New season, new faces, what to expect for upcoming boys volleyball season

The Central York Boys Volleyball team is a program that is used to dominating the county, they are looking to put together another historic season with a younger roster.

After graduating 12 seniors last year, the team will be notably young with the exception of two senior hitters Matt Smyser and Marc Fitzkee who will be guiding the team with their ability to make big plays and lead the team through difficult moments. 

“There’s gonna be a lot of younger guys that have to step up and assume a lot of positions. So I would say we are restarting the program over from the ground up,” explained the head of the program, coach Todd Goodling. 

The team has taken no time off this off season as they begin their long campaign. They have spent countless hours in the gym and weight room developing and honing in on their skill. 

“Since September, we’ve had something like 150 open gym opportunities and around 65 weight room opportunities. So we have been providing lots of opportunities for those that want to get better,” said Goodling. 

Much of the attention this upcoming year will be on the current sophomore and freshman classes, which includes Ryan Roberts and Christian Bucks, as well as Lance Shaffer, respectively. Although they are still very new to the game, they know they are going to strive to uphold the culture of this program, dominate opponents and compete at a state-wide level. 

“The key to winning games will be playing smart and using our volleyball IQ to compete with teams that are bigger and have more experience,” said Roberts. 

Roberts is just one of the many big names that will be heard a lot in these next three years. He is one of the leaders among the younger group and has plenty of talent; he’ll be sure to leave his mark on the program before he graduates.

 “Having a younger team will be more challenging, but I think we will grow a lot as the season continues,” exclaimed Roberts. 

This team will be very exciting to watch this year. As well as in the future as they have big expectations and hopes of bringing home another state championship. This is a very crucial year for the program; the talent the team possesses leaves coaches and players feeling confident they will have another successful season.  

Both the older and younger Central club teams have finished the winter season which included tournaments at Spooky Nook, King of Prussia and Bethlehem. They’ve gained lots of trust in each other heading into the regular season.