The MHS girls volleyball season is officially over, but don’t fret, the guys have it covered. We have our annual Canball competition on the first of November. Canball is a male volleyball tournament that donates to charity through suggesting a can of food as admission to the game.
Since we don’t have a traditional male volleyball team at MHS, this is a nice way for boys at our school to compete against one another. This also allows the volleyball girls to reverse roles and become coaches.
Anna Bode, a coach of Canball said, “I chose to coach because canball is a really fun way for us high schoolers to help a charity. Also because my best friend said she would do it with me. Since our senior year volleyball season is over, we have time to coach.”
Canball is a one-day only event that draws a lot of fans, but the boys usually play because they are simply just interested in playing volleyball. Jevon Dixon, a player for Jazmin Pineda and Natalie Thompson’s Canball team said, “I would love to be a part of an actual male volleyball team. It is cool to see the difference in between how men and women play volleyball. But overall, volleyball is really fun to play.”
Not only is it a learning experience for coaches, the boys get to learn the logistical parts of volleyball.
Jevon said, “I’ve learned a lot more about rotations and volleyball plays. I did not know that volleyball was that complicated before.”
The coaches enjoy teaching their team about plays and rotations, helping them realize the difficulty of the game.
Jazmin said, “The pros are being able to build a stronger relationship with your fellow coach and players. We also get to teach them a little bit more about volleyball and show them it’s not as easy as it looks.”
When the coaches partner up, they also get to choose who is the best fit for their team.
Jazmin said, “I picked my team based off of people that I have talked to and known for a while. I was looking for players that would have a good team relationship. I’m pretty confident in my team, we just need to talk on the court more.”
To look back on past Canball games, Anna’s team almost won last year. This year, she chose the same team to, hopefully, take the W.
Anthony Ash, a player on Anna and Hannah Jansen’s team said, “Our team almost won last year, but we lost to the Seniors in the championship round.”
Even though it is a fun outlet for the guys to be a part of, the real importance of Canball is the contribution to charity.
Anna said, “The most important thing about Canball is the fact that this all goes back to help a great cause.”
If you are an underclassman interested in playing Canball next year, you can join a team, no matter what grade you are in. Just make sure to get those sand volleyball practices in during the summer. Make sure to come and watch this year’s tournament in the gym on November 1st!
