Pius volleyball coach dealing with the rebuilding process

One of the first things Dave Scher wants you to know is that he never took the success for granted.

The Pius XI girls volleyball coach has won 16 conference title and eight state titles. He has taken eight teams to the WIAA state tournament and is closing in on 1,000 wins. For the bulk of his 31 seasons winning was simply what the Popes did.

The last few years, however, have offered a unique experience for one of the state’s coaching legends. What happens when the success fades? What does that do to a coach’s mind-set? Does he change or does he stick to his guns? How does he go about reclaiming that magic?

“I’ve said this for years: Losing isn’t the worst thing,” Scher said. “The worst thing is walking off the court after a loss and realizing you could have given more and realizing you left stuff on the court. That is the worst feeling.”

With 31 years on the job, Scher is the longest tenured volleyball coach in the area, so it’s not surprising that he came to the sport in an old-school way. Most of today’s younger coaches actually played the sport in high school. When Scher was coming through Milwaukee Riverside in the mid-1970s girls sports were just starting and boys volleyball wasn’t nearly as widespread as it is today.

Scher played club ball in college. In

1984 he became the JV coach at Pius, growing into the job so well that when the head coaching job opened in 1988, Scher assumed that role without the program missing a beat.

Pius won titles in the old Metro Conference during his first seven seasons. During one two-year run in the early 1990s, Scher recalls losing just once.

The past four years Pius has gone 46-87.

“I’m not going to lie. I questioned myself at times and I’ve had discussions with my captains and my assistant coach,” he said “They pretty much backed the fact that “we want you to challenge us. We want you to not accept mediocrity in practice. Please keep pushing us.”

What has happened to Pius the past few seasons hits most programs in one fashion or another. Kids get hurt or leave for another school. The Popes' struggles were hastened by the injury of two key players who were no longer able to compete and two others who could no longer pay the tuition.

Losing four good players unexpectedly during such a short span can have an adverse effect.

“I said my biggest fear is that you guys will start accepting mediocrity,” Scher said.

One of the traits of Scher’s teams over the year has been their competitive spirit. The program’s last shining moment, a trip to the 2013 state tournament – was sparked by a sectional final victory over Divine Savior Holy Angels in which the Popes rallied back from a 2-0 deficit.

“We had not business winning that match," he recalled. "On paper they were head and shoulder talent above us, but the team was together, there was chemistry, there as a no quit attitude and they left everything on the floor.”

Pius has work to do to reach that level again, but the team opens the season with a chance to build a foundation that could lead to success. The team has had two straight solid freshman classes and a handful of those players are on the varsity.

Two sophomores start and another is knocking on the door. Just three seniors – Maura Driscoll, Izzy Murack and Grace Conway - are on the team.

“Pius volleyball has a long history of being great and of winning championships, but it really comes down to the team and the chemistry,” Conway said. “People should know that Pius volleyball has a great chemistry no matter what. He really enforces that, how we need to come together, be together and play together most important.”