Boys Volleyball

Senior Austin Pifer serving during a match. Photo used with permission of Natasha Tomlinson.

Bumped to the side

Boys volleyball underappreciated despite success

Ava Hunt huntava000@hsestudents.org

The boys volleyball team has experienced much success since its creation. is their funding de cit. Since the program doesn’t receive funding from the school, the money chemistry and has formed a friend group through playing together. “One of the reasons why boys’ e program has won two state championships since 2019. Despite the team’s success, the program isn’t listed on the school’s athletics page. is is partially due to the fact that boys’ volleyball is a club sport that is unsanctioned by the IHSAA. Members and coaches of the team believe that they deserve more recognition for their accomplishments. “We are lucky to have very good support from our high school for boys volleyball, but we don’t get the same recognition as other sports,” Head coach Carlos Capo said. “We’ve had two players win the Indiana High School Boys Volleyball Player of the Year awards, but they are not displayed on the Hall of Fame wall near the main gym.” Instead of having individual banners to recognize their state titles, the boys volleyballs’ championship titles are listed under a collective “club sports” banner in the main gym. Senior Bryant Cochran believes that the underappreciation of the teams’ success could change if more students attended and promoted their games. “We need more people to show up to our games,” Cochran said. “We need FHS Tiger Cage Instagram to advertise our games more and would be a huge way to support us. I think we need a bigger Instagram to post our games and make it as big of a deal as football.” Another downside to not being recognized as an IHSAA sport comes straight out of the players and their parents’ pockets. at is one of the reasons why junior Sean Powell would love to see boys’ volleyball become a sanctioned sport. “If the IHSAA makes volleyball a sport, we will get a lot more funding,” Powell said. “Each player has to pay a lot of money to play the game. We have to pay for new balls, new jerseys and food for the away games. It’s a lot of money to play and making us an o cial sport would help a lot.” Regardless of the lack of recognition that boys volleyball receives, the program continues to excel and expand. Coach Capo attempts to uphold their successful legacy by holding open gyms in the fall to sharpen the players’ skills before the season begins. He also believes the program is a great place for new players to join and see if volleyball is something they are interested in. “Boys volleyball gives athletes that may be cut from other sports the opportunity to compete for and represent their school in a team sport environment,” Capo said. “Volleyball is a very competitive sport, but we also like to have fun. We have new players that come out to open gyms and fall in love with volleyball very quickly.” e loving environment within the program is one of the reasons Cochran believes the program is so successful. He believes that their team has amazing volleyball has had so much success over the years is because of the attitude surrounding the sport,” Cochran said. “With boys’ volleyball, there is no negativity within the sport. ere is love from all angles and every teammate loves one another.” Considering the successfulness of the program, members and coaches feel an underlying pressure to uphold the legacy FHS boys’ volleyball has created. Powell expresses that there are big shoes to ll, especially coming into the program as a rst-year player. Even the surrounding schools take notice of the dominating record of the program. “ ere is pressure on us from other teams and just around the state since we are known as the volleyball powerhouse,” Cochran said. “But we don’t necessarily feel a ton of pressure because of how lighthearted and fun the program is. We make sure not to beat ourselves up over a loss and have a short-term memory.” Both Powell and Cochran agree that a bigger student section helps them feel more supported and more energized to play the game. ey both encourage as many students to come to the games as possible. e next big matchup for them is April 20 against Zionsville. “Boys’ volleyball is a lot more fun to watch than people think,” Powell said. “ e game is super fast paced. People jump crazy high and hit the ball super hard, and there is an electric feeling when you watch it.” Junior Will Schnefke holds the ball during a match. Photo used with permission of Natasha Tomlinson.