Behind the curtains of all the common spring sports at Wilsonville, a new addition to the series of notable teams has been in the making. Since just around the end of last year during winter break, open gyms were available to give students a preview of what this new sport would bring to Wilsonville, and what these students could bring to the court.
After all the work put into the making of this new sport at Wilsonville, tryouts were held. Once this team of 9 boys had been made official, practice began. Many of the players walked onto this team with little to no experience but an open mind to grow into the shoes of a successful team.
Although most of these athletes are new to the sport, some are more experienced in this game. The captains on the team play a fundamental role in helping guide and direct their teammates into the team they have the potential to be. With the first game Wilsonville’s boys’ volleyball team will face being on April 3rd they went into it with goals and aspirations to kick off the season. Brian Ramm, the coach for the team shares,
“I wanna see how our captains do as leaders on the court see if they can make sure people are in the right spot and keep the energy up even if were down by a lot.”
On April 3rd, Wilsonville’s boys volleyball team walked onto Parkrose’s court ready to take on their team with everything they’ve got.
The first opponent up against Wilsonville is anything but inexperienced, which is quite the opposite of our developing team. Coach Brian states, “Parkrose, [who] were playing tomorrow have had a team for 3 years now they are one of the more original teams.” He further explains, “The other team, Parkrose has like one of the best players in the state.”
Throughout the game, we see valent efforts by all players on the court no matter the numbers on the scoreboard. When put up against a hard opponent Wilsonville sticks its ground and keeps persevering. “Even though we got lost a few times with the rotations our captains helped keep us on track and show us where to go so we ended up doing pretty good with that,” comments the team’s libero Ben Woodward.
After a tough fight with sweat and lots of effort, the Wildcats lose this match. Even though it was a loss, there was also a win in teamwork, determination, and growth. Ben Woodward says,
“I thought it went pretty good, we all got at least a couple hits on the ball and kills which didn’t surprise me but considering the team we were up against it kind of did.”
For this team’s first game, it’s safe to say that the drive is there all that’s needed is time for growth. “We finished the match, and no one got hurt, no out of rotations in the first match we’ve ever played, so I was really happy with their ability to help each other,” shares Coach Brian.
Overall this match was fundamental in many ways but as Brian Ramm explains, “It was nice to see a team that’s been more experienced and it’s nice to see what our program is going to strive to be.” This first opponent may not have been easy but what this team takes away from the match is what’s most important and the new goals for this program to work towards becoming.