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Granville offers a variety of sports fall through spring for students to participate in. From basketball to bowling, there’s no shortage of choices here… or maybe there is. One sport the high school doesn’t offer is boys volleyball.

Many boys in the Granville area attend sand volleyball nights at Denison over the summer and into the fall. These boys have voiced their desire to play volleyball multiple times since discovering they like the sport, but sand volleyball over the summer doesn’t suffice.

I’ve talked to upwards of a dozen boys about how they would feel about Granville offering a boys season of volleyball and they’ve shown tremendous support. Boys love the competition, and playing volleyball as a recreational past time doesn’t always match that competitive nature. So with all this support, what is the reason for the lack of a boys season for volleyball?

The girls volleyball season takes place in the fall, when the boys have their soccer, football, cross country and golf season. This could be a reason that Granville doesn’t offer it; there is too much conflict between sports. Many boys who would play volleyball already have a sport they are committed to in that season.

Swimming, wrestling, basketball, bowling and track take up the winter season, and lacrosse, tennis, track and baseball are in the spring. However, many boys do have an off season or two that they don’t have a sport to do. Doing a sport in the off season of an athlete’s primary sport can help condition them for their upcoming season. The boys volleyball season would take place during the spring when many boys would be able to participate. 

There are also benefits to playing volleyball that go overlooked. According to Sports Fitness Advisor, playing volleyball improves nerve and muscle coordination, rejuvenates vital organs, prevents osteoporosis, works on teamwork and social skills, increases speed and agility and improves reflexes. These benefits also help with other sports that athletes play in other seasons. Lacrosse, football, baseball, soccer and many other sports require these skills and playing volleyball will only improve them.

Many boys have trouble with flexibility and agility, but playing volleyball can work on these skills and make them better at other sports that they play. Volleyball depends on fast reflexes, which is also a skill that baseball players and goalies in any sport need to be successful. One of the biggest benefits of volleyball is the teamwork it requires. Volleyball thrives on the coordination of all the players to bump, set and spike it over the net. This can help in sports that you need to communicate with and pass to other players. Soccer, hockey, football and lacrosse all rely on teamwork, just like volleyball.

Earlier in January of 2022, the OSHAA made a push to include girls wrestling and boys volleyball in the 2022-2023 school year. Back in 2016, they added lacrosse to the list of sports high school athletes could play for their school and it has become one of the most popular sports among student athletes. Now that OSHAA has approved boys volleyball, why doesn’t Granville offer it?

Well, in short, there hasn’t been quite enough interest and boys volleyball wouldn’t get funded. No other schools in Licking County offer it, so there would be no one to play. Raising interest in the sport just in Granville wouldn’t be enough; other schools need it as well. Boys are occupied with other sports that would take priority over volleyball, making the chances of a future team slim. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible though.

For any boy who wants to play volleyball, you’ll have to settle for a club team in Columbus somewhere, but maybe in time, boys volleyball will spring in popularity and Granville’s boys will be able to play.