Boys’ Volleyball Arrives at HHS

Jacob Andrus

This fall, a Hastings-on-Hudson varsity volleyball team warms up in preparation for their challenging season ahead. But this is not the girls’ volleyball team that students are used to hearing about over the school announcements. Rather, it is the inaugural season of the boys’ varsity volleyball team.
The team was founded after a Kenneth Clark Academy student from the Greenburgh North Castle district in Dobbs Ferry, Jayden Gallo, urged his athletic director to start a boys’ volleyball team. He enjoyed volleyball but saw there was only a girls’ team at his school. The director found there were not enough players at Clark, so the coach reached out to the Hastings Athletic Director, Andrew Wendol, to combine the schools’ players. Previously, Hastings and Kenneth Clark Academy have partnered for girls’ basketball and flag football.
The season is well underway as he first practice took place on August 26th and the first game took place on September 11th. As only one player, Gallo, had volleyball experience, the team has had a lot of learning to do. They practice after school most weekdays and often on Saturdays, with practices going for about two hours from 3:30-5:30, and games usually letting out at 6:00. Player Alex Lai said, “I always wanted to play volleyball. Freshman year I kept telling my friends how I wished there was a boy’s volleyball team because I would immediately join it instead of Cross Country or Track.”
There are a total of eleven players, seven of whom are from Hastings, including Roman Ringwald Gianopoulos, Alex Lai, William Andrus, Leonardo Ferrari, Max Pradl, Elijah Thomas, and Ryan Demarchis-Bilman. Kenneth Clark Academy contributes five student athletes to the roster. All practices and most home games happen at Clark Academy. Coach Henry Epps from Clark Academy says, “The team will definitely be back next year to continue competing for a shot at a section 1 championship, and I hope to get more athletes from both schools who are ready to put in work and compete.” While the team has yet to win a game, they are ready to learn and succeed.
Coach Epps said, “The unique thing about coaching the combined schools are the different types of athletes you may get ranging from soccer players, tennis players, football, and basketball as well.” This space as a new team has allowed for a rare opportunity for kids to interact with people outside of their school in a cooperative and competitive environment, said Coach Epps. He added, “The benefits are great – when you have two groups of kids from different walks of life coming together all for the same purpose, it’s a very beautiful thing.”