Central’s Chase Clasby passes against Wapahani during their game Thursday evening. Central rebooted its club volleyball team following the Southside High School consolidation.
MUNCIE – A familiar scene played out in the Central gymnasium earlier this week: Balls bouncing, kids going up for layups and trying to block each other’s shots. All of this took place just a parking lot’s walk from historic Muncie Fieldhouse, where the Bearcats’ eight state championship banners are proudly displayed.
But as soon as Adam Havice started to assemble two volleyball nets, the jump shots turned to jump serves.
While Central is known for its storied hoops program, Havice is part of a rejuvenation of a club boys volleyball program that was once successful but has been absent for the last decade.
“This has been needed in Muncie Community Schools for a long time,” said Havice, the team’s coach. … “Kids have always been asking, ‘Can we have a boys volleyball team?’”
In a volleyball-rich area – East Central Indiana teams have won at least one girls state title every year except one since the IHSAA expanded to four classes in 1997 – the time is right for Central, which got a boost in enrollment from the consolidation of Southside this school year. It is the second area school with a club team, joining Wapahani.
“It’s something I always thought and my dad always thought: ‘Why isn’t there any guys volleyball here?’” said Clark Tinder, a junior setter. “We’re like a hotbed for volleyball in Delaware County, so it’s great to finally be able to compete.”
Tinder grew up playing volleyball in the yard, volleying with sisters Anne and Ellen – both of whom played for Central. But up until now, he hasn’t had the chance to play competitively.
Boys volleyball isn’t a sanctioned sport in Indiana, and the 32 teams around the state compete through the Indiana Boys Volleyball Coaches Association rather than the IHSAA. Central made appearances in the state finals in 2000 and 2001, but the program was discontinued about 10 years ago because the team’s coaches, Don Shondell and Tom Jarvis (now the school’s principal) no longer had time to run it.
As Wes Lyon coached the Central girls volleyball team in the fall, Wapahani boys coach Ben Sabin – also the IBVCA president – approached him and Havice with the idea of restarting the boys program. Maybe with all of the Southside kids coming over, they said, there would be a few athletes unable to continue playing their primary sports.
“We just thought there were a lot of good athletes walking around, a lot of kids coming to our girls matches,” Lyon said. “It was a good time to start it back up.”
Shortly after winter break, it became official that boys volleyball was back. Havice tried to market the program through announcements around school, but he feared no one would show up. At the first open gym, he had 36 kids. Now with Lyon as his assistant, Havice has 22 players in the program – enough for a varsity and junior varsity.
The team has struggled this season, which isn’t entirely surprising considering the team doesn’t have anyone with any organized experience. But there is some raw talent. Chase Clasby has brought some of his soccer skills to the middle, David Lavanchy is a rapidly-improving outside hitter and Bobby Cunningham wowed teammates by playing in a tournament and competing in a sprint triathlon in the same day. The Bearcats may be 0-14, but they have athletes. And with Kailor Padgett as the lone senior, they envision doing more than just sticking with teams in the future.
“It’s our first year,” freshman Nicholas Johnson said, “but we’re competing with teams that have been playing for years.”
Added Havice: “They’re getting better. It’s exciting and it’s fun. It’s cool to see them go from nothing to something.”
Club teams face different challenges than the sanctioned sports, with expenses including gas to and from each match, uniforms and officials. They have to fundraise on their own so be able to afford to play, and sometimes that isn’t even enough.
“I’m paying to do this, and I’m fine with that,” Havice said. “If we’re short on gas, I’ll fill up the mini bus. It’s not the school’s responsibility; that’s the challenge of being a club.”
In order to become sanctioned, volleyball would need about 70-80 schools total. And Title IX is also an obstacle, as schools would need to add another girls sport to match. So to make costs more affordable in the meantime, more area teams would help. Sabin thinks there’s a chance Yorktown might have a program next year, and from there he’ll see where it goes.
“We’re a hotbed for volleyball with Ball State having a men’s team and then Munciana,” Sabin said. “We just want to grow it.”
Contact sports features writer Ryan O’Gara at (765) 213-5829. Follow him on Twitter @RyanOGaraTSP.