After two years, Lawrence back holding court
Hector Sanchez has coached the Lawrence boys volleyball team since 2018, but when the Lancers played their first game this season on April 6 against Lowell, nerves shot through him in the way they would a first-year coach.
VOLLEYBALL NOTEBOOK
In a way, he kind of was one.
As the pandemic hit Lawrence harder than most other cities and remote learning affected numbers, the program didn’t have a team last season while the rest of the state resumed play. The Lowell game was the first time the Lancers played a game in nearly three years, so with just a few players in the program remaining from the last time the team played in 2019, it’s pretty much an all-new experience in 2022.
Sanchez felt every bit of it.
“I’ve been out of it for two seasons, so I felt like a new coach again,” he said. “I had fun. It was my first game (in a while); I was nervous and everything. But once we started playing, I made sure to have fun too. Not put the extra pressure about winning
all these things.”
Lawrence went on to lose and has dropped all five matches so far this season. But as it continues its growth as just about a brand-new program, that sentiment of enjoying the moment and focusing on the fun of having a season is what Sanchez instills in his players.
Sanchez thinks about last year, having to watch the rest of the state resume play while his program only could muster five players as the school was still strictly entrenched in the remote learning program. Four of them were seniors.
“The first year, at least everyone was in the same situation,” he said. “Every team was in it. Last year was a little (deeper) and hurt a little more because obviously our city was more impacted than any other city. By not having a season last year for those seniors, it really hurt me more.”
There’s no surprise to the relief he felt when 50 student-athletes showed up for tryouts, with 12 making the varsity team and 20 playing on junior varsity. Senior captain Julio Santana – the only one of the five players who practiced three times a week last year to return to the team this year – helps lead a group that took Andover to five sets in its most recent loss.
It’s a far cry from the teams that made it to the 2018 Div. 1 North final, but the progress is definitely there. Still, Sanchez’ focus for the team remains the same.
“They are getting there … but my (message to them) is to just have fun,” he said. “What I tell my players is to just be glad you guys have a season. It doesn’t matter what happens, the records. Just have fun and enjoy every minute because you never know what’s going to happen.”
Side-outs
While the glory of winning ■ the state championship was enhanced by the fact that only one division made you the ultimate champion, the new format of two divisions is a breath of fresh air for smaller programs across the state. Reigning Div. 1 state champion Needham is just one of many schools about three times the size of a large crop of programs, so the new division creates better opportunity for the 63 teams that dropped down. This opens the door for a lot more competitive openinground matchups come tournament time.
O’Bryant senior leaders
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Jonathan Narsjo and setter
Son Nguyen both set careerhigh numbers twice over the last week. Narsjo’s 33 kills against New Bedford is a school record and Nguyen’s 50 assists helped the Tigers to 5-2.
The return of William
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Kohlasch from injury, as well as DCL All-Stars Matteo Luciani and Austin Li, has Lexington bursting onto the scene of contenders after missing playoffs last year. The Minutemen are 7-0 with a signature sweep of Newton South.