After boys volleyball was unanimously approved to become the first-ever “emerging activity” in Oregon’s history by the Oregon School Activities Association in October, there seems to be more legitimacy to the sport before the start of the inaugural season.

Boys volleyball is currently in a transitional period and will remain at its current status until 2026, when the OSAA will vote on whether to officially sanction boys volleyball or keep it as an emerging activity.

Last year, the sport was experimental, but now, there will be more structure with the OSAA and athletic directors involved in scheduling and other logistics. Games are slated to start April 8.

“The boys are taking it more seriously this year,” said St. Mary’s boys volleyball coach Katie Miller, who also serves as the school’s girls volleyball coach. “Last year, it was kind of like, ‘Let’s just check it out, go out there to have fun and see what it’s about.’ And I feel like this year they have some skills and are really ready to compete.”

“It’s a sport being taken seriously, in the eyes of the state,” she added. “Still part of this growth phase, but yet there’s now legitimate teams out there to compete against.”

Miller also coaches the local boys volleyball club team iSpike, and has been one of the prominent voices promoting boys volleyball — in the Rogue Valley and beyond — and is excited to see the growth.

“I think it’s just exciting to see the growth that’s occurred,” she said. “It’s neat to see other schools around our small little valley are picking this up, in comparison to Portland where they have larger numbers.”

The Rogue Valley has six schools — North Medford, South Medford, Ashland, Phoenix, Cascade Christian and St. Mary’s — that entirely make up the Southern Region in the sport.

Those six schools will fit in with 53 varsity teams, with students from 70 schools counting co-ops, in Oregon within districts not separated by traditional classifications.

However, the state tournament format will be three classification-based brackets — 6A, 5A-4A and 3A-1A — with trophies awarded to the top-six finishers in each bracket.

“For a new sport, I think that is a good way to do it,” said Cascade Christian boys volleyball coach Skylar Harrington. “These players just want to have the opportunity to get out and play. We’re going to be learning the game and developing things from the ground up.”

Harrington, also of iSpike, will also have three players from Eagle Point on his roster of nine. Last year, he saw success by winning the Silver Division in the first boys volleyball state championships and hopes Cascade Christian can build on that effort to increase exposure.

Most importantly, the Challengers coach is excited that players will have a chance to represent their schools in the sport and compete in a more organized atmosphere.

“We are excited about sharing the experience with spectators,” said Harrington. “For most of my players this is still a brand-new thing, they’re excited to be out on the court, get the chance to learn and compete in something that’s very new.”

At South Medford, head coach Jerry Slaughter feels that there is a sense of the sport being integrated more to schools around the state. Unlike last year, the boys volleyball team has more access to the gym for practices.

“Our games and practices are at normal times,” said Slaughter, who echoed all the coaches in thanking their athletic directors for the help to field a boys team. “School athletic directors and the OSAA are scheduling games and it is not us trying to figure out when and where we actually hold one. That is the biggest thing, access to the facilities.”

“We’re just like a school sport versus a club sport,” he added. “All the boys are coming to practice like a normal sport and we are running five practices a week.”

The first game on the docket for South Medford will be a home game against North Medford at 6:45 p.m. Monday that will definitely make it feel like a school event with a new chapter of the crosstown rivalry starting. 

North Medford joined just in time and is ready to begin its program after it was initially delayed.

Last year, the Black Tornado were unable to field a team with only six players showing interest, but now, the roster has doubled to 12 players on the roster, according to head coach Angie Miller.

Even though North Medford didn’t participate in the experimental season, the chance to start traditions and expectations is an exciting prospect.

“We are trailblazers,” said Angie Miller. “Not a lot of expectation, but a lot of excitement. I was telling the team that, ‘Hey, you’re the first team ever to play boys volleyball at North Medford.’ It is just something historic you have to smile about.”

And with a total blank space to work with, the North Medford coach sees an opportunity rather than a challenge of building a boys volleyball team.

“It’s been good for me, the guys I have are super into it,” she said. “I just love watching them grow and learn and get better. It’s such a rewarding feeling to build on.”

Even with North Medford and South Medford being the biggest schools in the Rogue Valley, both coaches are working to raise awareness of boys volleyball with hopes of fielding junior varsity teams in the near future.

For more information about boys volleyball, visit oregonboysvball.org/ for teams, schedules and rankings.