As the popularity of men’s volleyball rises throughout the Chino Valley Unified School District, the Bulldogs have tried to dip their toe into the water in hopes of forming their own team. On Wednesday, March 15th, Athletic Director Warren Reed held a meeting during lunch to see if the boys at Ayala would find a men’s program interesting, and if they should pursue their hopes by further reaching out to the district for approval and aid. 

“Prior to me becoming the athletic director, they had an interest meeting and only seven or ten people showed up,” said Reed. “It was not well attended and the student body didn’t show that there was an interest in adding the sport. Over the last three or four years, more and more schools in our area have started the sport so that is the motive behind having this meeting to gauge the interest in moving forward.” 

When lunch rolled around, the room was packed to the brim with boys who were willing to learn more about the possibility of starting this sport. Before the meeting even began, there was only standing room available with about a total of 85 interested student-athletes coming to attend the meeting.  

“After spending a lot of time playing the sport and growing up having a lot of family involved in [volleyball], I’m kind of excited that it’s coming to our school finally so we’re able to play my senior year,” junior Kellan Wong said. 

If the district sees a genuine interest in starting a program at school, it would quickly be started off on the right foot. This gym would be opened for practice and competition during the spring season after the use of volleyball in the fall and basketball in the winter. Students that do decide to pursue the sport would also have the opportunity to become multi-sport athletes if they are interested in playing additional sports that fall within the spring season. 

“I see us starting out with just one level, just a varsity level team. Knowing our kids and student-athletes here, I can see that growing within a year or two to maybe two levels,” said Reed. “If we can add more and we have the support of the district meaning we have stipends and we can pay coaches, then we would want it to grow.” 

With such a great turnout at the meeting, boys across campus are clearly excited for the new opportunity to play a completely different sport that many have never been exposed to before. 

“It is a super fun sport and looks very interesting,” junior Julian Juarez said. “It’s high intensity and I feel like it would just hone my athletic skills even more than they already are.” 

The official start of the sport is still up in the air as the follow through of starting men’s volleyball now lies in the hands of the district, and what they can do for the athletic program at Ayala. Both students and faculty seem ready to take the leap into that direction, and with that comes the possibility of creating an even stronger athletic department that values hard-work and dedication. 

“When you’re starting a sport it’s never whether you win or lose, it’s about development,” said Reed. “And even when you’re winning league titles and hopefully competing at the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) championships, the ultimate goal is still to develop and make great people out of our student athletes.”