Jake Spitzack
Staff Writer
Men’s volleyball has been a mainstay at colleges and even the Olympics for decades but for whatever reason the sport hasn’t graced high school gyms until recent years. At Two Rivers High School boys volleyball is catching on and is now beginning its second season as a club sport. While still in its infancy, next year it will be sanctioned under the Minnesota High School Athletic Association (MNSHL).
When this year’s eager lineup of high schoolers learned their former coach wouldn’t be able to return this season, they called upon Jake Stamman, a senior on last year’s team, to take up the mantle. The recent alumnus will be co-head coach alongside his father Terry, as was requested by the school. Terry, a former school board member of eight years, has been an avid volleyball player since the ’70s and next year will seek the head coaching position.
“I’m currently taking the required training to be a MNSHL qualified coach,” he said. “If all goes well, I will apply to be the varsity coach next year…. I’m excited to work with students again, especially on an athletic level. I’ll be helping kids to learn how to play a game I love.” Terry coached youth sports when his kids were growing up and has also been a volunteer tutor in ISD 197.
Last year’s roster had nearly 30 participants with all grades represented. Although the team notched just one win, the players gained valuable experience.
“In the beginning, the boys didn’t know what they were doing, but I saw this progression throughout the season,” said Terry, who watched and cheered from the bleachers. “Beginning with game four they started having really competitive games against good teams, and they had some close games.”
All boys at the high school are encouraged to give volleyball a try during open gym times held the last week of March. Tryouts for the club team will be April 1-3. Twelve players will make varsity and the rest will play junior varsity.
This season, the team will play 15 games and try to qualify for the State tournament in June. Jake and Terry will be at each game, although Jake will be traveling from the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Business, so he’ll need to meet the bus at away games rather than ride with the team.
“I’m technically the official head coach, but I want Jake to be the game head coach because the players asked him to do it,” said Terry. “I’ll certainly offer my input and advice, but Jake is going to make the decisions at games…. Most away games [last year] had a lot of fans on our side of the court, and at home we had a ton, so it was really exciting.”
The club program was spearheaded by Jake and his friends Miles Dunn and Kahlil Liden. Each participated in a school volleyball tournament their junior year and enjoyed it so much that they immediately started talking about creating the boys team. Jake was quick to credit Miles and Kahlil for approaching the girls volleyball coach at Two Rivers to learn how to make it happen. All that was left after that was to garner student interest and do some fundraising. In addition to private donations, the club received a $5,000 grant from a Rochester area foundation to get off the ground.
“I enjoyed the volleyball season a lot more than any of my [12] soccer seasons,” said Jake, who was a varsity soccer player. “We didn’t really have high expectations coming into the [volleyball] season, so we knew we were just playing for fun, and I just generally think it’s a more fun sport…. One of the things I’m most excited about this year is honestly just hanging out with this year’s seniors. I didn’t talk to them as much last year, but now I text and talk with them consistently, so I’m excited to coach them and maybe play with them at some open gyms.”
Despite his father’s love for the sport, Jake didn’t get into volleyball until the summer going into his senior year of high school.
“If it had been available in ninth grade I definitely would have tried out,” he said. “I think the reason I didn’t start playing until really late is because I just didn’t have any opportunity…. There were some open gyms my sophomore year but there wasn’t a team that year and there weren’t that many guys at the open gyms because I think a lot of them thought volleyball was for girls.” He noted that the stigma has quickly faded based on conversations he has these days.
Terry played about a year of collegiate basketball at North Central Bible College in the ’80s and recalled his teammates ribbing him for playing volleyball recreationally. His response was simple: give it a try, it’s a wonderful sport.
“If you’re a good jumper, volleyball is a perfect for you,” he said. “So many sports like soccer require speed to be good whereas volleyball you don’t need to be fast you just need to be quick-reacting and agile. And once you learn how to play you can play into your 50s for sure. I still play with the kids, and I can still hold my own.”
The father-son duo are now busy recruiting players.
“Even if you don’t have experience, you can come play because it’s super fun,” said Jake. “It’s going to be hard at first but if you practice a lot you’ll learn.”
For more information, visit trwarriors.com/boysvolleyball.
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