As the school year comes to a close, the Oak Park and River Forest High School boys varsity volleyball season is heating up. 

The team had an impressive record of 21-7 at press time, and just three games were left in the regular season: May 14 against York High School, May 15 against Carmel High School and May 16 against Loyola Academy. At the conclusion of the regular season, the team heads to the playoffs. 

The team is aiming for its first state championship after a strong season last year, which ended with a 23-7 record.

This is the fourth season under Head Coach Justin Cousin, an English teacher. Cousin has deep experience in volleyball; in fact, he played professionally for VC Duvel Puurs in Belgium. “I graduated from OPRF in 2010, SXU in 2014, and played pro-Belgium in 2015,” he said

Practice for the team is intense in order to prepare the boys for the skilled teams that they play. Senior and middle blocker Roan Doody said that practices begin with sprints which “get the blood flowing,” followed by drills “specific to our weaknesses” and intense practice games. 

The coaches also join in on the scrimmages. Doody said, “We finish with some…scrimmaging, usually with our coaches playing against the starters.” These practices are challenging and require the team to always be at their best, but as Cousin said, “they motivate themselves.” 

With a season so full of highlights, it must be hard for the players to pick one. For Doody one of their more notable accomplishments was, “when we won our first tournament of the year in March.” 

Another player, freshman Trayce Chrusfield, who plays outside hitter, said that one of his highlights was “hanging with the crew.” The success of the boy’s volleyball team depends not only on the talent and skill of the players but also their bond with each other. When the players have a friendship off the court, it can improve communication on the court. 

On an unfortunate note, the team’s greatest challenge during the season was injuries. In such a high-intensity sport like volleyball, injuries are all too common. Doody noted that “we lost one of our key outsides, Lincoln Beecroft,” which was a tough blow to the team. 

It can be difficult to mend the dynamic of a team without a key player, but Doody said, “We have managed to play despite these absences, and bench players have really stepped up.” 

Chrusfield added that another challenge during the season has been, “resetting after every point.’’ It can be extremely challenging in any sport to recover from the frustration of a tough point, but it’s important nonetheless to do so. When a team is able to push negativity out of their minds and persevere, they can start to dominate the game again. 

Cousin took talented players and shaped them into a team that uses not only physical strength but mental strength too. Because of Cousin’s experience in the sport, he is able to give advice on the mental game of volleyball too. 

Doody said that the best advice his coach has given him is to execute “You can plan and prepare for something all you want, but nothing matters if you don’t go out and get the job done.” 

It’s difficult in such a fast-paced game to push yourself to always be in action, but Cousin also advises Doody to not make excuses and to always play to the best of his ability. 

“Whenever I thought I couldn’t give any more effort, Cousin would push me to give the one percent more,” Doody said. 

He gave Chrusfield similar advice to “always find a way to do something on the court, no matter what.” 

When every member of the team is being pushed to the best of their ability, they become practically unstoppable. Cousin teaches the team valuable lessons about physical and mental fitness, both equally important to the game. 

As the season finishes up and the playoffs begin, the team’s impressive effort from not only the players but the coaches too has left a mark on our school. Their teamwork and ability to persevere set a high bar for next year’s team.