Out of the 538 high schools in Kentucky, only 13 of them possess a boys’ volleyball team. Junior Jagger Tomes is determined to make it 14.

Although he has had an eye for volleyball his whole life, Tomes started playing it competitively merely three years ago under Louisville Fury Volleyball Club. He credited his aunt for inspiring him to dream bigger, and farther than Elizabethtown’s city limits.

“My aunt; I grew up watching her play volleyball. I remember one time we were sitting in the living room when I was little, and she told me to watch the men’s game that was on. I watched it and just really wanted to start playing after that,” Tomes shared.

Tomes isn’t foreign to the court. He previously played basketball, but ultimately traded “nothing but net” for “don’t touch the net.”

“After I quit basketball, it really just gave me the initiative to start something new, and that’s kinda what caused me to play. Ever since then I’ve loved it,” Tomes said.

His love for the sport has led him to commence a team here at Central Hardin and expand those same passions throughout our student body.

“Me and the girls’ volleyball coach, Coach Rineker, who grew up playing, both wanted to grow the game and show people it’s more than just gym volleyball, and honestly even a different sport than women’s volleyball,” Tomes shared.

Rineker grew up in Virginia Beach, where men’s volleyball is a part of the culture.

“I played two-man beach volleyball in the summers, and played indoors in club leagues in the winters,” Rineker shared.

Through some deliberation with the administration, boys’ volleyball will now potentially be offered during the Spring sports season here at Central Hardin.

“It will be a club sport, it’s not a school-sanctioned sport. It might be next year, but we have to go through Title IX,” Tomes said.

For those unfamiliar with Title IX, it was stated in the Education Amendments of 1972 that any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance prohibits sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity) discrimination. In athletics, this just means we are required to have a one-to-one ratio for male and female sports. Other schools have avoided breaching Title IX by having a girls’ field hockey team to even the ratio.

If all goes well, Rineker intends on being the boys’ coach.

“Jagger has a real love for volleyball, and so have I most of my life, so I get how he feels about it. Until recently, there really haven’t been many opportunities for boys to play, and definitely not locally, so I would love to be a part of the start of it for this area,” Rineker said.

To those who are interested in joining the team, meetings and open gyms are coming following the new year. Rineker aspires to start practices in February, practicing twice a week. Games would start in March, and the season would end sometime in early May.

“There’s not a remind, they just need to look out for meetings. I’ll post it on my social media, and they’ll say it over the announcements. We’ll tell people what they need to know,” Tomes said.

Tomes welcomes anyone who wants to have fun, as well as those willing to work hard, work with a team, and respect the game.

“Jagger has practiced with the girls’ high school team and my club teams for the past couple of years. I see how hard he works, and you can feel his passion,” Rineker said. “Plus he has the most positive attitude you can imagine, so it’s impossible not to root for him, and want to help someone like that.”

Considering the fact that volleyball is not familiar stomping grounds for all, do not let the fear of failure stop you from trying it out. Be assured that the Bruin community never fails to show immense support in every competitive environment bestowed upon us.

As one of the world’s most renowned motivational speakers, Les Brown, said, “you are never too old to set a new goal, or dream a new dream.”