Three Redondo Union volleyball players are headed

Call them the Geek Squad, the Surfer Dudes or the Genius Squad from Redondo Union High.

In an unprecedented achievement, three starters for the Sea Hawks’ 13-2 volleyball staff — Tommy Spalding, Vaughan Flaherty and Carter Mirabal — are headed to MIT this fall.

Their ultimate task in Advanced Placement Physics 2 needs to be determining the astronomical odds of how three best buddies from the same volleyball staff might be admitted to one of the most prestigious universities in the world.

“There’s no way,” was the response of Mirabal’s father when he heard the news.

“It’s crazy,” coach Kevin Norman said.

Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak based Apple hanging out in a storage. Who is aware of what innovations, concepts or technological feats shall be imagined in gyms or on surfboards as these three Southern California youngsters unleash their mind energy and love for having enjoyable on the East Coast.

“Probably twice a week, I’ll call him, ‘Yo, I have this idea,’” Spalding said of his conversations with Mirabal. “Ninety-nine percent of the time, we usually don’t do anything about it. But it’s throwing ideas out there and hopefully one is going to stick.”

One Spalding thought: “When I used to be driving home from Joshua Tree, I used to be caught in site visitors. I used to be like, ‘Dude, what if we made a Google Maps type of app that utilized AI and had a camera in your car that analyzed the road, tells you what lane to be in to go the fastest and also be able to look at the traffic lights and tell you if this left arrow is red, then go straight, turn left at the next street.”

Elon Musk, beware.

They’ve fashioned a band, “Ratiohead,” a parody of the English rock band Radiohead, with lyrics from math. They’re getting ready for the battle of the bands. Spalding is the vocalist, Maribal is on keyboard and Flaherty, the 6-foot-5 redhead, performs guitar.

“We’re looking for a drummer,” Spalding said.

Spalding has a 4.65 GPA and 1490 SAT rating. Flaherty is at 4.4 and 1560. Mirabal is at 4.4 and 1510. Spalding said his hardest class was AP European historical past. Mirabal selected honors chemistry. Each acquired one B in 4 years of high faculty. Flaherty has acquired a number of Bs and said, “I think it goes to show you that you don’t have to be perfect to get into these schools if you have the potential and you’re willing to work hard and be a good fit.”

Flaherty is so witty he may give you the chance to do a comedy routine, with Spalding serving as his wing man.

“Someone might have messed up, but I’m not going to tell them,” Flaherty said of the threesome incomes a spot in the MIT class of 2030.

“Maybe it was chemistry,” Spalding quipped.

If they’ll make a film, “The Social Network,” about the invention of Facebook. and a TV collection, “Big Bang Theory,” about good geeks, just wait until somebody figures out the leisure worth following around this threesome.

Spalding has all the attributes of a future entrepreneur and loves tinkering with vehicles. He despatched a two-minute video to MIT as half of his software course of that confirmed himself and his father, Michael, turning a 2002 yellow faculty bus into an RV.

Mirabal has his own YouTube channel, “Carter’s Stuff Review.” He desires to be a mechanical engineer and explore the business facet. Flaherty can be joyful sending rockets and satellites into space while residing close to the seashore.

All three hang around at the seashore, either taking part in volleyball or browsing. Spalding introduced his grandfather’s ping-pong desk to the volleyball room at faculty for more enjoyable. Cornhole is another sport they play.

None set out at the start of high faculty in search of a path that leads to MIT, which accepts only about 5 college students for every 100 candidates. “We weren’t taking the classes because we want to go to MIT,” Spalding said. “We just enjoy the subjects.”

There are good genes in their households. Spalding’s mother and father are both educators, one an AP physics instructor at Peninsula High, the other a center faculty vice principal. Mirabal’s father is an accountant. Flaherty’s father owns two Handel’s ice cream shops (everybody desires to hang around with Flaherty on a scorching day).

Each has a story to inform about how they realized of being accepted to MIT.

Mirabal was taking part in volleyball in his yard on Dec. 15 with teammates. He was going to wait until his buddies left to test the e-mail for worry of rejection. Instead, with them huddled around, he opened the e-mail and everybody began screaming, “Yo!”

Spalding was with Mirabal and headed home to share the second with his mother and father when he acquired a textual content from the MIT volleyball coach strolling out the door congratulating him. “Welcome to the MIT family,” it read.

Flaherty had to wait until March 14 — Pi Day — to see if he was going to make it three for three.

He was driving home from Joshua Tree national park with his girlfriend and Tommy’s girlfriend in the car. The site visitors was so unhealthy it got here to a standstill so he checked his cellphone.

“I opened it up. I saw the confetti but didn’t realize what it meant until I got a couple lines down,” he said. “The first reaction was disbelief because I thought there was no chance after these two got in.”

In fact, Flaherty said the individual doing the MIT interview admitted later, “I’m not going to lie. I thought that was the killer for your application.”

They’ll be taking part in NCAA Division III volleyball. Mirabal and Spalding shall be roommates. “Vaughan will room with someone else because he said he’d be too comfortable with us and be a bad roommate,” Spalding said.

So are they actually OK leaving Southern California?

“I wouldn’t say OK with it,” Spalding said.

“It is a sacrifice,” Mirabal said.

Just know the seashore will always draw them back to sunny Southern California as the three sat in the Redondo Union volleyball locker room sporting shorts, sandals and their MIT shirts.

“As much as we study, I feel at the end of the day we want to have fun,” Spalding said.

They’re not anticipating to re-create “Animal House” at MIT, but let’s see what occurs when three surfer dudes from the same high faculty in California show up with open minds and heaps of concepts to explore.