New Boys’ Volleyball Team Finds Success in First Season Ever
Senior Alec Hernandez jumps up, spiking the volleyball down with his palm towards the other side of the court while his fellow Exonians dive to stop it from hitting the ground. This is not a club sport or a friendly pick-up game, but the first practice of Exeter’s boys’ volleyball team.
After passing through various votes and financial issues, the team was finally approved to partake in their first season as an official team sponsored by the Academy. Exeter will compete in the New England League with four other schools in the area: Andover, Choate Rosemary Hall, Northfield Mount Hermon and Wilbraham and Monson.
“We were playing pickup on Sundays, and every single year there would be a couple kids who would say, ‘Why isn’t there a boys’ volleyball team?’’ physical education instructor Bruce Shang, coach of the boys’ volleyball, said.
Shang will be joined by fellow physical education instructor Susan Griffith to head the new team.
Due to the complex process of introducing a new sport, as well as the failure to allocate proper funds to make an interscholastic team, plans for a boys’ volleyball team had been delayed for many years.
“It was very difficult to start a new sport when we didn’t have the money for existing sports. So we had to wait,” Shang added. “But I think with time, the kids that are actually interested will play the sport that they’ve always wanted.”
Now that the team has been given the thumbs up, a group of different male students, ranging from beginners to those seasoned in the sport, are ready to represent the Academy in the sport they enjoy while also sporting stylish uniforms.
“Shang is planning on taking around 24 kids, a mix of people who have experience and people who have never played and are just looking to learn,” Hernandez said.
Lower Tim Wu expressed the importance of accepting so many Exonians into the program, even though only 12 will play on the varsity team.
“This will ensure that we can build a strong foundation for later years,” Wu said. “As a new team, it will be hard to play against existing teams with more experience, but it will be valuable to have newer players learn the game in preparation for success in the future.”
Regardless of the overall skill level of the team, most students are eager and excited to participate in the newly formed sports team.
“I have been waiting to play volleyball here since I came as a new lower. I used to play on a varsity team until I came here, so I'm ecstatic to get to play my favorite sport as an Exonian,” Hernandez said. “I will finally get to play a sport that I love on a varsity team, which we did not have before.”
The boys’ team also gives certain students, who have not been involved in sports otherwise, a chance to play a thrilling game while also being a part of a supportive, friendly group of players.
“I wanted to join because it seemed like something I would have fun doing and could develop into a passion of mine,” lower Cesar Zamudio said. “I have never been on a team before, so it will be a little scary.”
Shang pointed out one of the many beauties of volleyball as an interscholastic sport.
“There are six dudes on the court. Someone has to pass the ball to the setter, someone has to set the hitter the ball, and you’re hoping that the hitter puts the ball away,” Shang said. “In volleyball, you have to work as a team, and that’s what I love about it.”
Female volleyball players, like upper Brooke Detwiler, are also enthusiastic about the arrival of a new sport that had previously been offered only to girls.
“I am really excited that Exeter is introducing boys’ volleyball. I have played pretty much my whole life, and I think volleyball is probably one of the easiest sports to learn, and definitely the most fun,” Detwiler said.
Detwiler further encouraged more male students to participate in the sport. “A lot of guys have come out and played at the open gym on Sundays, and they are all doing a great job. Hopefully more guys will realize what a great sport it is and they will have a great first season,” she said.
Lower Zaidee Laughlin, one of the managers of the boys’ team, is also thrilled to witness the first year of boys’ volleyball at Exeter.
“I'm mainly just really excited to be involved in the program. I love the sport and I think men's volleyball is such an exciting game to watch, and I'm also excited to be present for a whole other season of Shang's coaching,” Laughlin said.
The arrival of the boys’ volleyball team at Exeter marks an important moment in the Academy’s history, as well as providing yet another avenue for students to enjoy and revel in their experience at Exeter.
“It is important to give men the opportunity to play,” Wu said. “As long as enough guys show interest, Exeter has a responsibility to offer it. Volleyball is played by both genders all across the world, only in America is it really a ‘girls’’ game, and even on the West Coast it is played by men too. It is just New England that is behind.”
Previously, the New England volleyball league had only been composed of four teams, and some other prep school coaches felt it was lacking. Andover’s boys’ varsity volleyball coach Clyfe Beckwith, who started the team in 1998, gladly welcomed a new team into the relatively sparse game schedule.
“Coaches in the boys’ volleyball league have been trying to encourage other schools to join to better the league and make it more competitive,” Beckwith said. “Local public high schools in Massachusetts and Connecticut have had much success, and some years the prep schools are competitive with these schools. I, as only one coach in the existing league, welcome Mr. Shang and the Exeter boys because it gives more students an opportunity to play at a high level, and enriches the experience of interscholastic competition.”
Choate Rosemary Hall’s boys’ varsity volleyball coach Thomas Yankus, whose team was formed in 1972, agreed, predicting that though Exeter is a new team, Exonians will quickly catch up. “It will take some time to get the word around, but within a season Exeter will be up to speed,” he said.