The 2024 O'Bryant High School Boys Boston City League Volleyball Champion Team. Photo by Joe Allen
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Among the many Roxbury area success stories, one that stands out is the John D. O'Bryant High School boys volleyball team, coached by Paul Pitts Dilley Jr., which has won three Division 2 city championships and whose ultimate goal is to bring the school a Massachusetts state title.
A native of Brazil and a dual U.S.-Brazilian citizen, Pitts-Dilly has led the giant company from its founding to its current glory in his 14 years at the helm.
“It took us years to surpass Latin Academy/Boston Latin School and reach championship status. That, and the fact that we played in a smaller league/conference, is what caused the program to take years to develop,” Pitts-Dilley said.
“There was no city championship final in my first six years as coach. That was when the playoff system was introduced to determine the true city champion. [the] “The competition on the court has allowed our program to grow and become competitive with the top Division II schools,” he said. “Today, we play the third-toughest schedule among Division II schools in Massachusetts.”
Many people don't know that volleyball is the second most played sport in the world after soccer, and it's one of the fastest growing sports in the United States.
Pitts-Dilley, a history and ethnic studies professor at O'Bryant University who is proud of the team's on-court success, is even prouder of the team's academic achievements.
“This year, nine of the 31 registered players received all 'A's' in their subjects. This fits perfectly into my teaching and coaching philosophy of 'study hard in the classroom first, then work hard on the volleyball court.'”
His philosophy has produced two seniors headed to Ivy League schools this fall (middle hitter Tochukwu Njoku at Yale and Bloody Maria at Cornell) and has helped the team have an unweighted GPA of 3.2 over the past four years. This year, the team's overall GPA is projected to reach 3.6, which would raise the team's national academic standing to the point of being on the Dean's Commendation List, a spot it has earned in four of the past five years, according to the American Volleyball Coaches Association.
Pitts-Dilley said he credits his drive to succeed to his parents, Paul Sr. and Rudy Maria.
“My father left the UK and settled in Brazil. He emigrated to the US to provide a better life for me and my brother Peter. He finished his job and now it's my job to carry on what my mother and father started. I have two children (daughter Harper, 10, and son Paul III, 8) with my wife Maggie, whom I met while we were students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. They are my life. Their love and support is one of the reasons I do what I do now.”
Last year's city championship team saw the graduation of all seven senior starters. This year's team is made up of two seniors, five sophomores and two freshmen who are key contributors to the team. Coach Pitts-Dilley credits his players for the hard work they put in to hone their skills.
“You have to recruit players young and develop their skills. You can't just take up volleyball as a senior in high school and expect to learn the game and play at a high level,” he says. “If you want to be successful in this sport, you have to work at it every year.”
This is difficult to achieve due to extremely expensive AAU competition, transportation, and other external factors that affect playing and development factors, but despite these factors, teams are able to recruit and develop quality players.
“Ninth-grader setter Max Don is a perfect example of our program,” Pitts-Dilley said, “He is the best player in the city of Boston at such a young age. Thanks to him and his current teammates, this program should be Massachusetts State Volleyball Champions in the next three years.”
The team is now headed to the state playoffs, which begin on May 30th.
When asked how long he plans to continue coaching volleyball at O'Bryant High School, Pitts-Dilley responded, “As long as my family will allow me to coach, I plan to continue doing this. This job takes up a lot of time with my family. For now, my wife and kids have accepted it. As long as they are willing, I will continue to work hard to build this program and live up to the name of John D. O'Bryant High School.”
He added, “My players and I know the legacy that Mr. O'Bryant created. We recently honored part of that legacy by attending the funeral of his wife, Cicely. We carry his name and his historic accomplishments in our hearts every time we play a game, and I will always ensure that my players honor his legacy.”