We've been waiting all school year for high school sports! The boys volleyball season began mid-February with open houses and then rolled right into tryouts and the season. Games run from mid-March to mid-May with spring break off (yeah!).
William switched from DS (Defensive Specialist) to Libero for the season, but I'd say it's a fairly similar role for him. He's the team's best serve receiver and scrappiest hustler at digging balls. And he's finding his voice - and the ball - for second touches when needed. He has also been a reliably strong server, so overall a great start to the season!
Six of the boys on the A-Team play or have played club volleyball (five at 630 Volleyball and one boy from William's prior team). So that group all plays together really well and has good court presence. The three that don't play club volleyball play football or basketball so are strong athletes at the net.
The team is off to an 8-0 start after three duals and one weekend tournament championship. The B-Team is off to a 3-0 start. Only 12 boys tried out this year, so they play a rotation of 9 at the A-Team games and then play a rotation of 3 + 6 at the B-Team games to make sure everyone gets a lot of playing time and support. Because William is the libero for A-Team and on the court most of that match, he is one of the three players who does not play any B-Team minutes. The six A-Team boys that supplement B-Team are mostly a result of the positions that are needed to fill out that rotation and get reps for certain positions. For example, the squad's arguably best player plays as the B-Team libero but is the A-Team setter and an outside hitter.
For my part, I'm really enjoying all the families! And the entire program seems very organized, which I love. For example, at the parents meeting there was a sign up sheet for everyone to pick one match to provide the boys dinner (or breakfast or lunch for Saturday tournaments). So the kids get drinks, fruit and sub sandwiches or nuggets delivered to them at school so they can eat together before they suit up or get on the bus for their 4:30 or 5 p.m. court time. It's great because we usually don't finish on the courts until 6:45 or 7 p.m. and they're ready for second dinner by then. It's already a production to send the kids to school with two backpacks; I'm glad we don't have to send them meals, too!
