Boys volleyball is one of the fastest growing sports in the country, and BrHS is trying to set up a team.

Why is Broomfield High School trying to set up a boys volleyball team?

A couple of years ago, there was a boys volleyball club at BrHS in preparation for a CHSAA (Colorado High School Activities Association, which sponsors official high-school sports across the state) team. There was a club team for two years. However, Covid hit during the second year and the season was canceled early, so last spring was the first official test season. Boulder Valley has not approved or denied a boys volleyball team at BrHS yet, so that’s why BrHS is in the middle of processing what they started a couple of years ago.

How long will boys volleyball go for and will there be matches with other schools?

Most of it would depend on the outcome. If BrHS gets approved to go through CHSAA, then it would be a spring season and start February or March and go through May (making it a three-month season). They would play something like 23 matches in a season all over the state. Then, they would have regionals and a state tournament. It would be like girls volleyball, where we would have a league and be going against different teams at other schools. If they don’t become sponsored by CHSAA, then we would start a club in the meantime.

Who can play volleyball?

Everyone will be welcome to try out if it’s an official CHSAA team, but if BrHS is selected as the district team (where there would only be one team at one school, and people from other schools around the district try out at that school—like our girls gymnastics team), then we would have more people try out than spots on the team. Right now, there are 41 people who are interested in boys volleyball. If we carry two teams then we would have 24 athletes (meaning 17 boys just here at BrHS would be cut).

Dr. Edbrooke, a teacher at BrHS who sponsors boys volleyball, has spoken to Mr. Shelton, the school’s athletic director, about a potential team: “So, Mr. Shelton and I are exploring potentially having a third-level team that could compete against Boulder Valley club teams that wouldn’t be CHSAA. It would depend on what the district approves. If they don’t approve it, they would have a club team and whoever wants to play can come and play,” Dr. Edbrooke said. This means that 36 boys would have the opportunity to play (if there were three teams) rather than only 24.

When and where would practices be, and what other positions would there be besides those on the court?

Practices would be afternoon or evenings, everyday in the Wilkerson Gym depending on how many teams are created. Typically, matches are going to be on Tuesday and Thursday with a couple of Saturday tournaments. The team always needs more managers to help with setup and organize equipment, plan team functions, sort paperwork, and host tournaments. Additional needs include scorekeepers and scoreboard workers; so there are a lot of other positions for people who might not play on the court. Then there are the people playing on the court: different types of hitters, the center, and the defensive players.

Thoughts from a former boys volleyball player

Former volleyball player and wing spiker, Inuyasha Her, 12, said, “I think it’s really cool that it’s coming back because I really wanted to play two years ago, but it never happened. So, I’m really eager to play boys volleyball again when it starts back up.”

Thoughts from a future boys volleyball player

Future volleyball manager Baylan Wysuph, 10, said, “I think it’s a great opportunity for the school and boys who want to play because there hasn’t been any boys volleyball for a while because of Covid. So, it’s going to be a great opportunity overall.”