Episode Transcript
[00:00:08] Speaker A: 1234-5678 910 1112 episode 376 the Rant Brendan Gilroy, assistant coach for the boys varsity volleyball at Kellenberg Memorial High School and head coach of the girls varsity volleyball at St. Mary's High School. Right after practice, Brendan comes and visits the chop shop to discuss growing up in sports, finding his passion and love for volleyball, how he got into coaching, and what the future holds. All that and more. My conversation with coach Gilroy now.
[00:00:56] Speaker B: 1234-5678 910 1112 1234-5678 910 1112.
[00:01:16] Speaker A: 3311.
[00:01:29] Speaker B: Eight three.
[00:01:34] Speaker A: 8211 8910 the rant has been brought to you by the Premier Flag Football League of Liquid Long island legends. It's an adult flag football league which has a multitude of fields in both Nassau and Suffolk county with games played on Sundays. The spring season is upon us and is rapidly approaching. Starting April 7. Interested in signing up a team? Interested individually. Coming on as a free agent? What about reffing? Be sure to follow and dm us at Li Legends on Instagram.
Welcome to another edition of the rant. I'm your host, Ralph Dubrev. I'm with a super special guest, somebody that just left a team I used to coach. It was the last time I coached them, 22 years ago, which is crazy, but you know, somebody that's from the Kellenberg volleyball tree, something that's near and dear to my heart. Current assistant coach at Kellenberg for the boys varsity team. Also the head coach of the girls varsity team at St. Mary's. Mister Brendan Gilroy. How are you, man? Good.
[00:02:44] Speaker B: How are you? It's good to be here.
[00:02:45] Speaker A: I'm so excited that you're here. And I'm really excited that you mentioned that, you know, Kennedy and Brooke was excited that they were going to hear this, and I could see them right behind you and, you know, shout out to all the seniors, Alana Plunkett, Jackie Brecker. She's also.
[00:02:59] Speaker B: Yeah, we got. Our managers are Kennedy, Brooke, Olivia, Grace, and Jackie. And they are so helpful.
[00:03:06] Speaker A: Okay, so everyone except Alana and obviously the softball superstar that is Julia Maniscalco. Interesting, man. I'm really happy that you're here. I know. I've wanted to do this for so long. You know, I got caught up with basketball, which is another weird thing because you're just always ubiquitous with all of the St. Mary's basketball games. So it's a really pleasure to speak to you about this, but, you know, first thing I want to speak about is, like, how was. How was practice today? I know you just played Holy Trinity. We're taping this on a Thursday, and I think it's April 4.
[00:03:38] Speaker B: Yeah. Okay.
[00:03:39] Speaker A: So how was practice? How was the game yesterday?
[00:03:41] Speaker B: Game yesterday? We played Holy Trinity at Holy Trinity. We won three one.
First set went to extra points. We won 30 28. Trinity was a good team.
Better than I was expecting.
[00:03:55] Speaker A: I don't know why you would expect.
[00:03:56] Speaker B: Anything coming off my experience as a player. Trinity was always a school where I knew as a freshman I wasn't going to start, but I would get in the game.
[00:04:05] Speaker A: Gotcha.
[00:04:06] Speaker B: But credit to Karen Hogan, she put together a very strong team. They blocked well, and they just. They minimized errors and relied on us to make a mistake.
And, boy, did we make some mistakes.
In the first set alone, I think we had 17 errors.
And it's just. It's little things that build up to big things. We're a very strong team, and these boys can put the ball on the floor, and it's really coming together. We're three one in conference. We swept St. Anthony's. We swept St. John the Baptist. We went three one to trinity yesterday, and we lost three one to chaminade. But that was a real test. I think it was a very strong win for chaminade and a very.
[00:04:46] Speaker A: It was.
[00:04:46] Speaker B: It was a good loss for us. It was a fight. It was. I think it was 25 20. Set one. We lost set 225 23. And we battled back. At one point it was 20, 317. And we battled back. Uh, we won set for 25, either 22 or 23. And we lost set 425 21. So it was. They were really close. And shamnad's a great team. Um, mister Trenacost is still coaching them. What?
