New Roads’ First Men’s Volleyball Team Struggles to Gain Wins and Legitimacy

“There is a big difference between having a team and building a program… we are looking to build a program.”

Starting off a sports season strong is always a common goal for most teams, but sometimes that goal is hard to achieve. With four games already in the books, the men’s volleyball team is still looking to secure a win. And after a successful women’s season, the new men’s program continues trying to chase a similar result.

Charlie Werner joined New Roads in 2019 as the Women’s JV volleyball coach and has been pushing for a men’s team since his arrival. Werner found a substantial amount of interest during the 2020 school year but, due to Covid protocols, the program was delayed. The addition of Steve Stokes as NRS’ athletic director and the success of the women’s team has led to the formation of an inexperienced, but excited men’s volleyball team. Creating the first male volleyball program in six years has allowed for Werner and Stokes to start off with a set of completely new goals and expectations. Their joint view seems to be to utilize this season as a test run and to subsequently gauge further interest from the underclassmen.

As Werner puts it, “beyond the goal for CIF, the other thing is to excite our underclassmen and younger students about the program. The more excited the student body is, the more participation will grow, and we’ll have a larger program.”

Since the majority of the current varsity team is made up of seniors who will be leaving the school at the end of this year, that interest is vital to the program’s survival after its first year.

“Not just with volleyball but with all of our sports, getting our middle school fired up and getting them ready for when they become upper school students. So just as the upperclassmen graduate there will be some others coming in,” Stokes said.

Other than the long term goals for the future, Werner is mainly focusing on achieving a winning season as the team has started off 0-4. With four games coming up within the next two weeks, there is an opportunity to turn things around. Even though the current record is not ideal, the team atmosphere is still positive.

“We’ve been growing as a team pretty well and I feel we are doing a good job figuring out what we need to do to succeed,” says Solomon Gibbs, the team’s senior outside hitter.

Regarding the expectations for the team, Gibbs shares Werner’s goals: “I think we need to get some wins under our belt first, but realistically I think we can make a run for a Wild Card in CIF, that would be a great first year.”

(Photo by Caroline Crain / The Jaguardian)

Outside hitter Solomon Gibbs is one of the eight seniors on New Roads’ men’s volleyball team.

In the Coastal league, the top three of seven teams qualify for playoffs. While an achievable goal, consistent play is difficult for such a fresh program. Being competitive has been a struggle for the team so far, especially as many players come from different sports backgrounds. These histories provide them with plenty of passion and competitive spirit, along with equal amounts of frustration during games.

Olivia Mione, experienced libero for the women’s team, attended a recent game and picked up on a lot of the same mistakes. She attributes most of these to mid-game frustration as well. “They get frustrated super easily and that allows them to lose their flow. It’ll be a while before they get more comfortable which will make them play more consistently,” Mione said.

Despite a large turnout during the game on March 18th, and a highly supportive crowd led by former New Roads student, Hali’a Jimenez, the result was no different from that of other games: a loss. However, Mione, who has attended both practices and pre-season games, remarks that they “have improved a lot” and that “the game was really fun to watch.” Now, an upward trend is what Men’s Volleyball is seeking.

While the initial games of the season have been trying for the fledgling volleyball team, the following weeks will be the true test as to how they handle the pressure. The teams they face next will determine not only the result of their season, but perhaps even the future of the men’s program at New Roads.