Flanagan’s Friedman returned to his alma mater and is laying the foundation for sustained success
Daryn Friedman never got the chance to experience even a district championship when he donned a Flanagan High School boys’ volleyball jersey.
But things have been changing for the better lately at his alma mater.
After winning only one district championship since boys’ volleyball became a state-sanctioned sport in 2003, the Falcons have won back-to-back district titles and made it to the regional finals for the first time this season.
And although Flanagan came up painfully short of making it to its first state tournament this spring, the breakthrough could be close for a program that has made noticeable strides in a short amount of time.
As such, Friedman is this year’s Miami Herald Boys’ Volleyball Coach of the Year for Broward County.
Originally hired in August 2021 to coach the
Falcons’ girls program, Friedman took over as the boys coach ahead of this season. He guided the Falcons to a repeat district title, an 18-4 record, and wins over West Broward and St. Thomas Aquinas in the regional playoffs.
Before the past two seasons, Flanagan’s furthest advancement in the postseason was to the state play-in round in 2004 when teams only had to win one match after their district tournament to get to state.
Everything appeared to be lined up for Flanagan to make it to state for the first time if it could beat neighborhood rival South Broward in the regional final.
The Falcons, though, lost standout outside hitter Kory Grant in the first set of that match to an ankle injury. Despite the setback, Flanagan battled the Bulldogs to five sets and led 13-9 in the final set before losing six consecutive points as South Broward made it back to state.
Friedman, who played at Flanagan from 20132017, is in his first stint as a high school coach although he has gathered experience in recent years coaching on the club level.
After his playing career at Flanagan, Friedman played college volleyball at St. Andrews University, an NAIA program in Laurinburg, North Carolina, where he won back-toback conference championships and was ranked fourth in the nation in aces his freshman season and second in the nation his sophomore year.