Quickly spreading throughout Minnesota, boys’ volleyball has gained much popularity in the state. BSM has attempted to create a team for the past two years and is planning to have a team this spring.

Theology teacher Michael Becker has been coaching volleyball for many years at BSM and has taken the initiative to set up and coach boys’ volleyball. Becker is the girls’ volleyball coach and has wanted a boys volleyball team because he grew up with volleyball in his family but was never given the opportunity to play in high school. “In Wisconsin, volleyball is a sport for boys with the State High School League, but my school was too small to have a team. And when I wanted to co-op with some of the other schools in the city, I was told no, I couldn’t,” Becker said.

One of the main reasons boys’ volleyball hasn’t been the most popular in Minnesota is because it is not officially sanctioned by the Minnesota State High School League. Although boy’s volleyball is not officially sanctioned by the MSHSL, the University of Minnesota has one of the best boys’ volleyball programs in the country and as a result, there’s been a movement to try and get the sport sanctioned at the high school level. “There hasn’t been a boys’ volleyball team in the past. It hasn’t been sanctioned by the State High School league yet,” Becker said.

According to a survey sent by Becker, multiple students have shown interest in the team. One student, Senior Andrew Lyons, has grown up with a family very much involved in volleyball, as his sister and mom both played. He has played in a summer league this past summer, which has really sparked his interest in playing this year. “I have a lot of fun playing volleyball…And I’ve played volleyball in the past,” Lyons said.

At this early stage of the sport at BSM, Becker has said that he will treat it like a recreational league. He hopes that as the sport progresses at BSM, it will become more competitive and rise to the level of the girls team. “At first it’s gonna be a lot of just learning the game, learning the skills, there’s gonna be a lot of patience from everybody,” Becker said.