July 26, 2024

 

Beckman Boys Volleyball Families,

 

Thank you all for another solid turnout at volleyball summer camp & tryouts this year.  The numbers that we had attend camp this year were higher than they have ever been and the talent level was also incredibly high!

 

With talent like this, we obviously had some very tough decisions to make.  This year was one of the toughest yet.  I am relatively certain that very few of you actually read this letter (most just skip to the rosters), but I feel it is necessary for me to let everyone know how we come to our final decisions even though it may not be of any consolation to those that did not make one of our teams.

 

The very first thing that we look for is talent, obviously.  But many might think that it ends there.  We also have to take into account each player’s position and grade level.  We rank each of the setters, outside hitters, middle blockers, opposites and defensive specialists against each other based on their skills, attitude and potential.  If players seem to be very comparable in those three categories, we often lean toward the younger player, knowing that we have another year or two of development with that player to continue to get better and help the program. 

 

Some may not find that to be fair, but with a program as competitive as ours, the boys must continually improve to maintain their spots.  Once a player is in, it doesn’t mean that they are in for good, unfortunately.  We had nearly 75 players try out this year, many with years of club volleyball experience.  This is a great problem for us to have, but don’t think that it isn’t a problem.  It makes the decision-making process that much tougher.

 

We also have to deal with the fact that only a small number of players graduate from the varsity team each year, only opening up a select few spots on each team.

 

With all of that being said, each of our rosters this season will have a larger number of players on it than in past years.  We are aware that this will put more responsibility on each one of us as coaches, but we felt that we needed to accommodate even more well-deserving players.  Practices should be incredibly competitive, knowing that there are more boys vying for playing time each match.

 

In the end, the coaching staff and I believe that we put together the absolute best rosters that we could.  We are aware that there will be some hurt feelings, but we have to do what we think is best for the program as a whole.  Please don’t think that we take ANY decision to let a player go lightly.  It weighs on us heavily each and every time we go through this process.

 

Finally, congratulations to those that made the Beckman Boys Volleyball Program for the 2025 season!  But make sure you that you continue to work hard on your skills…it’s only going to get tougher.

 

I look forward to another great season!

 

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at: darinmcbain@gmail.com

 

Coach McBain

Go Patriots!