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Boys Volleyball Program Questions

 

When is the boys volleyball season?

  • The 2026 season will begin in the first week of March and end the second week of May.
  • Tryouts will start on Monday, March 2 and probably end by the 4th. This is dependent upon the number of players trying out, winter sport athletes and if they are still in season, etc.  
  • It is possible the tryouts will extend beyond that date but it is not guaranteed.

How often and when does the team practice and play?

  • Once tryouts begin all teams will practice during the week after school until 5:15.
  • Once the season begins matches tend to be two to three per week.  This means teams will be at Kirkwood or away matches into the early to mid evening.
  • All teams will have at least one tournament which will usually be an all day event on a Saturday.
  • It is exceedingly important that you consider your commitment to the sport.  It would be very important that you don’t miss practices or matches.

How many teams are there?

  • The volleyball program wants to have three teams:  freshmen-which is a freshman only group, jv-which is made up of freshmen, sophomores, and possibly juniors, and the varsity team which includes any grade level.
  • The number of players per team is dependent on the positional needs of the teams and tend to run from a low number of nine to as many as fifteen.  

Who is the type of player that will be asked to join the program?

  • Every year athletes that have never played on an organized volleyball team make one or all of our teams.  
  • We’re looking for someone that wants to learn the game, will be a good teammate, and can handle academics and sports at the same time.
  • Athletically we look for players that are quick, powerful, explosive, jump well, have good lateral movement and agility, and are willing to hit the floor to dig a ball.
  • There are four main positions/players in volleyball, although many times there’s more than one of these players on the court at a time.
  • Setter/usually a team plays a system that uses one or two setters during the match, he is the distributor of the ball to the attackers and must have a great understanding of both what his team is offensively capable of as well as understanding how to attack the weaknesses of the opponent.  Good setters should be a leader, and capable of quickly moving on after a previous play.
  •  Left side attacker/blockers, this player will receive the majority of the sets and must be able to put the ball to the floor.  Good teams will have the left side attacker swing from the back row as well.  Many times he must also be good across the back row both as a passer of a served ball and good defensively.
  • Middle attacker/blockers, this player is responsible for putting up a good block no matter who is set on the opponent's side.  He is also an important part of the offense and runs a quick attack that challenges the other team to know where the attack is coming from.
  • Libero - this is the guy that rarely comes out of the game and must be good as a defender in two ways:  service receive (the most important team skill to be successful) and as a defender.  He must be relentless in keeping the ball off the floor, be the “general” of the defense, and bring lots of energy to the team.
  • Opposite Attacker - this player usually subs in for one of the setters or tends to be a front row player.  He hits on the right side of the net and is therefore very important as both a blocker of the other team’s best hitter and a good hitter as well.  It’s possible that he needs to be a good attacker from the back row as well.

Do I have to pay for anything?

  • Uniforms such as warmups,  jerseys and shorts would be provided.  
  • Kneepads are optional and would need to be purchased by the player.  Cost tends to be between $20-$25.

Are there any off-season activities?

  • Open gyms occur over the summer, fall and winter.  Listen to the school announcements or contact Coach Pounds at ferrel.pounds@kirkwoodschools.org.
  •  There will be players at the open gyms that have played for years on club teams, alumni, but also many players that are curious about joining the sport and learning about it for the first time.  All are welcome.
  • Winter open gyms are scheduled on the following dates: 1/6, 1/13, 1/27, and 2/3. We will be in Miller Gym (but always check in Holley Gym if Miller is in use by another group) from 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm.

What opportunities are available to a player that wants to play beyond high school?

  • Collegiate volleyball is a rapidly growing sport.  There are 239 men’s teams throughout the nation.  There are eight colleges within the St. Louis region that offer men’s volleyball with an additional six located within Missouri.  
  • Scholarships are available although most programs don’t offer a full ride.  Many times an athletic scholarship is offered or is sometimes combined with an academic scholarship.  
  • A great resource for college volleyball as well as other sports regarding eligibility, recruiting information, a national list of participating universities is https://www.ncsasports.org/.  
  • Many universities offer club volleyball that range from just fun stuff to serious teams that could contend with NCAA varsity programs.  

What is unique about this season?

This will be a follow up year to the varsity team's district championship and 14-7 record. Teams should not be judged only on their wins and losses, last year was a fantastic accomplishment. This will be the third year of volleyball being sanctioned as a high school sport in Missouri and it is continuing in its growth.

What is unique about Kirkwood Volleyball?

Kirkwood is one of the original ten school programs that goes back to 1987. It won that league championship twice and has been a (club) runner up to the championship twice as well. The varsity teams winning percentage is 606 with a number of the wins/losses from successful years not recorded.

What are the academic requirements?

Below is the information taken from the Kirkwood Athletics website/Athletics eligibility tab.  Bold print headings were added by the Boys Volleyball program.


In order to participate you must:

Be legally enrolled as a student at Kirkwood High School.

Have a completed, valid (after June 30, 2022) Physical Packet, signed by physician, student and parent/guardian on file in the athlete's PRIVIT profile.

PRIVIT can be found at https://kirkwoodpioneers.e-ppe.com/index.jspa

Be enrolled in 3.0 units of credit in the semester(s) of participation.  This means that even if a senior will graduate without having to enroll in the fall or spring of their senior year with less than 3.0 credits they will not be eligible to participate.  

 

One semester of a class equals half of a credit.  This means you must be enrolled in six classes for the semester.

  • All 9th-12th grade students must pass 3.0 units of credit in the semester preceding the season of completion to be academically eligible.
  • All incoming 9th grade students gain academic eligibility to participate in athletics in their first high school semester.
  • Note: A student who was academically ineligible the preceding semester, but meets the academic standard at the close of that semester becomes eligible the fifth day he or she attends classes in the succeeding semester.

Be present at least ½ day of any school day for participation in practices, games or meets on that day. (Any exceptions must be ruled upon by the high school principal.)

Comply with all Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) policies.

  • All athletes must first participate in 14 practices before they will be allowed to participate in official contests.
  • Note: Students who have participated in and completed a preceding athletic season are exempt from the practice rule stated above. This exemption covers only winter and spring athletes in the given academic year.