After years of consideration, a new sport has finally been added to MHS: Boys’ Volleyball. The team tryouts will be held next week Feb. 26 and 27 from 5:30-8PM with the request that all players wear a Munster shirt.
Coach Maddie Horin graduated from MHS in 2019 along with playing volleyball at USC. Now, she’s returned to her hometown to help coach. Her and the boys who are conditioning say they are very excited to be a part of this new team.
“I think the most exciting part is Northwest Indiana gaining boys volleyball as a popular and growing sport,” Coach Horin said. “I’m glad that more boys are starting to come out and join as well. They’re super high on energy and excited.”
As tryouts are right around the corner, Coach Horin and the boys have not only been working on building a foundation of well rounded players, but also setting a scene on the court, and in spirit, for the players that come after them.
“Coach really takes the time to focus on individual people that look like they need help,” Carson Grennan, senior, said. “She’s super helpful and very observant, I think she is a perfect fit for who we need and she’ll definitely create a great team out of us.”
While conditioning, the boys worked on exercises that improve their teamwork abilities, coordination and overall game playing ability. In one event, the boys took partners, standing opposite to each other, yelling the other person’s name as they hit the ball back and forth. The teamwork seen during practices may seem comical, but the boys are determined to “turn some heads” according to senior Jack MacDonald. Coach Horin coached last season at Highland as a varsity assistant coach, and although she has played volleyball for the last decade, this will be her first year as head coach.
“It’s good to work on the overcommunication in practice. It might seem silly, but we worked on that in the USA gym when I was on the youth and junior national team,” Coach Horin said. “It’s something that helps to look ahead and gain a better game IQ in general.”
“It looks like they have some good servers so I’m very excited to start playing,” AJ Horin, sophomore, said. “I want us to make a splash in the volleyball community.”
As this is it’s first year being played as an official sport, there are some knots to untie in the netting of the boys’ volleyball team. Not only that, but according to MacDonald, the boys are hit with the challenge of setting up the next generation with a welcoming culture.
By helping the boys get to know each other as people and improve working as one, it helps them play better on the court and create that “culture” MacDonald was referring to. Coach Horin takes no slack from the boys, wanting them to be the best they can.
“I feel really honored being able to start that culture because I lived it and played it and I was a part of it on our women’s side,” Coach Horin said. “Excellence is part of all things Munster High School. Being the whole package is a big part of being a Stang, getting it done in the classroom and on the court, being the best of both worlds. It’s an honor to play the game, but it’s an even bigger honor to coach it and to pass on all the knowledge I’ve gained to the next generation.”
