Tenacious D: There's a First Time For Everything

Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages:

For your reading pleasure, I present for you the first men's volleyball column in the history of The Harvard Crimson. That's right, it's been 128 years in the making and now, without further adieu, an opinionated look at the Crimson volleyballers.

The first and foremost thing I would like to assert is that, like Rodney Dangerfield, the men's volleyball team gets no respect. No respect from the Athletic Department, no respect from the student body, and, up until recently, no respect from my beloved publication. What's even worse about this lack of respect is that, while no one was looking, the team has actually blossomed into something special.

Under Coach Tom Wilson, now in his third year with the program, the Crimson has gone from being a perennial bottom-feeder in the EIVA with a lackluster work ethic to a league contender with one of the most rigorous year-long practice schedules at this school.

"Since Coach [Wilson] came to Harvard, our program has really grown in leaps and bounds," said sophomore middle blocker Alex Kowell. "We're really serious about what we're doing and we definitely now mean business."

Despite Wilson's impressive stewardship of the team, he is considered somewhat of a second-class coach. While putting in full-time hours, he is compensated as a part-time coach, and his one and only assitant coach joined the team on a volunteer basis.

In addition, recruiting has been a problem for the up-and-coming program. According to sources on the team, the men's volleyball program routinely has academically talented recruits turned away because there is no additional space for volleyball on the Athletic Department's recruit lists.

This lack of recruiting power hurts the men's volleyball team more substantially than other teams. Football, which boasts a roster of well over 90 players, would not be severely hamstrung with one or two fewer recruits. Volleyball, on the other hand, often depends on recruiting to fill its roster, turning to walk-ons when talented athletes are turned away by the Admissions Office.

Aside from those problems, though, perhaps the most glaring lack of respect comes in the form of funding. The men's volleyball team, which is accorded Tier II status by the Athletic Department, regularly lacks the monetary support accorded to other teams. For instance, up until a couple of years ago, members of the team had to purchase their own shoes, bags, and other equipment, as well as paying for their annual California spring break trip.

"Let's just say we don't get an excess of support," said junior co-captain Justin Denham. "Then again, it's always been this way, so we're used to being self-sufficient."

While some of these areas have been addressed in recent years, there are still others that require more attention. For instance, having practice space is something that many teams take for granted. For the men's volleyball team, however, practicing at the Malkin Athletic Center sometimes proves to be an adventure.

"Sometimes we have to kick off people who are playing basketball just so that we can have practice," Kowell said. "It's disappointing for me that volleyball isn't taken as seriously here as it was back from where I'm from (California)."

But, small frustrations aside, the men's volleyball team is once again poised to improve considerably. After last year's Odeneal Divisional Crown, the team has moved up into the Hay Division of the EIVA. So far, Harvard is holding it's own, having beaten one of the top teams in the Hay--Southampton.

This year, Harvard also has a chance to wrest the Ivy title away from Princeton, which has jealously held on to it for nearly a decade. Last year, the Crimson fell to the Tigers in a dramatic match.

But even if the men's volleyball team should have an overwhelmingly successful season, there is little indication that the status quo will change much. And that, ultimately, is the unfortunate irony of this story.

Harvard volleyball can really be something special, both in the East and even nationally. The only problem is that the greatness of the program won't depend on the coaches and the players as it should. Instead, it will unfortuntely depend on the amount of respect the team can earn at this University in the coming years.