The Westminster boys volleyball team has changed immensely since last year. They have gained a new head coach, Kent Adams, and graduated over half of their team. Because the eight 2020 seniors did not get their senior season due to the pandemic, they did not get a chance to pass the torch onto the 2021 seniors.

Hoping to help seniors step into their roles is new head coach Kent Adams. Adams is a familiar face for the team because he coached the JV team back in 2018. Volleyball runs in his blood and is passionate about the game and his players.

All around, the team is fresh as they prepare to have a competitive season and has several central team goals.

“Grow. Learn. Challenge each other, and be leaders on and off the court,” said Adams.

In addition to the new coach and team dynamic, the team gained junior transfer, Jacob DeMaggio. DeMaggio has only played volleyball for four years but has played year-round for three of those four; he is hoping his hard work and dedication will lead to a state run.

“I feel that my main goal is to have everyone playing at their best ability and to have a completely unified team,” said DeMaggio.

Unity is especially important to DeMaggio because of his unique position on the team, as a transfer.

“Transferring to a new school junior year has been a little hard socially, but coming into a team with everyone having a common interest really does help, and I’m excited to spend time with these people,” said DeMaggio.

Despite not being here last year, DeMaggio feels the team is adjusting well to Adams.

“I feel that everyone has adapted to Coach Adams very well. Everything happened pretty quickly, but right as he came in he showed that he can relate to us while still being an effective coach, which was really helpful,” said DeMaggio.

The last piece of the puzzle to have a successful season is team culture and camaraderie. DeMaggio is very confident in this will be the easy part for the boys.

“The culture of the team here is very upbeat. Everyone is willing to play and is very friendly and open with one another,” said DeMaggio.

The boys volleyball team has a very fresh start this year, and it will be fun to see what they do with it.