When Jeff Cody took over as head coach of Golden Valley’s boys volleyball program this spring, he needed some help.

There weren’t many returning varsity players, and the ones that were coming back endured an 0-10 Foothill League season in 2009.

As a coach with the successful Legacy Volleyball Club, Cody was well-versed in its system. But his new players weren’t.

The Grizzlies needed someone to act as a conduit between the coach and team.

They needed someone like Ryan Kessler.

Not only does the junior opposite hitter play alongside and against top-notch competition with Legacy, he also played for Golden Valley’s varsity team last season.

“Right now, I’m just trying to play my best, make sure that we’re in system and always stay positive,” Kessler says. “That’s one thing we always try to focus on is staying positive. When we get down, we play badly.”

Positivity might be the most important thing Kessler brings to the table, seeing as how he plays for a school largely devoid of athletic success. But Kessler says that he and a lot of the other players regularly attended Golden Valley boys basketball games, and he also notes the success of Golden Valley’s cross country program.

In order to get the boys volleyball program on that track, Kessler had to pass on what he knew.

Along with sophomore Alec Schlossman, who also plays for Legacy, Kessler has been teaching the other players the system. Cody says it made for a nice transition, considering the plentiful persuasions when it comes to volleyball strategy.

“Volleyball’s like a really evolving sport,” Cody says. “You talk to coaches across the country and everyone teaches everything differently. It’s not like basketball. Everyone knows how to run a pick-and-roll, but volleyball is so evolving.”

Kessler says the biggest difference is not so much how things are diagrammed on the court as how things are run at practice. Specific drills are run to build fundamentals, and when a certain player is struggling, the team rallies around him.

That, Kessler says, is in stark contrast to how things were a year ago.

“We’re a lot more organized,” he says. “Last year, if things were going bad we’d start screaming at each other. This year we stay positive.”

So far, it’s led to positive results.

Golden Valley earned its first league win in two years by beating Saugus 3-2 last Thursday, a victory that sent Kessler and his teammates jumping up and down in celebration. Kessler was a big part of the win, leading the team with 22 kills.

But Kessler offers more than just net prowess.

“He’s one of the few right-side players in the league we use as a passer,” Cody says. “Usually, right-side players aren’t great passers, but Ryan is so we use him a lot. The strongest part of his game is his defense. When he’s in the back row, I give him a little bit more range and freedom because he’s got great eyes and can read hitters.”

Kessler plays in the back row a lot with Legacy and says he feels comfortable there. Cody says he never has to worry about Kessler’s aggression on kill attempts, either.

But there is one thing Kessler needed to work on.

Teaching what he knew from Legacy was one thing. Being the emotional focal point for the Grizzlies was something else.

“Physically and technically his game’s good,” Cody says. “Now we’re trying to refine his mental game.”

Kessler is frequently pulled aside at practices and asked about the team’s morale, or why he made a certain decision on the court, or how he would respond to a certain situation. Sometimes, Cody will even rate his performances from prior games on a scale of 1 to 10.

Kessler says those one-on-one conferences with Cody help boost his confidence, which in turn boosts the confidence of the team.

“It’s definitely the difference between those tight matches,” Kessler says. “Last year we had several close losses, and if we had a better mindset maybe things would turn out differently.”

Thanks in part to Kessler’s efforts, things are different for Golden Valley so far this season.

He knows the system Cody is trying to teach. He knows how tough it is when the team isn’t winning.

He also knows the Grizzlies still have a lot of work to do if they want to change the program’s perception.

“It’s good having him because we kind of go out with a chip on our shoulder,” Cody says. “We are Golden Valley, and maybe we haven’t had the most success in the past, but we’re here and this is what we’re trying to do. He definitely plays like that.”