The prospect of a John Adams High School boys volleyball program has been on the minds of many student athletes for a long time, but there has never been any serious action taken to make it a reality, until now.

This past spring, the IHSAA sanctioned boys volleyball as an “emerging sport,” and is supporting its expansion to new schools. Since 1994, boys volleyball has been played in some parts of the state, mainly in Indianapolis, and was administered by the Indiana Boys Volleyball Coaches Association, in the absence of being an officially sanctioned sport by the IHSAA. This change has opened the door for more schools to offer boys volleyball to their students, and will lead to the sport becoming fully sanctioned once at least half of the IHSAA member schools are feilding teams.

What does that mean for the future of boys volleyball at Adams? The Tower contacted the Adams athletic office to find out, but unfortunately there is little concrete information available at this time. What we did discover is that administrators are working to start a program as soon as this spring, but more likely next year when the sport is expected to be fully sanctioned by the IHSAA. A year also gives the sport time to gain more traction in the area. 

The Adams boys volleyball team will compete at the varsity level instead of going the club route, and our Athletic Director, Dawn Huff, is hoping to announce a coach in the coming months. 

Other local schools are yet to formally announce varsity programs, but students from Marian High School and Saint Joseph High School have informed The Tower that their schools are moving in that direction. Penn offers boys volleyball as an intramural sport, and it is yet to be seen if they will make the transition to competing with other schools in the coming years. 

Indiana students can look forward to boys volleyball becoming more popular at the high school level, and athletes looking for a spring sport should see it as a great opportunity to improve their agility, communication, and coordination.