Hype With Hazards: Juniors form their own recreational volleyball team, The Stage Hazards, over quarantine to improve their volleyball skills in a fun way

Shaking the light blue Port-a-Potty and jumping so high that their heads brushed the ceiling — and yelling so loudly that they drew attention from the curious onlooker — juniors Luke Fisher, Louis Prosser-Gebhardt, Graham Squires, Finnian Higgins, Tyler Kirchoff, Aidan Stidham and Ben Rodriguez knew only one way to celebrate their 6-0 set that day.

Baño.

“Hype is a big part of our team,” Louis said. “Baño, screaming and music. We have cheerleaders, we do a pregame carpool where we drive 90 miles per hour down Shawnee Mission Parkway, and we blast music.”

Baño, a widely-known East tradition which involves chanting “baño” repeatedly while jumping around in a bathroom, is just one example of a crazy antic done by The Stage Hazards, a co-ed club volleyball team consisting of nine juniors.

The tight-knit crew had a surplus of funny memories — all documented on video — from the time that Finnian fell and the rest of the team dramatically performed CPR on him during a set or the many instances of Louis tearing his tights. The long list of shenanigans might sound like pure mischief, but they think it just brings them closer and allows them to work better as a team.

The Stage Hazards got its start in the summer of 2020 as an outlet for Luke, Finnian, Alex and Graham to get a break from the monotonous routine of quarantine by doing something they loved — playing volleyball with friends.

“[Luke] would play at Prairie [Elementary] a lot, just hitting the ball to himself — grinding every day after school,” Louis said.

Over time, the boys grew better better at volleyball and the sport picked up more interest among their peers. Then they registered the team officially with Johnson County Parks and Recreation and recruited more of their friends to join the team. Now, it consists of nine players, two coaches and a posse of dedicated cheerleaders.

The team has become notorious in the Johnson County volleyball scene that some spectators and members of other teams often approach the self-proclaimed “better players” — which is their nickname for themselves —  when they catch sight of the Comic-Sans-emblazoned bright orange jerseys featuring the image of Wii Sports’ Matt Wuhu on the front.

“Last season, the team on the other court next to us wanted to come take pictures with us because we were energetic,” Ben said.

Besides the unique jersey design, The Stage Hazards also showcase their original sense of humor and personality through their very name. 

“In our first season playing as a team together, we would always hit the ball off the ceiling because we would always hit it too hard and it would come back down and we could never get to it,” Finnian said. “We were always yelling ‘bro, what are these stage hazards?’”

Junior Ava McDonald, another member of The Stage Hazards, shared that her favorite team tradition is their post-game ritual of going to Sheridan’s after a win, but Finnian then commented that they’ve only been to Sheridan’s once — a testament to their current win-loss record.

Reinforced by the team’s happy-go-lucky attitude towards winning and their previous win-loss records, the players don’t judge themselves or each other too harshly for losing. According to the general consensus of the team, they view it as a way to have fun and play volleyball — which is how it started in the first place.

“I think our mindset is that if we win, we’re [playing] amazing,” Ava said. “And if we lose, oh well. Honestly, we don’t really go into the games expecting more than to have fun.”

Between their pre-game hype sessions, the endless list of shared inside jokes and the actual playing of volleyball itself, The Stage Hazards set themselves apart from other teams.

“I think our team dynamic is really good, because if the [morale] goes down, we’re gonna lose,” Ava said. “If there’s no energy, we’re gonna lose. That’s what happens, you get creamed.”

The next season of rec volleyball is coming up soon for The Stage Hazards, early registration for the league began two weeks ago, and the team will start competing in early December. The players are hoping for an undefeated season — a lofty goal that they continue to work toward in their semi-weekly practices.

The hope is for their fans to witness another season of the fabled Stage Hazards, chaos and all.