By R.J. Anderson
The 2007 season at Horseheads (N.Y.) High School was certainly memorable. The Blue Raiders won their fourth straight Class AA Section IV championship and made it to the state tournament semifinals. But the team’s accomplishments weren’t what captured the most attention. Instead, the buzz centered on junior setter Kyle Ray, a boy on the girls’ team.
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Because Horseheads does not have a boys’ team, Ray decided to try out for the girls’ squad. Patti Perone, Head Coach at Horseheads, says based on rules regarding mixed competition set by the state Education Department and legal precedent set by Title IX, the school had no choice but to allow Ray to play.
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“I really was between a rock and a hard place,” Perone says. “As one of my coaching colleagues told me, ‘If you don’t let him play, you’ll get sued. But if you do let him play, you’ll be ridiculed.’”
Perone, the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Girls’ Volleyball Coordinator, notified her fellow coaches at the Section IV preseason coaches meeting. Perone says that most of the coaches supported her decision.
The girls on the team did as well. “Kyle is a kid who just loves to play volleyball, and every girl on the team understood that,” says Perone. “They all supported Kyle and never, ever questioned his motives. That was true of their parents too. The girls even signed a petition to make sure Kyle was allowed an opportunity to try out.”
Before being allowed to attend tryouts, regulations in the state Education Department regarding mixed competition stated that Ray had to take a fitness test to prove he wouldn’t have an unfair physical advantage. School officials administered tests of speed, strength, and vertical leap, and cleared him to play. A Section IV conference committee governing mixed competition also approved Ray’s participation after an appeal was filed a few games into the season.
To make sure that Ray’s inclusion didn’t eliminate a roster position that would have otherwise gone to a girl, Perone decided to allow 13 girls on the team instead of her usual 12. But she also gave Ray the chance to earn playing time. “I did a lot of thinking and reflecting and decided it was my duty as an educator and coach to allow this kid to have the same kind of athletics experience as every other player on the team,” says Perone. “That’s such a big part of what we do as coaches and I just didn’t feel right denying him the opportunity.”
At five-foot-eight and 140 pounds, Ray is not physically imposing and wasn’t the team’s tallest player or its hardest hitter. “I’ve coached plenty of girls who can play circles around Kyle,” says Perone. “Even this season, there were girls on the team who hit the ball harder than he did.”
Perone attempted to minimize outside criticism by playing Ray at setter, which limited his opportunities to attack from the front row. “I thought it might cause fewer problems if he didn’t make kill shots,” she says.
However, complaints and negative cheering became a regular occurrence throughout the season. During a game against one rival school, Ray was booed every time he touched the ball, and insults flew on Internet message boards. “But Kyle never let it get to him and the rest of the team never let it distract them,” Perone says. “They were all very mature and concentrated on the task at hand.”
The controversy’s crescendo came against Pine Bush High School in the opening round of the state tournament. Before the game, Pine Bush lodged a protest with the NYSPHSAA, citing Horse-heads’ use of a male player. That protest was denied, and the Blue Raiders went on to win the match.
“I don’t think that boys should be playing girls’ volleyball,” Pine Bush Head Coach Lori Kachelmeyer told the Hudson Valley Times Herald-Record. “They’re stronger, they’re faster, they can jump higher, and they’re just physically more advanced than women are.”
In her 20-plus years of coaching, Perone says she has never dealt with the level of stress that she felt throughout the ordeal. However, she says she has grown from the experience and so have her players. “It was the kind of adversity we don’t normally face,” says Perone. “It taught us a lot of life lessons and I think it really brought our team together. The experience will serve the student-athletes all very well, especially later on in their lives.”
Perone also understands the concerns of those who wanted to prevent Ray from playing. “I certainly know where they’re coming from,” she says. “But I think it comes down to not judging somebody until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes.”
R.J. Anderson is an Assistant Editor at Athletic Management.
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