By Ashleigh Brown, Addie Rosebrock, Darryl Smith (Journalism 1 students)

It’s 2023, and Greenwood High School is opening its doors to new possibilities. Greenwood High School is full of excited male athletes who want to experience a new type of volleyball season.

Coach Zach Mackie has big dreams for this team and season as these guys start to show what they are capable of.

“The biggest goal is to get the boys to a point where they can compete and feel confident in their ability. Also, to be able to play as a team and do something that most of them have never done before,” Coach Mackie said.

While the coach has big goals for the players as individuals, the players have goals for the community and the future teams to come.

“My goals for this upcoming season are to become the foundation for a long standing team so that the team is successful for years to come,” sophomore Grant Westrick said.

The team and coach both have goals, but they also have made sure to look at both sides of the picture and have made sure to know what to prepare for.

“I think an obstacle our team is going to face is playing bigger teams, like teams that have been in the league longer and have more experience,” freshman Levi Peterson said.

Both Mackie and Peterson have similar views as to what they need to be prepared to face this season.

“The biggest obstacle I see is the fact that they are going to play some teams that have a lot of players that have been playing longer than just this season, like experience in club and have experience playing together as a team, and we are just now putting it together,” Mackie said.

Every team may have obstacles, but they all have strengths as well.

“Our team has the strengths of a good community surrounding us and great leadership and coaching for Coach Mackie,” Westrick said.

Mackie has only ever coached girls volleyball, so this is a big change for him, but he is ecstatic about the promise that the guys are showing to him.

“We have a lot of kids that just want to be there and that is always big. With a lot of teams that are settled and have already been established, some players just join because that is what everyone does. These guys show up to play whereas my guys just want to play. They want that opportunity to play, and I think that that hunger is something that is unique about this team and exciting for me to see,” Mackie said.