Each year this call becomes familiar to those lucky enough to be in grades 5-8. Students in these grades get an opportunity to play against other teams in one of the best sports available at St. Robert, volleyball. However, currently, all four grades are going through many struggles as they try to adjust to normal-sized volleyballs, new positions, and even learning to play the game.

This year, the 7th grade boys team acquired a new coach, Bryan Fresieke. Matthew, a 7th grade volleyball player, says that Bryan has been a great coach and has improved the whole team’s skills. Bryan has a lot of experience with volleyball through playing on a club team in college. He is very competitive and teaches the team the proper way to play the game. The volleyball season lasts for a long time  as it stretches from the beginning of August all the way until late October. The team has practice two times a week and a game every Friday. A lot of 7th graders participate in the school sports as there are 11 players are on the team and only 17 boys in the whole grade.

Many 7th grade volleyball players, while excited to be playing, explained  that there are many different changes to the game with which they are struggling. The 7th grade team started strong, “[b]ut [they] went through many difficulties learning rotations” states Matthew. Rotations are always hard transition to make between 6th and 7th grade volleyball. Positions usually consist of setters, hitters, and passers.

Lastly, many seventh graders  gave their input on volleyball versus basketball. Many players think volleyball is more of a fun and less competitive sport. Volleyball has less wear and tear  to the players compared to basketball because the games are less physical, and they don’t include as much running. 7th graders are also getting closer to the year of the Seton. The Seton is a prestigious volleyball tournament where 8th graders  face other Catholic schools in the metro area of Milwaukee.

To conclude, students really enjoy volleyball at St. Robert because they strive to overcome struggles with their classmates. With the new head coach the boys plan to contribute in the Seton in their 8th grade class next year. They continue to become better and are so happy to collaborate together as a team.