Boys volleyball: York, Glenbard West find another way to compete
Unable to meet on the volleyball court, York and Glenbard West found a different outlet for their competitive juices: A trivia game over Google Meet devised by their coaches.
“I know we're all really mad that we can't see each other on the court and actually see each other,” Glenbard West senior Nicco Cavalcante said, “so it's a good way to get the teams involved and stay connected with the volleyball community.”
“It was a really fun time,” York junior Frank Del Medico added. “If other schools are thinking of doing it, or other sports, I'd recommend it. It was a good way to kind of just get back with the team in a team setting and kind of helping each other out.”
It was one way Hilltoppers coach Christine Giunta-Mayer said her relationships with her fellow coaches have improved during the COVID-19 pandemic that caused the cancellation of the remainder of the school year and the IHSA season.
The trivia game, which took a little more than an hour to play one night recently, was the brainchild of York coach Ken Dowdy, who also bought T-shirts to give to the winning team.
“It's just a grind,” Dowdy said. “It's been what, five weeks, and I'm sure their routines are becoming a little stagnant.”
This was a welcome break from the routine, the players said.
“It was kind of like a good way to spend the time rather than playing video games or being on your phone,” said Del Medico, who knows many Glenbard West players from Carol Stream-based Future Volleyball Club.
The coaches wrote 70 questions, many of which focused on local pro sports teams. The athletes did very well on the Chicago Bulls questions, showing it paid off to watch “The Last Dance” documentary.
They also did very well on questions asking how well they know their coach.
“We're just doing anything to help the kids feel like we didn't forget them. I think about them every day,” Giunta-Mayer said. “We got the best response from the kids. They loved it.”
“Once we started getting going it was fun because we started to talk a little (junk) to each other. It was fun,” said Cavalcante, who said he was a doubter at first. “It was a different experience. With all this stuff going on it's kind of hard, it's impossible to do it on the court, so it's fun to do something online and have a little friendly competition.”
The players weren't the only ones getting into the game.
“You know Christine, she was all in. She was going crazy,” Dowdy said with a laugh.
The feedback was positive all the way around.
“Parents said the kids came down smiling and were happy. It was great. I'm so glad we did it,” said Giunta-Mayer, who plans an intrasquad trivia match between the juniors and the seniors.
Both players and coaches hope to play other teams as well.
And who is getting those T-shirts from Dowdy?
Glenbard West won narrowly.