“When I went to high school, girls’ volleyball and boys’ basketball were in the same season, so there were often times when our practices would kind of overlap with each other. One of us would get like afterschool 3-5, the other one would get 5-7, and we would flip-flop. And so we’d run into each other because we both needed the gym space. And I don’t remember if it was my junior or senior year, maybe senior year, the girls’ volleyball coach asked if we would hit at the girls after practice one day. A bunch of us stayed after and just had a blast just flying around, hitting volleyballs at these girls; to the point where a few of us, after the season ended, got into beach volleyball, which is a surprisingly thriving scene in Alpena, Michigan. But that summer, there was a league that a few of the guys joined. There were some older guys and they would keep beating us, freshly 18 year olds. We were, by far, more athletic but could not win. Finally, two of the guys offered, “Hey, do you want us to show you why we keep beating you?” So that’s when I started to learn the game of volleyball and the mechanics, how to swing, defensively how to hold your platform, and all that. So originally, beach volleyball is kinda where my heart still kinda lies but we don’t have a beach volleyball team. I went to Alpena Community College to play basketball there, so I was on scholarship for that. But they also had a volleyball team. So, the same kind of thing: the coach kinda asked us to hit at the girls now and again. I kept a toe in the volleyball world I guess.
And then, two years later I transferred to Central Michigan and that’s where I got into the indoor world a little more. They had a club team, like many colleges around Michigan do. Tried out for the club team, made it, and then I ended up playing two years of club volleyball at CMU. We had practice 2-3 times a week, learned a ton. It was pretty expensive. So my last year and a half, I didn’t play just because financially I wasn’t in a great spot to shell out money for jerseys and travel and all the things ‘cause you had to pay for all that as a club sport. But I mean, I enjoyed the indoor game and learned a lot, so I was looking to still be a part of that once I graduated. Once I got to West Ottawa, I reached out to the then varsity coach, Courtney Naber, and just asked her if she needed any help. I wanted to still be a part of the game, and back then, there was no boys volleyball in Michigan so that was kinda my only outlet. I play a lot around here, in the Grand Rapids area and at the state park for beach [volleyball] and all that. But then coaching wise, that’s when I started coaching, back when I first got hired here with the girls’ varsity. And then I’ve been assisting ever since. This is year ten, eleven? Something like that. And obviously we’ve had the boys program come along as well so I get all kinds of outlets now. And I still play beach. Not so much indoor, because I’ve got two small children but I still like to play,” Instructor Ryan Burke, Head boys’ Volleyball Coach, said.
