“Yes! Absolutely!” Jonas VanderWoude exclaimed. “So many schools in Michigan are forming them, so why can’t we?”

So, why can’t we add a boys volleyball team to athletic team offerings here at FHC? There are many factors that play into it, such as having to find a coach, adding the expenses of the sport to the school’s budget, and most importantly Title IX.

Title IX is a law that requires the same amount of female sports to be offered as male offered sports. Therefore, if a boys volleyball team was to be created, another female sport would also have to be implemented into the school. To make this happen, here is the simple solution: split the combined field hockey team and associate it with our school instead of it being a club sport. That would add another girls sport to FHC and allow for the creation of our new boys sport. It would also benefit the field hockey players who are hoping to get backed by the MHSAA.

To undermine another issue, our FHC Athletic Boosters have already done so much to raise amazing amounts of money for our sports, so I’m sure the formation of a boys volleyball team wouldn’t be too much of an issue to fund. To make matters a little easier, the school already has plenty of equipment since we already have a girls volleyball team. Also, it can be assumed that the players would be fine with starting out with limited funding because they’d probably be happy enough to just have a team. “As long as we can have a team, I’d be happy,” junior Keaton Michalski states. “Being a well-funded team isn’t necessary to me. I just want to play.”

As far as finding a coach goes, our own Mrs. Lauren Heinz,  FHC mathematics teacher and former GVSU volleyball player, said she’d be very willing to coach the team; however it would have to wait a couple years so that she can continue to take care of her young children. So, while we don’t have a candidate right away, we have a great option for a coach in the near future.

It’s a perfect time to add this sport. Many high schools in our OK White Conference and region already have boys volleyball teams: Lowell, Grand Rapids Christian, East Grand Rapids, and Catholic Central. The amazing thing is that there are two schools within our own school district that are on this list as well: Forest Hills Eastern and Forest Hills Northern. The unfortunate fact is that all of the players for these schools are playing as a club team instead of an actual MHSAA program. At the moment, Title IX wouldn’t affect the school, but the hope is that sometime soon the newly emerging sport will be a part of the MHSAA.

I asked Mr. Goei, FHC Athletic Director, to see what information he could provide. “It’s a lengthy process to get a sport backed by the MHSAA, but there is an abundance of interest. There are students all around that would love to play the game which should influence the speed of creating the team. Michigan is one of the few states that is without a high school boys volleyball team, so hopefully it won’t take long.”

Many male students at FHC would be very excited to play for a volleyball team, so why not give the people what they want? It is a valid request that needs to be set and spiked if you will. Bring boys volleyball to the court here at FHC!