For several years, the possibility of creating a men’s volleyball team has been discussed within both students and administrators in the school. Finally, the school has decided to kick off the new semester with tryouts for the long-awaited team.

Earlier this week, the school had their first interest meeting in Room 107 to discuss information regarding the team and tryout process. By the end of the meeting, about 46 boys had signed up for the tryouts with more 

Directed by Head Coach Brandy Townsell, it will consist of a varsity team with the possibility of a junior varsity (JV) team and about 12-15 students in each level. Additionally, the sport will not be an athletic P.E. class and practices may take place after school. Outside teams that the boys will play against are going to be selected by the athletic department in order for students to play against those with similar skill sets while also challenging their capabilities.

“Our primary goal is to build a program of players that have integrity on and off the court,” said Townsell. “This is a new program starting from scratch, [and] we will be focusing on the fundamentals of Volleyball. As our program progresses, we will grow our arsenal of skills.”

Prior to establishing the team this year, the athletic department had faced many challenges that hampered the development of the men’s team. Amid the multiple obstacles including years of obtaining district approval and locating the best-fit coaches, the greatest hindrance for the school was simply interest.

“Adding a new sport to any high school campus is not just, ‘Hey we want to have it’, and just start it,” said Athletics Director Warren Reed. “It’s been taking a little bit of time to get all of that together. The biggest hurdle is gauging the interest of the student body; if there’s no interest, we’re not going to have a sport. The last time that this was done was before I was the athletic director, and there just wasn’t enough interest to do it at the time.”

Fortunately, many students who have recently been sparked with the interest of the men’s volleyball team have circulated the idea within the school and attracted more than twice the original number of boys over the years.

“I like how everyone’s all active and they have to work together as a team,” said freshman Omar Hamzah, a student interested in joining the school’s volleyball team. “If I make it into the team, I’m excited to play with new people.” 

However, Bulldogs who are planning to try out and have not supplied the school with their athletic clearance must complete an online version of the process in order to attend this weekend. Instructions can be found on the school’s website under Athletics/Activities, where the Sports section will lead to the clearance process titled Athletic Clearance Info. After following the online instructions, the physicals and confirmation messages can be turned into the athletic trainer’s office, which can be located at the side of the gym facing the science building.

Tryouts will be held twice this month, one this Saturday and another on the 27th from 2:00-4:00 p.m in the school gym. For students currently participating in winter sports and are unable to attend the tryouts, the coaches will be holding another tryout after the dates above. If you have any other questions, you can contact Coach Townsell  or Coach Reed for any concerns. Otherwise, make sure to head to the school gym on tryout days if you are interested in trying out!