About 3,600 boys played high school volleyball during the 2024-25 school year in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section, which covers Sacramento and the surrounding area. That\u2019s roughly quadruple the number of boys volleyball players in 2015.<\/p>\n
Around 3,600 girls played flag football in 2024-25 in the Sac-Joaquin section. That sport barely existed on high school campuses just a few years ago.<\/p>\n
For decades at local high schools, volleyball was mostly played by girls, and football was mostly played by boys.<\/p>\n
Coaches and players said the new trend is a recognition of a simple fact: Both sports are fun and healthy and can be enjoyed by either gender.<\/p>\n
![\"Volleyball\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/DSC05131-1024x1024.jpg.webp.webp\")
Hunter Larkin spikes the ball during the Del Oro High School volleyball match. (Cameron Clark)<\/p>\n
High school athletes seek choices<\/p>\n
The trend also reflects how high school athletes want more options. For example, a boy who plays basketball in the winter and wants to play a spring sport might have skills more suited for volleyball than baseball. Or a girl who runs track and field in the spring who wants to play a fall sport may be more suited to flag football than volleyball.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember when boys volleyball was the fourth stepchild of the high school sports program,\u201d said Scott Bronson<\/a>, coach of the Del Oro High School boys volleyball team<\/a> in Loomis. \u201cIt was seen as a girls sport for a long time, and so a lot of high schools just gave them the girls equipment.\u201d<\/p>\n Volleyball embraced as fun, competitive<\/p>\n Today, Bronson added, people recognize \u201cit\u2019s just an amazing sport. I\u2019ve turned football players and basketball players over into it, and it\u2019s just incredible to find something that\u2019s so fun \u2014 very competitive, very high level.\u201d<\/p>\n On a recent Monday evening in Loomis, Bronson and his players huddled together and joked with each other as he gave one of them an award before a game against Oak Ridge<\/a> High.<\/p>\n A few minutes later, Drake\u2019s \u201cUp All Night\u201d blared from the gym speakers as the teams warmed up with sets, spikes and, for fun, a few volleys that made it all the way up to the tall rafters at Del Oro\u2019s gym. More than 50 people sat in the stands.<\/p>\n Once the game started, the play moved quickly, with only short breaks between points, creating a rhythm closer to basketball than the frequent pauses common to football or baseball.<\/p>\n Volleyball attracts basketball players<\/p>\n Many of the players on Del Oro\u2019s team previously played middle school or high school basketball, including Hunter Larkin<\/a>, a senior and team cocaptain. Larkin said the athleticism, endurance, jumping skills and speed required for basketball translates well to volleyball. He got into volleyball when Bronson was his middle school basketball coach. For the past few years, he played pretty much year round, either on a club team or for his high school.\u00a0<\/p>\n Del Oro had the most success on Monday when Larkin served, often overpowering the Oak Ridge players by forcing a weak return.<\/p>\n Boys volleyball has become more popular because of \u201cpeople starting to realize the potential the sport has,\u201d Larkin said. \u201cI think it\u2019s really fun to watch, really fun to play.\u201d<\/p>\n Competition increases<\/p>\n Bronson said the competition has improved each of the last several years. During the 2024-25 season, Del Oro won<\/a> the Sac-Joaquin Division II section championship. When he\u2019s not at Del Oro, Bronson helps coach a club team that travels all over the state and the nation.<\/p>\n For years, Bronson said, boys volleyball careers peaked in high school. Now, more colleges are starting to field boys\u2019 teams, which could further increase participation.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that there is a future where it\u2019s going to continue to grow at the college level and I\u2019m always hopeful that maybe there\u2019ll be some sort of semi professional \u2013 some kind of league and venue that will allow fans and people to go watch the higher level,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Under the lights of the football field at Cosumnes River College in early November, McClatchy High School<\/a> quarterback Daisy Throckmorton<\/a> clapped her hands to indicate she was ready for the snap.<\/p>\n It was the second half of the Division I section championship game against West Park High School<\/a>. West Park was trying to stage a comeback. Throckmorton took the snap, spent three seconds scanning the field and then delivered a pass over the heads of West Park defenders<\/a> and into the hands of wide receiver London Lee<\/a>, who ran for a touchdown.<\/p>\n McClatchy won the game and the section championship<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s such an empowering movement, especially for girls and women who have an opportunity to play at the next level,\u201d said McClatchy High flag football coach John Avery<\/a>, noting that many colleges are starting flag football teams.<\/p>\n Local high schools began offering flag football in earnest just a few years ago. Now, the Sac-Joaquin section features scores of teams across multiple divisions.<\/p>\n McClatchy High is among the most successful. Throckmorton, who also plays basketball, was The Sacramento Bee flag football player<\/a> of the year. She even started at quarterback<\/a> for the \u201cboys\u201d varsity football team. (Twenty-one girls played tackle football in the Sac-Joaquin section last year, CIF data show.)<\/p>\n Avery said the best flag football players often are fast, with good coordination and deft footwork. The vast majority of his team\u2019s players also play another sport, including soccer, basketball and softball.<\/p>\n Flag football feels a lot like \u201ctraditional\u201d football. But the teams are smaller, with seven players from each team on the field, and the games are faster, lasting about an hour, and more frequent. During the just completed season, McClatchy went 24-5<\/a>, playing three times as many games as the tackle varsity team.\u00a0<\/p>\n Avery said most high schools in the region fielded flag football teams during the just-completed fall season \u2014 even many small schools.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve done tackle for 20 something years, and then transitioning into flag \u2026 it\u2019s really important to have a really good culture and empower young women,\u201d Avery said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe had a mantra,\u201d he added: \u201cBe first, be fast, and then finish.\u201d<\/p>\n Related by PBS KVIE: Girls Flag Football in Roseville at Woodcreek High School <\/p>\n Phillip Reese is a regular contributor, writing Numbers Matter for Abridged.<\/p>\n![\"Volleyball\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/DSC05256-1024x683.jpg.webp.webp\")
Head Coach Scott Bronson talks with the team during a Del Oro High School volleyball match. (Cameron Clark)<\/p>\n![\"Volleyball\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/DSC05286-1024x922.jpg.webp.webp\")
Del Oro and Oak Ridge boys\u2019 volleyball teams play each other in a match on March 9, 2026. (Cameron Clark)<\/p>\n![\"Volleyball\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/DSC04967-1024x683.jpg.webp.webp\")
Hunter Larkin prepares to receive the ball during the Del Oro High School volleyball match. (Cameron Clark)<\/p>\n![\"Volleyball\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/DSC05507-1024x683.jpg.webp.webp\")
Del Oro and Oak Ridge boys\u2019 volleyball teams play each other in a match on March 9, 2026. (Cameron Clark)<\/p>\n