The vote happened in early May and it set off a domino effect of joy in the volleyball universe. The sport was finally validated and will be played at the varsity level beginning with the 2024-25 season. “It is so gratifying,” said Spring Lake Park coach Shelly Deegan. “It’s a long time coming.” “It’s amazing,” said Panthers player Will Wredberg. It’s also a case of delayed gratification. “Long overdue,” said Deegan Plenty of detours For volleyball supporters the road to becoming a varsity sport was a long journey with many detours. “I’m a little disappointed that it wasn’t started earlier,” said Spring Lake Park sophomore Remy Xiong. “I really thought that we had the background and the data to have it go through two years ago,” Deegan said. “So it has been a process that I think really has been a part of changing the minds of schools and athletic directors that have been on that regional board.” Spring Lake Park’s boys team has already built a solid foundation. Making the jump to the next level will simply grow the sport. “I’ve been playing here for two years and even the leap from last year to this year there’s a lot more support from around the school,” Wredberg said. “I’m sure that’s just going to continue to grow.” “Very, very excited about the future for boys volleyball,” Deegan said. Tight-knit team Boys volleyball is a staple in the Asian-American community where youngsters grow up playing the game. Xiong is one of them and is ecstatic that volleyball is finally being recognized. “For my culture it’s a lot,” Xiong said. “It’s like the main sport. It’s very popular.” “We have so many young men who wouldn’t normally play football, are not really going to be into basketball,” Deegan said. “Because of their culture they are really into the sport.” “A lot of them don’t play other sports,” Wredberg said. “It’s exciting for them to be able to experience that fully with the support of the athletic department and kind of the whole state.” The Panthers are a tight-knit team. Before games it’s all hands on deck as the players are the ones getting the court ready for action. This is part of a bonding process that will continue as volleyball continues to evolve. “We’ve really been blessed here at Spring Lake Park,” Deegan said. “With the support of our AD, our community education partners to keep this going and actually growing in our community.” “It’s just going to continue to grow with the support,” Wredberg said. “Development is going to continue to grow.” Because Wredberg is a senor the decsion is bittersweet. He won’t get to play when volleyball moves up to the varsity level. However, Wredberg is happy for his teammates and is going to the University of Wisconsin where he hopes to play on the Badgers club team.
SPRING LAKE PARK HIGH SCHOOL CELEBRATES VOLLEYBALL BECOMING A SANCTIONED SPORT
SPRING LAKE PARK, Minn. (5/25/2023) – It was the ultimate spike – boys prep volleyball getting bumped up to a sanctioned sport by the Minnesota State High School League.
