Troy Gooch knows men’s volleyball isn’t as popular as other sports are in Western New York.
Thirty teams played last season in Section VI, and not every section in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association even offers the sport, meaning competitive opportunities for public school students are limited.
But Gooch, a Canisius High School graduate and NCAA men’s volleyball national champion at UCLA, is hoping to help local players develop their skills. He held a clinic for about 25 students from multiple Buffalo Public Schools on Saturday at City Honors.
Gooch, his father and his brother served as coaches for the event as participants completed several drills to improve in all areas of the game, including defense, stance, digging and setting. Some of the players compete on clubs or for one of the four BPS schools that offer the sport (City Honors, Hutch Tech, McKinley and Olmsted), but the clinic primarily served as a learning opportunity for many to understand the fundamentals.
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“Volleyball is a game that not a lot of people know about,” Gooch said. “Buffalo Public Schools just got these programs a few years ago. … I think this is really big for the game, to growing the game and getting it more popular so more people know about it.”
Gooch and his brother, Troy, attended his father’s beach volleyball games when he was around 5 years old, he said. Eventually, he joined local leagues and played at club level to develop his game.
“I just kept playing more and more, and I realized how in love with the game I was, and it kind of turned into something that I did every single day,” Gooch said.
In high school, Gooch played at Canisius, quickly becoming a star player. In 2017, he was named the Monsignor Martin player of the year, and earned All-Western New York first team and offensive player of the year honors. He had won defensive player of the year honors in 2015 and 2016. As a three-year starter for the Crusaders, he contributed to the program’s 88-9 record and 2016 undefeated championship season.
It was always a goal for Gooch to play Division I. After some visits, he realized Division II Purdue-Fort Wayne’s program would be the best fit for him, not only for the collegiate game, but also to put him on the right track to play overseas afterward.
His success only continued. In four seasons at Purdue-Fort Wayne, he became a two-time all-conference selection and was an honorable mention All-American in 2022.
The pandemic granted athletes an additional year of eligibility, and Gooch took advantage. He knew he wanted to move to the West Coast, where men’s volleyball is more popular.
UCLA head coach John Speraw, who’s also the U.S. men’s national team coach, called Gooch and wanted to fly him to Los Angeles for a recruiting visit.
“I realized that was the place that I needed to be to grow as a volleyball player and a human being, and I had a really great experience there and I grew a lot as a volleyball player,” said Gooch, who donned a UCLA volleyball T-shirt at the clinic.
His five-year collegiate career culminated in an NCAA championship, when Gooch, a libero, had a season-high 15 digs in a four-set victory over two-time defending champion Hawaii in Fairfax, Va. Named to the NCAA All-Tournament team, he earned honorable mention All-America honors once again.
“Not a lot of people from Buffalo, New York go off to the West Coast and play volleyball, so that in itself was, I felt like, a huge honor to be one of the only guys from the East Coast out there,” Gooch said. “Us winning the national championship, it was a real testament to all the hard work – not only myself, but everyone on the team.”
Gooch will start his professional and national team career next month. He’ll return to the Los Angeles area to train with the U.S. national team ahead of its Pan American Cup in Guadalajara, Mexico, in August before another tournament in Canada in September.
It had always been a goal to represent the United States since he was a kid, Gooch said.
And after checking that off the list, he’ll check off another when he moves to Finland in the fall to play with his club, Hurrikani Loimaa. Gooch said he received a “great” offer and hopes to use the season as his first step to climb the ranks of European volleyball.
It is all part of his plan to represent the U.S. at the 2028 Olympics.
“It’s a really good opportunity for me to get my feet wet and get my foot in the door of how pro volleyball works over there,” Gooch said.
Reach Cole at [email protected]
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