By: Evan Roney

I believe RCHS should offer a boys volleyball club. A club is an association or organization that is dedicated to a particular interest or activity. If RCHS were to offer volleyball for boys, it would have to be a club, not a team. This is because teams play actual matches in a league against other teams, but in this instance there are no other schools who have a boys volleyball team in our area. The purpose of the club would be for boys at RCHS to have fun practicing and playing volleyball with each other, without having any actual matches.

In a normal school year, fall sports are the first sports season and include a few different sports for boys like football and cross country. Interestingly, I have found that many students who play sports in the other seasons do not have a sport that they would like to play in the fall. This would be a perfect opportunity for them to play volleyball and stay active. I have asked around ten of these students of different grades if there was an interest in  a boys volleyball club, and they have all said that they would join. The previous pep rally, which included a boys volleyball tournament, demonstrated the large number of boys who would like to play volleyball. There were six teams of eight, with a total of 48 boys.

Some difficulties with having a boys volleyball club would first be finding somewhere to play. If this club is active during the fall along with the girls volleyball team, it would make the school court unavailable. This would make finding a place to play volleyball very difficult, as there are very few courts in the area. Another struggle would be getting equipment, specifically getting volleyballs, as they are not cheap. The girls would have priority over school equipment, as they are an actual team playing for the school. Another issue would be finding a teacher or faculty member who is willing to sponsor the club, which is required of a school club. 

Even though these problems may arise, I strongly believe RCHS could and should have a boys volleyball club. There is a large interest among the student body for such a club, and some even have said they would take a leadership role to help create the club. It would be a great way for boys to play an unfamiliar sport in this area and possibly even spark interest in other schools to create a team of their own.