Volleyball is a staple of Rockbridge County High School. This most recent year, the Wildcats finished their season with a record of 19 wins and 6 losses with Cassidy Beagan recently taking the position of head volleyball coach. Our team has led our district and region in volleyball for a number of years, even making it to states in the fall of 2020. Our volleyball team is definitely something we should be proud of, but there’s one problem: It’s only for girls.

This past month I’ve become fascinated with the sport of volleyball and I soon found myself falling deep into the rabbit hole of volleyball’s history and rules. The sport, which many of us at RCHS probably associate with one gender, was actually created by William G. Morgan in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Morgan, a physical director at the YMCA, originally invented it for businessmen, but it soon found home nationally and internationally for both men and women. 

While I knew about the sport, I never could have imagined the widespread organization of professional volleyball. I explored the contents of Youtube for popular clips and was fascinated by the coordination and teamwork presented by both amateur and Olympic players. Volleyball is one of the diligent sports when it comes to timing and teamwork. There are thousands of combinations played, each using every player on the court. Certain sets can be used to trick the opponents while other plays use decoys to distract the defensive line. Volleyball also takes a considerable amount of endurance and power, as hitters must jump high enough to hit the ball over the net and be able to block an attacker. A typical match can last over an hour.

The current high school volleyball season in Virginia is the fall. Many male students at Rockbridge County High School would love to have an after school sport then but don’t want the commitment to football and feel there isn’t enough team bonding in cross country. Basketball players are especially similar to the volleyball skill set, with both using jumps and quick motion. When asked, thirteen out of fifteen boys would play fall boys volleyball at RCHS.

There are some issues that must be taken into consideration before establishing a club. First, boys volleyball is a very scarce sport in the area surrounding Rockbridge county. None of the schools which other sports play in their seasons, have a team to compete against. Second, court space is very limited in the fall as the girls teams practice each day. Finally, finding a coach would be difficult. Usually if the school is not able to have a teacher coach a sport, they would recruit someone from the area or a college student from the two Lexington hosts. Sadly, neither Washington and Lee nor Virginia Military Institute have a volleyball program for male students. 

I would love to have a boys volleyball team at RCHS, but I fear there are too many problems. However, I believe that with some dedication and maybe a little extra money, our school would be able to create a club team. Having a club and not an official team would rid us of the matchmaking problem and coach problem as we could have either students or parents direct the club without the true full time job to worry about. We could simulate our games as a club with our players due to the low number needed per team. 

I sincerely hope the athletic department takes our offer into consideration. I think it would be a great option for our boys and give us a point to differentiate ourselves from the other schools in our district and maybe attract new students.