By Andy Walter

Most of the members of this year’s Smyrna High’s boys’ volleyball team had never played the sport before.

Not seriously.

Eagles’ coach Danny Wandless said it was the same when the school started a girls’ volleyball program 15 years ago. Most of the players had just played the sport at picnics or in gym class.

“I was going way back to teaching the fundamentals,” said Wandless, who coaches both Smyrna’s boys’ and girls’ teams.

But girls’ volleyball eventually took hold in Delaware and Wandless and the state’s other coaches are convinced that boys’ volleyball can do the same.

Last week, the sport cleared a big hurdle when it was determined it now has enough teams to become an official sport as part of the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association. A total of 18 schools fielded club teams in the spring.

There are now 38 states that have boys’ volleyball in high school.

“I see it as a sport that’s going to grow in Delaware,” said Wandless. “From what I’m understanding, nationally, it’s sort of the fasest-growing sport in high school.

“Once these guys get out there and start playing it the right way, it’s just a great sport. It’s passionate, it’s exciting, it’s fast — it’s all those things that you want to have in a sport.”

According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, interest in boys’ volleyball has grown 26% nationally over the past 10 years. Indian River won its second club team state championship this spring with a 3-1 win over Delaware Military.

“It’s just awesome to see how this has affected, even our community, in a positive way,” said Indians coach Jim Barnes. “I’ve seen nothing but positives come out of it. It’s great to see it grow.”

This past spring, Henlopen Conference members Cape Henlopen, Indian River, Smyrna and Sussex Academy all had boys’ volleyball programs. Delmarva Christian was actually one of the first downstate teams but hasn’t had one in the last three years.

Getting the sport started in most schools hasn’t been easy. Starting up a new boys’ program in the Title IV era can be complicated.

The COVID pandemic was also a major setback for fledgling programs.
Barnes said Dickinson High coach David Lee deserves a great deal of credit for getting the sport going in Delaware.

Barnes himself was part of boys’ volleyball getting created in his high school when he was growing up in Pittsburgh. The biggest thing for him is that boys who want the chance to play have that opportunity.

Barnes had two sons on the team who are now playing in college.

“Boys’ volleyball did not have equality,” said Barnes. “My boys did not have a place to play. And there are still a lot of boys out there that are interested that do not have a place to play.

“But I think it’s great that it survived — and survived in many different ways. I’m glad that Indian River had people who saw the bigger picture.”

A player, Porter Palmer, and his family were instrumental in getting IR’s program started in 2018, said Barnes. The team had to pay its own way for its first two seasons before the school began funding the program the last three years.

Of course, the hope is that the number of teams will continue to grow. Caesar Rodney is adding a program this school year while Dover might have an interest meeting in the fall.

The thing about volleyball is that it is a relatively inexpensive sport for schools — especially ones that already have a girls’ program.

“It’s just a matter of raising the nets a little higher,” said Wandless. “The only thing we needed to do was order uniforms.”

“We’re ecstatic that we’re now a DIAA sport,” said Barnes. “I think Delaware is in the forefront of it now. It’s just providing opportunities. It’s great to see.”

Sports editor Andy Walter can be reached at 302-741-8227 or walter@iniusa.org.
Follow on Twitter at @DSNSports.