As the San Diego City College men’s volleyball team begins its new season on the court, it also begins a new era off the court, as Head Coach Kevin Pratte got the team to partner with HUMANeX Ventures earlier this year.

HUMANeX Ventures is an organization with a mission to discover and develop talents of individuals. The organization was founded in 2010 and over the years has developed 11 “areas of excellence:” Professional Services, Agriculture, Hospitality, Financial Services, Retail, Ministry, Manufacturing, Non-Profit, Healthcare and Medical, Education and Sports.

In sports, the organization focuses on identifying the non-physical talents of athletes and the most natural talents that embodies coaches. They also help prepare the athletes for the “game of life” and leads them to realize their potential on and off the field of athletics.

“In the beginning of January our coaching staff brought in Human Ex to work with our guys to build team chemistry. Human Ex gave our guys personality tests and we use this data to get the most out of our guys,” Pratte said.

Pratte also expressed that he hopes this marks a new era of the men’s volleyball team because in the past seven years, the team has struggled and with partnering up with HUMANeX, Pratte believes the team is in the process in building something special at City College.

“Human Ex is a big part of our program. I have been very pleased with how well our guys get along and with 10 guys on the team they have all found opportunities to be leaders on our team,” Pratte added.

For the players, it has also played a big role and during winter break before the season began, the players were able to build strong team chemistry.

“Our coach Kevin Pratte does a lot of team bonding experiences and in the beginning I didn’t think they were dumb but I thought we could spend more time in the gym but now that I look at it, it’s actually a huge help because it has brought us a lot closer,” said freshman Lucas Timm.

Besides having a team goal to compete for the conference championship, they also have their mind set on beating their 3.25 team grade point average from the fall with a 3.33 this spring.

Aside from partnering up with HUMANeX, Pratte also has scheduled guest coaches for the season.

On Feb. 13, in the home opener against El Camino College, the team had two guest coaches: San Diego City College Dean of Military Operations Dean Michael Curtis and Karen Bucy, a government employee and graduate of San Diego City College.

“I really enjoyed being a guest coach for San Diego City College men’s volleyball team, they embodied the spirit of team work, hard work, sportsmanship and I was proud to be associated with such a great team of young men representing City College,” Curtis said.

With the guest coaches, the players receive advice not only on their performance from the game but also on how to carry themselves off the court and the importance of continuing their studies.