HOLDEN — Wins and losses are the measuring sticks by which sports teams are judged at the high school level. Beyond that it’s the established rules of the road in the world of sports. But when results don’t always lean in the hoped-for direction, there needs to be willingness to piece together the formula that can unite and hopefully right the ship.
The 2023 Wachusett Regional High boys’ varsity volleyball team is in such a conundrum, being winless at the halfway point of the season. Is there enough margin to allow a second-half surge? Who knows? But look for this bunch of Muntaineers to bring it, and bring it hard, for the remainder of the 2023 campaign.
“It’s been a tough season so far. Our record is not reflective of how we’ve been playing and our skill level,” said junior co-captain RJ Dixon. “We’re a great bunch of guys. We just need some things to go our way and stay upbeat.
“We focus a lot on positivity. There’s a lot of negativity sometimes when things go bad, but we have to get past mistakes and cheer each other up. We have to stay strong, stay smart and play well.”
“We’re putting the effort in at practice,” said senior co-captain Cayson Branconier. “Everyone’s trying hard. When it comes down to it, sometimes it doesn’t click like we’ve been working on in practice, and there are lapses where we just don’t play together as a team. We make mistakes, but they come and go.”
“As games go on, we all get in our own heads sometimes, and it’s hard to fight that. I’m hungry to win all the time, so I’m here and ready,” added senior Zachary Allen, middle hitter.
Head coach Peter Cranson summed up the team’s situation: “Even in a year where we’re not performing the way that we want to or that we hope to, we just try and stay positive. We play better when we’re having fun. We play better when we have each other’s backs.
“There have been some struggles at times, but I think they’ve made us stronger to work through those issues. To work as a team, we need to work past that and pull all together.”
One aspect of the game that could use a bit more consistency is communications. Players must know exactly where their courtmates are in order to be successful.
“As setter, I have to know where everyone is,” Dixon said. “It’s like I’m the waiter. They place their order, but we’ve got to talk more, have good energy and have loud voices that will win us games.”
“There are times when we really communicate and you can tell, because everyone’s really loud,” said Branconier. “It’s a great atmosphere, but then there are times when we shut down. It’s hard to get out of these slumps, but we have to find a good rhythm.”
One aspect among team atmosphere is the development of friendships that grow along the way. Keeping things light off the court but intense on the hardwood is meaningful, say players and coaches.
“We have a lot of close friendships on the team,” said Dixon. “I’ll be friends with a lot of these guys for life. We have a lot of laughs. It’s great to be on this team, even if we’re not winning a lot of games.”
“For the most part, they do have a lot of fun. During practices, it’s not hard to coach,” Cranson said. “They want to do well. They listen during practices. They’re very coachable.”
Members of the Wachusett 2023 Wachusett Regional High boys’ varsity volleyball team are seniors Cayson Branconier, Justin Ho, Zachary Allen, Jonathan Taylor, Kaelen Linke; juniors Charlie Gorsky, Mac Laramee, Ben Lefferts, RJ Dixon, Alexander Baez and Noah Chapman-Rigney; and sophomore Soren Haddock. Team captains are Branconier and Dixon.
