Joey Mascaro is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assugned to cover Millennium High School for AZPreps365.com

Millennium in the summer of the 2016-17 wanted to add a new sports program to the school.

Brannick, fresh off of his move from Chicago due to his wife getting a job out in the Phoenix area, needed to find work of his own. 

Coming from an eight season stint of coaching in Chicago, Brannick knew he wanted to coach volleyball wherever he ended up in Arizona. 

And after testing the waters, Millennium seemed to be the perfect fit. 

“I started looking for high school jobs, cause I was already at one in Chicago. I did a couple of interviews, really liked what I saw out of Millennium and the chance to start a boys program so I took the chance to do it,” Brannick said.  

The sport was in place, the man leading the charge at the top was filled, now all that was missing just happened to be the most vital part of any sports team. 

There were no players. Brannick’s next challenge was to not only find players who even wanted to participate in a new sport, but athletes who showed some talent and potential with ideally some background in the sport. 

Brannick knew how the system worked. If you want players to join your high school team and have a future, you have to recruit from within your own school and the local middle schools across the West Valley. 

“A lot of the Westside schools have junior high programs. It was good to know that they had experience from there. We did have a lot of interested guys, not a lot of experience compared to Eastside schools,” Brannick said. “It was fun to get into the gym, they kinda got to see those first couple years where the bar was in order to get to the level they wanna be at.” 

Now that a team could fill the court, Brannick had to instill the philosophy he wanted his team to have moving into the future. 

However, balancing that and trying to teach his kids how to play the game the proper way was something that needed to be done hand-in-hand.  

“Our thing was just to go out there and compete every night. I think we really hit on the competition aspect. Playing out every game to max effort,” Brannick said. “There were sometimes our youth shows, but it was fun to kinda watch the boys progress when we got older and older.”

No matter what the success on the court showed, Brannick’s mindset was always focused on making the experience of learning and playing volleyball fun, and always celebrating the little things the team did better than the night before.

Brannick holds a pure love and enjoyment for the sport of volleyball, and that influences the message that Brannick gives to his teams. 

And it’s safe to say that the message sticks with you, according to a former player of Brannicks.

Miles Duncan was a part of that first ever men’s volleyball team in the 2016-17 season, playing only one year of volleyball in junior high. Duncan heard about Millennium introducing the sport for the first time ever.

Being a part of that first-ever team meant something to Duncan, saying how it was a strange experience. 

“We kinda sucked but like getting that first win was really cool because you were a part of the building blocks so to speak,” Duncan said. “We would go out there and get absolutely smoked, we’re talking 25-10. We’d go out there and get humiliated. You just have to have your goals in line.”

It’s clear as day that Duncan still completely admires Brannick, and that his leadership in Duncan’s eyes the program grew rather quickly, and maybe in record time.

“I think it’s just a testament to what we've built there, our program I felt like was one of the fastest ascending programs in Millennium history. Our first year we won 5 games and in our second year we broke even, and in our third year we only lost two games including playoffs,” Duncan said.

That growth and leadership is what Duncan said he and his peers hung their hats on when the shape of the program from when they got there to when it was their time to leave the program and how he feels that the legacy is being carried by the younger generation of Millennium boys volleyball players. 

“My teammates, all the seniors in my class. We were the founding members. We were the first freshmen and I want to shout them out all personally,” Duncan said. “Mason Galindo, Oskar Kozieja, Austin McKee, Jake Palmer, Peyton Mooth, Cole Powers, Hayden Coday, and Andres Martinez. I felt like the culture and legacy we left, I mean this is a group of guys that are gonna care for you and push you. This is a place where you’re gonna grow and be challenged but it's also a brotherhood and we always have eachothers backs.” 

Duncan finished by reiterating how that the team acts more like a family than anything, and that the older brothers will not only guide them, but help teach them how to handle themselves on and off the court. 

Someone Duncan had a huge impact is current senior Andrew Lee. 

Lee joined the team in 2019, he found out through Jake (Palmer) about the team and convinced him to join the team. 

But it was Duncan who really took the time to help Lee grow into the team captain he is today. 

“Once I switched positions to middle last year, I looked up to Miles (Duncan), he was a great middle. I got a lot of tips from him and looked up to him,” Lee said. 

Being a senior amidst a challenging start to the 2021-22 campaign wasn’t something that anyone on the team saw coming, and Lee knows the team is looking at him to help steer the ship back in the proper direction. 

“Being a senior is hard because if stuff goes wrong the younger guys look towards you and you have to pick up everyone when times are down. Being a leader more so than usual on and off the court,” Lee said. 

Lee truly believes that the team can and will pick itself back up from the rough start they’ve had.

“Turning this team around as soon as possible is going to be the greatest thing to do for this team because right now we got off to a rocky start. We’re not really looking for what we can be as a team, we haven’t reached our full potential yet. If we turn around and realize our full potential we can start to show how good we really are,” Lee said. “These younger guys watching us varsity guys do it, when the time is for them to do it they can remember how in the previous season the varsity guys turned around from a bad start we can do the same.” 

The program from 2019 to now in 2022 has grown in a big way. Lee pointed out how the teams have gotten bigger each season. 

Also, Lee mentioned how COVID impacted the amount of people interested in being active again after sitting for the past almost two years at home. 

Lee will leave the team as the current longest tenured player, and he knows if the team works hard enough once his time has set, that there could be a potential chance at glory in the future.

“State championship, all the way. This team, the young guys we have that are improving every day if they work hard enough and reach their full potential state champs all day,” Lee beamed.

That sentiment is something Lee has in common with his coach, as Brannick mainly stays more in the moment, he realizes the future of his program is as bright as ever.

“I think we all want to win. I think that's the end goal at the end of the day. Obviously that comes with the progression every couple years as you get new guys in. I think we all really enjoy to be around each other and I think we're hoping to get over that hump in the near future,” Brannick said.