High school volleyball coaches Justin Collins and Mike Gaffney believe, three years after committing to rebuilding a Red Hawks boys’ program, they’re onto a winner.
While the 2024 season wrapped Nov. 14 without a championship – the senior boys’ team fell to a three-set semi-final defeat to Belleville’s Quinte Christian High School at the Central Ontario Secondary School Association (COSSA) championships – Collins said his young warriors made significant strides this year.
“The boys competed hard and I’m happy with that – we’ve had a small team all year with only nine players. We’ve had guys face so many obstacles, stepping into roles they weren’t familiar with, but still having fun and finding some success,” Collins said.
The Red Hawks finished second in the Kawartha A division this season, ahead of rivals from Port Hope and St. Thomas Aquinas secondary schools, but behind Peterborough’s Kenner Rams.
Collins said the two teams developed a bit of a rivalry this year. Despite strong performances across three games, the Red Hawks lost each match-up – including a heartbreaker Nov. 7 in the Kawartha A championship game.
The Red Hawks were aiming to follow-up a gold medal at the junior level last season with senior honours this time around but dropped three straight sets to the Rams – 25-10, 25-18, and 25-22.
“We always knew it would be a challenge this year – the net goes up in senior, you’re playing against stronger teams. Kenner was full of fourth and fifth-year players, so we had 16-year-olds playing against 18-yearolds. It’s a big jump,” Collins said.
That his side kept things competitive at both the local and regional championships is a sign Collins’ and Gaffney’s methods are working.
“We’ve got guys working really hard to get better every week. This is a big group of Grade 9s who came in two years ago and wanted to play volleyball – for most, it was brand new. I told them then I wanted to transform them from boys that play volleyball into volleyball players,” Collins said. “After that [performance against Kenner], I told them they’ve come so far, they’re not just volleyball players, they’re volleyball competitors. The growth has been outstanding.”
After a season filled with setbacks, Collins believes his players showed great character to compete up to the final whistle.
With a junior program that boasted 16 players this year, Collins believes the future is bright for Red Hawks volleyball.
“The numbers tell us kids are getting excited about volleyball, that kids want to play. For so long we were a hockey school, or a football school – those sports aren’t happening right now,” he said. “We’re in a situation where kids are coming and wanting to play, wanting to compete for championships.
“Volleyball doesn’t have a long standing tradition at HHSS, but we’re definitely seeing a bit of a resurgence with the program,” Collins added.
