Yuasa Battery Grottazzolina continues to build its future without losing sight of its roots, entrusting second place in the libero department to Francesco Stella, born in the Marche region and a true Ascoli native, born in 2005. Another young man from the area joins the Grottazzolina first team in the spirit that has always characterized the M&G project: creating opportunities, nurturing talent, and giving space to those who grow up breathing volleyball, amidst family, sacrifice, growth, and that door that suddenly opens when you least expect it.
And in Francesco’s case, breathing volleyball isn’t just a figure of speech, because in the Stella household, the sport has never been a simple pastime. “Mom and dad both played volleyball; they met in the gym. My brothers and I followed their path.” A family history reminiscent of those great sporting dynasties where the ball seems almost naturally passed from one generation to the next. Francesco, however, is the youngest of the family, and as often happens with younger siblings, he grew up observing. “Claudio and Alessandro tried a different sport before volleyball, but I started playing minivolleyball right away, at age 4 or 5.” From there, the journey was typical of many young people who fall in love with the sport: youth teams in Ascoli, training, travel, growth. Until a transition that for many young athletes represents a turning point. “I played in the youth teams in Ascoli until I was 15, and then I moved to Civitanova, where I also faced the trauma of going from spiker to libero.” A word chosen not by chance, because changing roles means changing perspective, but that’s where the turning point came: “I think I’ve had my greatest growth to date at Lube.”
