(Photo courtesy of El Vocero)

ORLANDO, Fla. (July 17, 2025) -- Since the age of 14, Jose Mulero has played volleyball at the professional level in Puerto Rico. As a libero, he played for the Puerto Rico national team for 7 years, as well as in the National Volleyball Association with the Ontario Matadors and Texas Tyrants. 

Mulero recalls his early roots playing volleyball professionally at a young age. “Becoming a volleyball player at such a young age gave me the opportunity to grow as an athlete and as a person, especially since at 14 I had to mature a little faster than others.”

But one day, his professional career came to abrupt stop and maturing wasn’t the only thing on his mind, survival was added to his concerns. On a regular day, Mulero was eating dinner, which ended up being contaminated. From it, he was infected with toxoplasmosis, which could cause flu-like symptoms and poor vision. From the infection, Mulero ended up with permanent vision loss and brain damage. Due to this, he had to make a tough decision to stop his career playing professional volleyball. 

During the rough chapter in his life, his support system stayed right by his side. His service dog, Apollo, saw the heartbreaking battles and silent victories. Alongside him, his lifelong best friend Fonsy uplifted Mulero to not let him fall down a dark path.

“I tried to play after the toxoplasmosis, and certainly, it was not the same quality as when I was a player and was well,” expressed Mulero.

He made the tough choice to retire from playing, but soon he would find a new passion and vision for his future- becoming a volleyball coach to teach the next wave of athletes. He currently leads the TOVC 12U Girls and the TOVC 16U Boys, one of the top teams in Puerto Rico. During AAU Volleyball Junior Nationals, he was able to lead his teams to several victories, all while doing what he loves best. 

“I think that helping the young people to find the way to have fun and to do things in their lives through the sport is a very important message,” said Mulero.

While on the sidelines, he manages to inspire the athletes he coaches through the moments he lived. With his support system, he managed to revive his volleyball career and passion for the sport.

Watch the full interview with Coach Mulero here (please turn on your Close-Captioning for English Translation)