In the midst of the pandemic last year, Juniors Diego Vogelman and Wesley Chen came up with the idea of bringing boys volleyball to PDS. They talked to Mr. Edgar Mariano, the Choral Director and one of the Girls Varsity Volleyball Coaches at PDS. This school year, their dream came true with the creation of boys volleyball at PDS. Although it is a club, the commitment is equivalent to that of a varsity sport. They practice every day from 4:30-6:00. Chen recalls in an interview that when everything was closed, he and Vogelman just started playing when they hung out. They started to enjoy the game. Whenever they had free time, they’d play in the gym or outside by the tents. They eventually decided to spread their love for the game by creating the first PDS boys volleyball club. 

Earlier this school year, Chen and Vogelman had an interest meeting with about 12 people. Now, they have about 7 or 8 regular attendees. They have a set schedule with practices on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. Despite being a club, and not part of PDS’s Athletics Program, they drill regularly,  with Vogelman, Chen and Mr. Mariano creating drills. They try to get drills to be realistic, so Mr. Mariano helps a lot. It’s very similar to how the girls volleyball teams’ practices at PDS run. On Wednesdays and Fridays, there are open gyms where the club can test their skills and put their practice into a game scenario, pulling players from the girl’s varsity team. Most of the members have little to no volleyball experience in the past, so the club is open to beginners. Currently the club is in the preliminary stages of strategy, focusing on trying to get every player to play every position. Vogelman voices, “We started the program trying to get it into a full team, so Ms. Fay steered us towards what Track & Field was doing. So it would start out as a club and then it would change into Varsity, JV, and a full program.” Within the private schools in the area, there are only a few boys volleyball teams, though a host of local public schools have boys volleyball as a spring sport. These schools include: West Windsor Plainsboro North & South, Princeton High School, and Hunterdon Central Regional High School. In an interview with Chen & Vogelman, Chen wanted everyone to know, “We’re always looking for more. We have enough to field 6, but I mean ideally we’d like to have a full 12 so we can go back and forth. So if anybody is willing, reach out to us because we’d totally be willing to take any people.” A member of the club, Freshman Casey Kuma voices, “It’s probably the best part of my day, to be honest. I really like it, and I like the people that are also in the club so that just makes it so much better.” Currently, Chen and Vogelman are talking with Mr. Mariano to try and get some games scheduled for the team. This is an exciting start for the future of boys volleyball at PDS.