Local volleyball All-American, Niko Hales, heads to BYU

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Local volleyball All-American, Niko Hales, heads to BYU
Niko Hales is signed to play on the men’s volleyball team at Brigham Young University. (Courtesy photo)
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By Audrey Keefe | akeefe@alextimes.com

As the early AAU Nationals game came to a close in June, Alexandria native Nikolai “Niko” Hales knew his team needed motivation in order to shift its mindset to take the win. He came into the huddle with energy and volume, and gave his teammates from the St. James Volleyball Club the pep talk everyone needed.

The talk, Hales’ teammate Ethan Li said, was something that Hales was a natural at.

“He [said], ‘Guys listen to the other team. They’re more tired than us,’” Li said. “‘You can see it in the way that they look and the way they play. We have the game. It’s all ours. We can win this.’”

The 6-foot-7-inch 19-year-old helped shift the team mindset when it mattered the most, helping them secure a top 10 finish at the U18 AAU Nationals in Orlando, Florida.

“Emotionally, he’s huge on the court and a lot of people on the team look up to him as definitely a leader,” Li said.

For Hales, leadership, both on and off the court, was vital for maintaining a positive team environment. Hales tried to keep his cool and pick up his teammates during the games throughout the season, he said.

“I feel like the most important thing – and it was also one of the hardest things – was just staying level-headed on the court,” Hales said. “I felt like my role was really to just be the person who was steady, whether I was playing well [or] whether I was playing poorly.”

When Hales tore his ACL during his freshman year, he knew he needed to find a sport other than basketball. The now-Alexandria City High School graduate set his sights on volleyball, a lower-impact sport that could utilize Hales’ height and athleticism.

Volleyball then became more than a game: it became a passion.

“I was sort of looking for something, a craft, that I could just pour effort into, and just give it my best,” Hales said. “Volleyball, for me, was sort of an outlet. I feel like it was really just a gift from God that he gave to me to sort of help me pursue something that I’m passionate about. … It really sort of helped me turn around that bad mental health [state] that I was in.”

Hales is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – also known as the Mormon church – which is fundamental to BYU as an institution. Hales said he was excited to continue his volleyball career with BYU – a three-time NCAA championship winner in the sport – and further his relationship with his religion as well.

“I love volleyball, but my identity, first of all, is as a disciple of Jesus Christ. So that sort of takes a lot of the pressure off honestly, just knowing that I just give it my best and my life is sort of in God’s hands,” Hales said. “The best thing that I can do in this life is just kind of to be an instrument in his hands.”

Niko Hales with his family when he officially signed to play with
Brigham Young University. (Courtesy Photo)

Steve Hales, Niko’s father, also attended BYU and is excited to see his son play on a larger stage in the volleyball community.

“Having studied there and kind of going through those experiences of me watching the men’s volleyball team play [then], and now my son is going to be playing on that team now, 30 years later, it is great,” Steve Hales said. “It’s very cool, as a parent, to have those memories.”

Hales began playing at Monument Volleyball, a club in Newington, Virginia., in the fall of 2021 to learn the game and gain his footing with the sport. At the same time, Hales began playing with his high school club team at ACHS – which was unsanctioned, or not funded by the school, at the time.

A year later, he began his two-year stint with the St. James Volleyball Club, a competitive club for boys and girls in Springfield. Hales said he gained a deeper knowledge of the game and honed in his techniques due to his focus and experienced coaches, including Nick Collins.

Collins said Hales applied his leadership right away and created relationships with his teammates. The middle blocker became a team captain for the St. James 18U Blue club this past year and led the team in kills, hitting percentage and blocks in tournaments in Los Angeles, Chicago, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh and Richmond, among others.

“The progression at which he went and the rate at which he got better was one of the most rapid developments I’ve ever seen,” Collins said.

According to the coach, Hales’ disciplined playing style has contributed to his successes.

“I don’t think there’s a better middle in the country than Niko, personally,” Collins said. “I got to see him as the volleyball player last year, and then this year, getting to experience that as he came into full form.”

Hales was previously an honorable mention All-American player after the 2023 season by vballrecruiter.com and was heavily recruited by Stanford University, Pennsylvania State University, Pepperdine University and Princeton University. Hales has also been invited to four U.S. National Team age group camps and hopes to someday play at the international level.

This past spring, Hales was named an All-American by the Junior Volleyball Association, a national organization for junior volleyball players and clubs. Hales was one of 22 high school seniors selected from across the U.S. for this award and was consequently placed on the All-National team.

Even though Hales only began playing volleyball in high school, he has become a successful player on all fronts. His motivation to learn and be kind to others was noticed by the entire community on both his high school and club teams.

“The best part about Niko was just the person he was,” Collins said. “He was always just excited to learn, excited to be around his teammates.”

As he looked to the future, Hales reflected on the journey of ups and downs he had experienced since beginning his volleyball career. He said he is excited to experience a new world of competition in Utah and further his expertise to new heights.

“It’s sad on one hand because I’m going to miss my teammates, my coaches, and my family. But I would say the sadness is canceled out by just how excited I am for the next chapter, with just new coaches, really good new players, making new friends,” Hales said. “So I’m just so excited that it cancels out any sadness that I would feel.”

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