Members of the middle school volleyball girls from the Sarah Greenwood K-8 School are “absolutely furious” with the school district after having their season delayed and substantially shortened, and now having the highly anticipated championship tournament in flux.
Team leaders reached out to The Reporter saying they were looking forward to defending their two-time City Championship and extending their undefeated streak, which stood at 21 games coming into this season, but the season had hit many roadblocks.
A Reporter story in April previewed the season as practice sessions began. But it wasn’t until late May that Boston Public Schools (BPS) produced a schedule for the eight-team girls’ division – and that included just a few official games, with the tournament set for last Saturday (June 13).
On Friday, an early afternoon email from BPS to coaches in the league announced that tournament play inside the Madison Park Technical Vocational High School gym, which is not air-conditioned had been postponed.
“Due to current outdoor temps, current indoor temps/humidity and anticipated temperatures tomorrow, we have made the decision to postpone the Play Ball Middle School Volleyball,” read the message sent to the team and obtained by The Reporter.
None of this sat well with team leaders Jossie Diaz, Kaylen Velasquez, and Isa Flete, who pointed to several outdoor World Cup parades and games that happened at the same time in the same weather conditions on Saturday.
“I was mad because I was really looking forward to it,” said Velasquez. “We were hyped on Friday. Then we heard the news we wouldn’t have it. I was furious.”
Diaz said the team – which takes volleyball very seriously – ended up practicing almost all year and hardly ever playing official games. She said it felt like nobody cared.
“The schedule kept getting pushed back,” she said. “Their job is to get the schedule and the paperwork done and our job is to practice and be ready to play volleyball, which we did. I’m frustrated because they didn’t seem to care about our season and that we want to play and defend our title.
“We only got three games this season and another three exhibitions we planned on our own,” she added. “Yes it’s hot, but it’s June and this was all supposed to happen earlier.”
Flete, who took up volleyball this year, said the league has been disappointing. “We kept getting games cancelled and the season kept getting postponed,” she said. “We were so excited and then it was, ‘Oh, now we’re not doing it.’ They say they want to do the tournament now, but honestly it’s too late because other things are happening, and school is done next week. I just really expected more in my first year.”
Velasquez said team members had styled their hair specially for Saturday’s tournament and had special backpacks ready for a full day of volleyball. The team captains had made sure everyone was going home, eating dinner, and getting to bed early on Friday.
“We had it all planned out and everyone was ready, but then at the end of school they told us, ‘Oh, it’s not happening,’” she said.
District officials didn’t initially want to speak on the record for this story, but did respond to a request for comment late on Wednesday. They said they are examining what went wrong this year to correct it for upcoming seasons.
“We understand the disappointment felt by Greenwood’s volleyball student-athletes and families, particularly after a season that did not provide the experience they had anticipated,” read the statement. “We are reviewing what occurred and identifying ways to strengthen planning and communication moving forward. We have rescheduled the championship tournament and remain committed to ensuring future seasons deliver the consistent, high-quality athletic experience our students expect and deserve.”
A City Championship will be played this Saturday with approximately six teams in competition. There were 16 teams in last year’s Middle School City Championship, which took place on June 7.
“I feel like the organizers always leave everything to the last minute,” said Flete.
