Boston Volleyball Weekend

Josh has had a fantastic and enjoyable season of volleyball this year, his hard work since he started a few years ago has paid dividends for sure.

He first dipped his toe in the volleyball pool during the winter of 2021 when he was 14. He began going to check out practices around mid-season and was getting a feel for it as the weeks went by. The BVA (Bermuda Volleyball Association) was training teams to travel to a big tournament in Boston called the Nike Boston Volleyball Festival, which happens every February / March. The tournament is massive – held in the Boston Convention center, there are about 90 courts in total, and the games are split over two weekends (younger age groups go one weekend, then the older ones a few weeks later). So much volleyball, so many whistles!

Boom!

The BVA typically sends a boys team and a girls team from each age group starting from (I think) U14 all they way up to U18. He didn’t make the travel team that first year but after hearing about the tournament from his traveling teammates, the spark was lit.

The next season he was of course there from the beginning, ready to go. He worked hard and volleyball quickly became his main winter sport (we play roller hockey in the summer here!), he played on both the Warwick Academy U16 school team and the BVA U16 team called the Big Wave Riders. The BVA teams compete in the volleyball winter league, and come February, his skills were solid and as a result he made the traveling team as one of the team’s liberos (basically a defensive specialist). His team did pretty well and made it to the Gold Bracket but lost their first game on the final day to end up tied for 9th of 54 teams with a 4-3 record. Not too shabby! Back in Bermuda, Jenn and I were happy to follow along with a live stream on the TV, cheering him from our living room.

Josh added beach volleyball to his repertoire over the following summer, doing some camps and playing in a summer league. He did a little growing, and that plus I think jumping around in the sand all summer helped him out with his vertical jump height – when the winter season came around in the fall he was starting to practice and compete more at the front line, his confidence was growing and he was getting chances at the ‘power’ position (spiking the ball). When the 2024 Boston tournament came around he again made the U17 Big Wave Riders travel team as a starter. Jenn couldn’t bear to just stay at home this year so she volunteered as a chaperone to experience the excitement first hand! Unfortunately they had limited success that year as they ended up losing out in the Flight 1 bracket, tied for 24th of 36 overall with a 4-4 record.

During the 2023-24 season he also began practicing with the Bermuda Men’s National Team, because beach, the school team, and the Big Wave Riders weren’t enough I guess! All that practice was certainly paying off, however. After another summer of beach volleyball began his final season of high school volleyball, and his first outing was actually in October with the Men’s National Team to the ECVA Senior Championships in Antigua! He didn’t get a lot of playing time, but gained some valuable experience and certainly being picked for the team was a confidence boost for sure.

Pow!

Back in Bermuda, Josh’s was flying high with his U18 BWR team throughout the men’s league season, they were gelling well on their way to winning the league trophy. Josh was now one of the team’s 2 main power hitters, his impressive vertical jump ability making up for not-super-tall stature… watching him first-hand I can tell you I wouldn’t want to try to block him! When Boston 2025 came around, Josh and his team would be ready.

Given the 2025 Nike Boston Volleyball Festival was going to be his last high-school tournament, Jenn volunteered as chaperone again and this time Ryley and I tagged along, too. In fact, many of the parents on the team made the trip, the U18 BWR had an impressive entourage this year! (I embraced the self-bestowed role of team photographer, too.)

The team was off to a good start with three games on Friday, winning both the first two 2-0 but coming up short in the third 0-2. Saturday was another successful day – they started with two 2-0 wins, and the third game was a nail-biter! They lost the first set 16-25 (sets go to 25), then were leading 16-14 in the 2nd but seemed to stall as the other team kept scoring – ultimately falling behind 16-20. A few points were exchanged but the BWR couldn’t seem to get ahead – it got up to 19-23 (remember sets only go to 25, if you win 2 sets you win the game), and then it was 23-24… game point… then we scored. 24-24. Then another… 25-24 (you need to win by 2). Then finally – a big block and we got the point for the set! Whew – off to the third and final set (this one only goes to 15). The guys rode the wave of momentum as they got out ahead and didn’t look back, finishing them off 15-11, the final point coming on a big kill from Josh! With a record of 5-1 they’d be heading to the gold bracket on Sunday.

Sunday’s games – the gold bracket – were a lose-and-you’re-done scenario. The boys were up for the challenge. First game – win 2-0. Second game – win 2-0. Third game, the winner of which would go on to play for gold – win 2-1! They lost the first set 18-25 but settled down and won the next two sets 25-21 and 15-9 to take the game, much to the Bermuda entourage’s excitement! With a record of 8-1 and playing for gold, I believe this was as far as any Bermuda team had made it in this tournament. Unfortunately the final game didn’t go their way, losing 0-2, but the boys (and the coaches and parents / families) were super happy and proud of what was accomplished this year, finishing 2nd out of 52 teams overall (wow!) with a 8-2 record. Amazing.

Congratulations on a successful season to Josh and the U18 Big Wave Riders!