Timberland, since its opening in 2002, had been without a boy’s volleyball team. It was not until this year the school finally got a team together—all thanks to MSHSAA making it an officially sanctioned sport.
“Our first game was an exciting one… It was a long, hard-fought match between us and North Point, and we were fortunate enough to end out on a high note. Getting the first victory of the entire program’s history on our home floor was super exciting,” boys volleyball coach Nathan Harman said.
Harman, as the head coach, said he has big visions for what he wants his team to look like in future years.
“Going forward, I would like to see the program continue to grow, and for us to have a program that comes to the level of what our girl’s program is, so we can have two programs that are consistent and support…each other,” Harman said.
With 10 boys on varsity and 9 on JV, the team members said they all got to know each other and grew closer.
“The energy is always there. I would say we’re pretty close,” senior Dalio Taouil said.
Teammates said they are looking forward to what they want to accomplish before the season ends.
“I like the environment we have going on. When someone messes up, everyone is really supportive and helps them improve,” senior Aneesh Dahuja said.
Coming up, the team has the Lafayette tournament on April 27. If they qualify, the class 1 state tournament is May 15 to 22.
“I want to have a positive record. I want to beat some good schools,” Dahuja said.
Some players want to ensure their legacy for future players.
“I hope to set an example for the upcoming years of Timberland volleyball,” Taouil said.
Through there are more than 30 matches this season, the team said they have gained some wisdom to share with future players.
“Definitely, don’t mess around too much at practice. Whenever you make a mistake or you know something isn’t right, ask the coach what you could do to improve and try to implement that because if you don’t know what you did wrong, you’re never going to fix it,” Dahuja said.
The next boy’s volleyball game will be tonight against Francis Howell Central. The game will start at 5:00 p.m. at home. The tickets are $2 for students and $4 for adults.
