Double-take is the routine for coaches
Several oversee boys, girls teams at two schools
Adam Thomas wasn’t looking for another coaching job. But he couldn’t pass up an opportunity to coach at his alma mater.
Thomas has been the girls volleyball coach at Ringgold High School for seven years and is also a teacher Ringgold. Now he’s in the first year of coaching the boys team at Bethel Park.
“This is my ninth year of teaching at Ringgold,” Thomas said. “When I heard about the opening at Bethel Park, I thought it would be great to coach at my alma mater. I live in Baldwin, so I’m only 10 minutes away from the high school. My drive to Ringgold every day is 25-30 minutes.”
Girls volleyball in Pennsylvania is played in the fall and boys in the spring and it’s not uncommon nowadays for one person to coach both teams. You might even see one person, like Thomas, coaching girls and boys teams at different schools.
Thomas plans to continue coaching the girls team at Ringgold.
“It’s a little overwhelming to be a head coach at two different schools, but there is always something to look forward to,” Thomas said. “I will start open gyms for the girls in May, then do the same for the boys in December.”
Thomas has added another Bethel Park grad (Adam Foote) as his assistant. “He’s coached at Baldwin before and is a Bethel Park grad,” Thomas said. “Our goal is to get the program back on track. They had only three wins last year. We want to get the team back in the playoffs.”
Thomas is one of three WPIAL coaches who are coaching volleyball at two different schools. Ron Kelly and Michael Nypaver are the other two.
Kelly has been the girls coach at Thomas Jefferson for 24 years and is now in his fifth season as boys coach at South Fayette.
Michael Nypaver is in his eighth season as boys coach at Mars. He’s also been the girls coach at Deer Lakes for two years.
Andrea Lasher doesn’t coach at different schools, but she is now the boys and girls coach at Armstrong High.
“I coached both programs for two years, the 2015-16 and 2016-17 school years,” said Lasher, who has been Armstrong’s girls coach for nine years.
Lasher took over the boys program for Gregory Hedglin.
“Greg has a son attending Shady Side Academy and wanted more time to see him play baseball,” Lasher said. “He asked if I would step in. It’s hard to find coaches, especially in our area.”
And Lasher has committed to more than one season.
“I plan on coaching a couple more years, but will be looking into retirement soon,” said Lasher, who is a sixth-grade teacher at the intermediate school.
Lasher is one of five coaches who head up both the boys and girls volleyball programs at their school. The others are Our Lady of the Sacred Heart’s Mike McDonald, Canon -McMillan’s Sheila Mitchell, Latrobe’s Drew Vosefski and Seneca Valley’s Brett Poirier. At Penn-Trafford, Jim Schall has been the coach of both programs, but that will end in the fall. “I’ve decided to step down as girls coach, but stay with the boys team,” Schall said. “I coached the girls team for 26 years. We didn’t have a boys program when I started. This is my 22nd year with the boys.” The grind of coaching both programs became too much for Schall. “Coaching both programs is a year-long commitment when you consider all the offseason open gyms for both teams,” Schall said. “With that in mind, I’m turning the girls program over to Tracy McDonald.”
McDonald is a Penn-Trafford alum and has been a member of Schall’s coaching staff since 2003.
“Tracy started with our middle school program,” Schall said. “She’s been my varsity assistant for a few years. I’m glad the school picked somebody with such a long history with our program.”
Around WPIAL boys volleyball this spring, there are some notable new coaches. Jack Zebo is the new “old” coach at Upper St. Clair. Zebo is back at the helm after a 10-year layoff.
“I coached 15 seasons before stepping down after the 2013 season,” said Zebo, who continued teaching at Upper St. Clair.
He replaces Josh Ficorilli, who headed the Panthers’ program for 10 years.
“Our athletic director was having a tough time finding a coach,” Zebo said. “I decided in February to come back. It’s nice to connect with kids on this level again.”
At Pine-Richland, Tyler Trimbath has taken over after serving as an assistant coach last year.
“It’s very different being the head coach, but having been with the program last year really helps because I know all the kids,” Trimbath said.
Trimbath is a 2015 graduate of Moon High School who played one year at Thiel College.
“I’ve also coached boys and girls at Pittsburgh Elite,” Trimbath said. “Coaching a boys high school team has been one of my goals.”
At Beaver County Christian, Maggie Townsend has returned to her alma mater to coach the boys team. This is her first coaching job after graduating from Geneva College in December.
Townsend graduated from Beaver County Christian in 2018. She was a fouryear starter and three-year WPIAL Class 2A all-star.
“It’s a rebuilding year for us,” Townsend said. “We lost a few kids to graduation and a couple others didn’t come back. We have some kids who have never played volleyball before, but there is a lot of potential if we can get in rhythm.”