Vikings boys volleyball started following tryouts on March 4th. The 31 member team is pumped to begin this season strong. With the Nic-10 title up for grabs, and an upcoming game against Huntley, the team has been working tirelessly over the past two weeks to prepare for the upcoming season.

   Varsity games typically begin at 6 PM. Admission for students is $3 and adult admission is $6.

   The team is adding position training to hone in on individual skills in specific positions and areas. Ryan Maher, sophomore libero, believes this is going to be very beneficial.

   “I’ve seen the team improve exponentially and we’re only a few days into the season,” said Maher.

   Hayden Kromm, junior setter, has seen the bond of the team grow stronger over the past week of practice.

   “We’re practicing harder and harder and trying new things this year,” said Kromm. “If we keep it up I’m more than sure we’ll do good this year.”

   The coaches are also working vigorously to expand upon the players’ skills.

   “We are working on improving our ball control and our serving.” said Mr. Trace Noack, head coach. “We have a lot of talent in terms of attacking, blocking, and setting, but our ball control and serving is what we really need to improve on from last year.”

   The season kicked off with a win against Huntley on March 19th with scores of 25-15 in the first set and 25-14 in the second set. 

   “I’m looking forward to it,” said Maher before the game. “I’m confident we’ll start the season off with a win.”

   Practice is one of the largest parts of being part of a team. Working on skills but having fun while doing so is efficient and makes practice fun to be at and participate in, which isn’t always the case.

   “I think for practice to be fun all the time you have to be a bit of a volleyball junky because the reality is, not everything in practice can always be fun,” said Coach Noack. “Sometimes you need to work on serving and passing and nothing else, two of the most simple skills in volleyball, which also make them kind of boring to work on at times.”

   Coach Noack drives himself to make practice as enjoyable as possible for those who derive their fun from improving and working towards the next win- and the future of their lives as athletes.

   “We work hard every day and eventually the hope is that the athletes come to enjoy that and reap those benefits later in life,” said Noack. “I’m much more interested in developing successful young adults after they leave the school than I am in hearing stories about how much fun they had in practice.”