palau is Jasmine John.
“This is my first time, actually [to compete in the mini games],” said the 20-year-old athlete, who has been into the sport since 2021.
She started playing at Saipan Southern High School and transitioned into a technical official of the Northern Mariana Islands Volleyball Association for the Public School System’s interscholastic competitions. She later became an assistant coach alongside Shawn Davis.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity this year to represent the CNMI,” John said.
It has been years since the CNMI last competed in indoor volleyball and John knows the competition in Palau will be very tough.
“I know there’s a lot of strong competition. There’s, of course, Palau and all the other [islands]. I think we’re really going to have to prepare ourselves and train 10 times harder, since [the start date is] very close and we only recently set up the team,” John said.
She added, “I think we’re going to have to put in a lot of extra work to meet the expectations of the competition.”
The mini games will be held from July 25 to Aug. 4, 2025.
John said the CNMI team trains every Monday, Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday.
“There’s a lot of conditioning to see which athletes can handle the pressure and physical extensiveness in the tryouts,” John said.
Overall, she believes that this is such a good opportunity for CNMI volleyball players because they have not had a chance to compete off-island for a long time.
“It’s been a while and I guess indoor volleyball doesn’t really have that much opportunity compared to the other sports, so I think it’s a great opportunity for the young ones and young adults to go out there, experience the mini games, and further improve for the next competition,” she said.
