MHS’s first-ever boys volleyball team is debuting this spring, head coach of both the boys and girls volleyball teams, Marissa Canez said. Tryouts will begin in late January but Canez will be hosting open gym events on weekends in the months leading up to tryouts, she said.
The boys volleyball team will be entirely funded through donations, as the school will not provide funding for their first season, Canez said. Funding would become available after both a girls and boys sports team is approved to keep balance, which is planned to be girls flag football, Canez said. Since badminton is also a spring sport that requires the use of the gym, volleyball practices will be held off-campus, likely at Randall Elementary, she added.
“For the short term, I want to get the program off the ground with varsity and get some good funding,” Canez said. “I would really, really like to place within the top three this year for our league, and then in the next three to five years, I would love to be school-funded and have a JV program.”
A common theme between many of the prospective volleyball players and Canez, who is choosing to coach without pay, is that they are playing for passion and are willing to tackle inconveniences just so the boys volleyball team can exist and function, Canez said.
“I love this sport so much and want it so much for the boys here because I’ve heard so much interest for it,” Canez said. “I’m so looking forward to a boys team because we’ve been waiting so long, and I’m even more excited that I get to be the one to start it.”
Canez believes that some people expect the boys volleyball team to hit the ground running, and while she thinks that is definitely possible, she imagines there will be a few hiccups along the way, she said.
“I’m expecting to have to do our own fundraising, but I don’t think that’s a problem when we all want to play,” said junior Seth Ung, who is looking to try out for the volleyball team. “I’m expecting this season to go well because we have so many talented players.”
Canez also has experience coaching boys volleyball with a club team in Los Altos, Canez said.
“Boys are a lot more aggressive, and there’s less drama with boys and somewhat less listening, as opposed to girls, who tend to (have) a little more drama, but they listen a little bit more,” Canez said.”There is a happy balance, and I enjoy coaching both.”
Junior Brian Nguyen originally started playing because he wanted to play a sport with friends but quickly found it a way to de-stress, he said.
“I want to play volleyball more for fun; it’s something that keeps me active and a sport that is fun because of its fast pace,” Nguyen said.