The growing popularity of volleyball among Williston’s student body has sparked a demand for a boys team.
Despite a diverse sports program, the absence of boys volleyball team at Williston raises questions as to why this sport is not available even though we have a girls team, an influx of male volleyball players, and a pool of various other schools in our NEPSAC league, such as Choate, Exeter, Andover, and NMH, who provide volleyball as a men’s sport as well.
According to the Williston website, the school started its girls volleyball team in 2003; however, they have never formed a boys team. Regardless, male student interested in volleyball has grown; many of these students often attend the girls captain’s practices every Tuesday night to continue their training, along with participating in nearby club teams.
Playing for these club teams presents its own challenge, as club tuition gradually rises in cost, and transportation as a boarder is both costly and difficult to arrange. Another factor in the absence of a boys team at our school is the lack of a NEPSAC tournament, despite the small pool of other prep schools that carry this sport.
Williston continues to provide lacrosse as both a male and female sport even though there is no NEPSAC championship tournament for either.
Nic Limone, a post-graduate volleyball player, is bummed Williston doesn’t carry a boys volleyball program.
“I think it’s unfortunate that Williston doesn’t have this program, as volleyball was a prominent part of my old school’s athletics, so to not be able to represent Williston through volleyball is a little disheartening,” he said. “The sport has grown so much over the last few years, and I think that having it in the future would be a great opportunity to pack the gym for another season of sports.”
Nic participates in club volleyball to compensate for his lack of practice at Willliston.
“Since we don’t have a team, I traveled back home to my club team and played for them. The season goes from early fall to early spring, and we traveled to various parts of the country, including Boston, Florida, California, and parts of the Midwest,” he said. “Usually it translates directly into the spring volleyball season for high school, but since it’s not a sport here, I’ve been playing golf instead. ”
Joel Kim, a junior at Syosset High School in Syosset, N.Y., plays volleyball for his school’s varsity team, and is happy to be able to represent them on the court.
“The boys volleyball team brings a lot to our school. Just like any other sports team that Syosset provides, it represents our school and just adds to our school pride,” he said. “I think the interest is growing amongst the kids in our age group across the U.S. currently, and if there is enough interest at Williston, there is no reason not to create a boys volleyball team.”
Tyla Taylor, Girls Volleyball Coach, has seen the growing interest in boys volleyball, and understands the possibilities and constraints that would come with the implementation of this team.
“I know there is interest among boys to play volleyball here at Williston, however, I don’t think the numbers would be as large as the girls and I don’t think there would be enough for three programs like we have for the girls (varsity, JV, and thirds),” she said. “Another big issue that we are running into is interest from our peer schools.”
Mark Conroy, Williston’s Athletic Director, addressed the lack of a NEPSAC tournament as a key factor stopping Williston from implementing a boys team.
“Boys volleyball is actually not a NEPSAC sport. There are over 160 schools in NEPSAC and only 3 or 4 offer boys volleyball,” he said. “When we added girls volleyball in 2003, it was a NEPSAC sport that most prep schools offered so it was easy to schedule and build a program.”