Volleyball athlete Parker Henderson ’28 was in a unique situation after not being able to play sophomore year for Brophy. Henderson had prior contact with the coach and, according to AIA rules, was forced to sit out for the season, putting him at a disadvantage.
Henderson initially transferred because his older brother went to Brophy, and he heard “wonderful things” about it.
However, Henderson played for the same volleyball club that Mr. Tony Oldani helped coach, even though Mr. Oldani never directly coached him.
According to AIA Bylaws, Article 15. Student Eligibility Rules, “The student participated or practiced … on a non-school team coached, directed, supervised, managed, coordinated, owned or operated by any of the receiving school’s coaches,” the rule packet states. “The rule applies regardless of whether there is any evidence of athletic motivation or recruitment.”
Henderson knew that by transferring, he made the sacrifice to not play volleyball the first year.
Henderson was aware that he wasn’t able to play, but the Brophy education outweighed it.
“It would’ve been nice to be able to play, but it definitely opens your eyes to being able to be there in a different way for the team and just help out the team. I was basically the hype man 24/7,” said Henderson.
Henderson had a rare case, with most transfer students being able to play their first year. Kingston Sinner ’28 transferred his incoming sophomore year, and immediately was able to train with the team. However, Sinner got injured early in the spring. “I played four games, and then I got hurt at a tournament in Vegas.”
Sinner elaborated on how his situation is different from Henderson’s, saying, “It definitely still would have sucked to not play any games, but for me, it wouldn’t have been too much different.”
Similar to Henderson, Sinner still got to bond with his teammates despite not being able to play. “I loved the team we had last year. We had a great squad, and we have a great squad this year too. The vibes were amazing,” said Sinner.
