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Cowell’s pro volleyball journey takes him to Germany

King Kekaulike grad to join Worsley brothers, Solbrig with Luneburg

By Robert Collias 6 min read

Colton Cowell will be reunited with three former University of Hawaii teammates on his next professional volleyball gig. It is something that he has kept under wraps for a few months.

"We had a previous discussion where I really couldn't disclose any sort of information other than I had confirmed to play this upcoming season with a team," Cowell, a King Kekaulike High School graduate and national champion with UH, said last week. "So, now, I can officially confirm that I have signed with SVG Luneburg,

a team in the Bundesliga, the first league of Germany for the 2022-2023 season.

"And excitingly enough for the fans and supporters out there, I will be playing with Joe Worsley, Gage Worsley, Dalton Solbrig, all former University of Hawaii players."

Jordan Ewert, a former Stanford standout and a club teammate of the Worsleys, will also be on the SVG Luneburg roster.

"We will have a significant presence in terms of Americans in this foreign league," Cowell said.

He is set to leave in August for Germany "and I will likely not return until February through early April, so it'll be a full seven-to-nine-month season depending on how the team performs."

He played a quick professional debut season in India from late January to early March, but this is definitely a step up into one of the top men's indoor pro leagues in the world.

"For me personally, I'm ecstatic," Cowell said. "To play with some of my best friends is a blessing, to play professionally is a blessing. I'm doing what I love with people that I love and care about and I have a deep, profound respect for.

"I know that I will experience significant growth and development as an athlete. I'm simply excited. I enjoyed my time in India and now getting an opportunity to compete for seven to nine months, I'm just excited to see what my potential growth and development looks like over the course of the next few seasons."

His contract is for one year, a decision he made after talking to former UH teammates.

"I would say the German league is a top-five league in the world, but it simply just leaves my opportunities open," Cowell said.

Cowell thinks back to his days at King Kekaulike and has to pinch himself sometimes.

"It's been a dream come true," he said. "I recognize that this opportunity does not come by chance. It came because I was willing to put the time and effort into bettering myself on a daily basis and I'm very grateful for the process and what this process has taught me.

"I am ready to approach this next opportunity with a new sense of purpose, being that this will now be what I am making a living off of. At the end of the day, it's a special story. I am very grateful for the fact that I had such a sort of a humble beginning, that I get to represent the community of Maui and that I get to help grow the sport within the islands. ... Ultimately I feel a profound sense of gratitude. ... I don't think I would change anything."

He had major surgery on his right shoulder on June 15, 2021 -- it is a date that immediately rolls off his tongue.

He gives full credit to his orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Burt E. Moritz IV -- "He changed my life," Cowell said.

Moritz performed a full rotator cuff repair of his supraspinatus, a full superior labrum repair, a biceps realignment, and a bone spur removal through a shoulder arthroscopy, a minimally invasive procedure rather than fully opening up the shoulder surgically.

"The shoulder feels excellent," Cowell said. "It is a blessing to live my life pain-free and for my own mental and physical well-being. To wake up every single morning without pain, with a clear mind, with a clear sense of direction of what I want to accomplish on a daily basis, it's something that I will never again take for granted. ... I've never felt stronger. I've never felt more confident in my ability to play the sport that I love."

Cowell is currently in his third season of coaching with Outrigger Canoe Club -- he is the head coach of the OCC 17-under boys who are currently competing at the AAU Boys Volleyball Championships in Orlando, Fla.

After that event ends Friday, Cowell and the OCC players will travel to Las Vegas for the USA Volleyball Nationals, where he, UH head coach Charlie Wade and UH assistant coach Kupono Fey, another former teammate of Cowell's, will coach a 16-17 hybrid OCC team.

"I think for me, I think it allows me to articulate, it's shown improvement in my ability to articulate what I see happening in the game," Cowell said. "Because when you're coaching, each individual interprets things differently and my goal is to ultimately have a collective response from the group that orients us in a position where we can win matches, we can grow and develop as a team, and we can grow and develop as young men.

"Because at the end of the day I want to be a coach who really, really expresses a desire that develops character in the young men that are representing the state of Hawaii on the court."

Cowell added that he has learned things from being a coach that will help him in his playing career. He has been working with his current 17s group for nearly two seasons -- many of them are from state champion Punahou.

"I feel that as a coach I've developed a significant amount of patience," Cowell said. "Although I will tell you one thing, it is far more stressful coaching than it is playing. When I'm coaching, I understand how I would do things, I understand what I think I want to be done, but ultimately each individual is different and with this group in particular -- the Outrigger 17s that I've been working with -- there's a significant amount of talent throughout our roster and it's now just sort of polishing the finer details of the game, refining those skills to where our level of execution can be at its highest."

* Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com.

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