The boys’ volleyball team will compete against Carlisle March 29. Their first practice is on March 7. Coach John Saboe is excited for this year’s season and can’t wait to jump into the year.

“Every year I am excited to get the guys in the gym and see the growth and development of the team.  Every year is different and every team grows in different ways.  It’s always exciting to see how the guys will use what they have learned in the offseason and apply to our team,” Saboe said. 

Seniors Alex Ferry and Jason Carr-Keefe are excited and nervous to start their season as this will be the seniors last season, and they are excited to go out with a bang. 

“I’m really excited for the season. I think we will have a lot of new people interested in playing this year, and I can’t wait to see the team put together,” Car-Keefe said. 

Ferry is more nervous about the new players coming and how they will affect the team. 

“I think we have a couple new players returning so that’s exciting, but I’m worried about the new people. I think it will make this year really interesting and can’t wait to see how it turns out,” Ferry said 

Both of the boys started playing volleyball whenever they were young and fell in love with the sport. 

“I started playing volleyball when I was around ten years old for the club in Pittsburgh. Then when I went to junior high school I started managing the volleyball team and got started into school volleyball,” Car-Keefe said. 

Ferry started playing volleyball a lot younger than Car-Keefe but didn’t get started within a team until junior high. 

“Ever since I was little I played volleyball. I can remember being around six or seven and playing volleyball with my dad in the backyard. I loved playing volleyball with my dad and the love continued as I grew so in 9th grade I joined the volleyball team at the junior high,” Ferry said. 

Jason Carr- Keefe was also influenced by family to play. 

“My older brother really got me started in volleyball. He played and I loved watching and playing with him so I thought I would give it a shot,” Carr-Keefe said. 

Saboe has loved playing volleyball since around his teenage years 

“Volleyball was something I fell in love with in my late teens, and the high school I went to didn’t even have a team.  I was lucky enough that in college, there was a guys’ team and that is really where I learned the majority of the game.  When I arrived in Altoona to teach, I made contact with the head girls’ coach, Karan Price, and she took me under her wing and really taught me how to be a coach.  I was also lucky that when I finished student teaching, the boys volleyball coaching position was open, and the head coach, Erick Kozak, hired me as his assistant coach.  So, since the fall of 1995, I have been a volunteer, assistant or a head coach of both the boys and girls volleyball programs here at Altoona,” Saboe said.

The seniors love having Saboe as their coach. 

“Coach Saboe is a great coach and has been coaching me for years, very dedicated and hardworking. He puts a lot of effort into making us better players,” Carr-Keefe said 

“I love how he interacts with the players and how he helps us work through every problem together as a team effort,” Ferry said