Barry University set to make men’s volleyball history on Thursday with program debut

Barry University will play the first men’s volleyball game in program history on Thursday night, and Buccaneers coach Charles Norman has a unique way of explaining his excitement.

“Sometimes I want to slap myself in the face,” said Norman, who turns 24 on Friday. “I can’t believe the situation I’m in at my age.”

Barry, an NCAA Division II team, will play host to Erskine on Thursday at 7 p.m.

As soon as the game starts, the Bucs will become the first men’s volleyball program in Miami-Dade or Broward county.

The St. Thomas University Bobcats, an NAIA team, will become the second such program when their season begins Jan. 30 at Park University in Parkville, Missouri.

Having two new South Florida programs where talented guys can play is a massive development for local volleyball.

But it just shows how fast the sport has grown in Florida over the past two decades.

For example, girls’ volleyball has been sanctioned by the Florida High School Athletic Association since 1974.

But the boys didn’t get an FHSAA-sanctioned state title until 2003. And now comes this next step as Norman – hired on March 1, 2024 – worked countless 14-hour days to put together a 23-game schedule and a 19-player roster.

Norman, who is 6-foot-2, played volleyball for two Miami high schools – Varela and then Ferguson.

Since playing college volleyball in Miami was not an option in 2019 when he graduated high school, Norman played one season at Roosevelt University, located in Chicago.

After that, he came back home and graduated from FIU with a degree in Psychology. He also stared coaching a club team at Miami United Volleyball.

“I found out I like coaching way more than playing,” Norman said. “There’s a satisfaction from seeing a kid grow as a player and as a human being.

“It’s beautiful that I get to be influential in the lives of these players.”

Norman has given his Bucs players a tough schedule, including two games in Utah against Brigham Young University. Barry will also play other Division I schools such as Fairleigh Dickinson and Long Island.

Road trips for the Bucs will also include trips to New Jersey; New York; Georgia and South Carolina.

Barry will also play 13 home games, including the final eight of the regular season.

The Bucs won’t play for an NCAA national title until more programs add men’s volleyball at the Division II level. However, the Bucs will play for an Independent Volleyball Association national title, set for April 18-19 on the campus of Maryville University in the St. Louis area.

As for the roster, Norman signed two Germans and one player each from Austria, Brazil and Puerto Rico. The roster also includes eight Floridians as well as one player each from California, Indiana, New York, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas.

“High school volleyball in South Florida and in Orlando is big,” Norman said. “California and the Midwest are the traditional hotbeds of volleyball talent, but Florida is next.”

From March 1 until the end of June, Norman said he talked to – on average – eight recruits per day.

“I had a call scheduled every other hour,” Norman said. “Sometimes I would go as late as midnight if the player was on the West Coast.

“I also had about four or five recruiting visits per week. I was looking for players at every corner of the U.S. and also internationally.”

The Bucs have eight players who are 6-4 or taller, including 6-8 Elias Fuhrer, a starting middle blocker from Austria; and 6-10 Arne Mikusin, a backup middle from Germany.

Aside from Fuhrer, the rest of the starting lineup includes 6-3 setter Tristan Blake, who is a transfer from Tusculum; 6-5 middle blocker Ryan Uridel, who is from Ohio; 6-5 opposite hitter Colton Beres (Bradenton); 6-5 outside hitter Philip Tein (Germany); 6-2 outside hitter Chris Rivero (Miami’s True North); and 5-10 libero Bobby Clapp (Boynton Beach).

Rivero said he was close to committing to play for Rutgers when he got the call from Norman, a coach he has known since age 14.

“It was a green light for me to stay home,” said Rivero, who would have had to pay way more money to play for Rutgers since there aren’t many full scholarships in men’s volleyball.

“I love Miami. I live where everyone wants to vacation.”

Rivero and 6-2 opposite hitter Seth Bohler of Miami Palmetto both made first-team All-Dade last season.

Bohler said he originally figured he would have to play volleyball outside of Florida. After all, his brother, 6-8 outside hitter Sean Bohler, competes for an NAIA school in Kentucky, Georgetown College.

But then the opportunity opened up at Barry, and Bohler turned down an offer to play NAIA volleyball in Arizona.

“Now my family doesn’t have to fly across the country to see my games,” Bohler said.

“I think we’re all super lucky to be playing volleyball in Miami -- such a beautiful city.”

Bohler said the Barry players are stoked to play in Thursday’s debut game.

“We’re looking to set a standard,” Bohler said. “For all our 19 guys, our names are going to be part of a legacy.”