[00:05:12] Speaker A: He is.
[00:05:13] Speaker B: He's been coaching them since. Was he coaching when you were a student?
[00:05:16] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:05:16] Speaker B: He was coaching when I was a student, yes.
[00:05:18] Speaker A: Marina was my, um, my history teacher.
[00:05:21] Speaker B: And she was the dean for us. I can't remember.
[00:05:22] Speaker A: Right.
[00:05:22] Speaker B: She was.
[00:05:23] Speaker A: She was also the dean.
[00:05:24] Speaker B: She was at the game.
[00:05:25] Speaker A: She.
[00:05:25] Speaker B: She's still. She's still there every time.
[00:05:27] Speaker A: Cool.
[00:05:27] Speaker B: Um, and they were a great team. And we worked today a lot on, um, serve, receive. It's solid first ball contact because there are times where we struggle shoulders back and we're passing straight up. Our poor setter, Chris Pugliese, has to run a marathon to get to the ball. He was gassed yesterday. Um, we worked a lot. We did, you know, a serve receive wave drill from both sides of the court. Butterfly always. And then today we did one of the coach Vaughn and coach Strauss specials. We did the four cs, which was all about, you know, you can get four points for one actual point, right, a point for communication, coverage, celebration, and converting defense to offense. And that was a huge drill for us because a lot of these guys, volleyball is not their main sport. We have a few basketball players, a few football players, a few soccer players. Really only three or four of them. It's volleyball, the main sport, so getting them as many touches on the ball is important. And the four season drill really brought a lot of people out of their box today.
We saw a lot of chatter, people kind of going at each other across the net, which is good to see, because even the young kids who are playing, we have two sophomores who are absolutely killing everything. Ryan Bargellini is destroying serve receive. He is one of the most consistent serve receive people we have in the back row, and we have our outside. Michael Togios, he's a sophomore. He is hitting a .43 in the year. He is our highest hitting percentage. And he's only a sophomore. Yesterday, he went 16 kills, two errors on, I think, 27 swings. He. And he's making these. I don't even know if he's making a conscious decision to make these in game adjustments, but he's cutting the ball four to four. He's tipping line over the block. He is just. He's making really smart, valuable decisions without having to be told. And that just comes. That's just natural talent and potential because he is completely locked in. He's great. And we have another outsider, junior ryan exaros. He actually hit four six yesterday, his highest on the year. And he, you know, when he swings through the ball, which is something we've been working on, not stopping or swing, swinging through, he's not. They're not stopping him. He's six'four. He's great.
I'm having so much fun with this team. I could talk for hours.
[00:07:45] Speaker A: That's awesome, man. That's really awesome to hear the joy that you have of coaching this team. First of all, I'll just say with ryan, you, bargellini, I hope he's playing like that. Cause this man was like. He went to all the tournaments and those. Those tournament, those girls tournaments. Cause she was obviously, alyssa was on my team, man. I mean, we're talking about 10 hours a day, six of those tournaments, like. And he was there from start.
[00:08:07] Speaker B: He's a good kid. He came out of his shell a little bit today during our drill, and I missed two serves in a row, and he yells at me across, and that's the best you got? He kind of came after me. It was good to see I was bringing him out of his shell. It's nice. He's a good kid.
[00:08:20] Speaker A: Well, I'm really glad that you're having a good time. You know, I'll just say from. Just from my own experience, I feel like one of those kids, right? I basically had a english teacher that I don't know. She ran me down during homeroom night when I was in 10th grade. My homeroom was, like, one of the most athletic homerooms you could possibly have. One played in major league baseball. He played for the Yankees and the Braves. Another kid was, he was on the football team and he was on the soccer team, and he was kicking field goals, and he was, like, the top track kid. I had another kid that was six foot seven. I had another kid that was. Is the head coach of, like, Liu Post. So I. In baseball, so I just always had, like, a bevy of different athletes. And then there was me. So I remember I threw this alley up and my english teacher came up to me and was like, you have amazing footwork. You should play volleyball. And I'm like, no, I'm not playing that. I'm a basketball player. And, you know, she kept, she kept telling me in class, like, you should consider playing. And she wasn't even a coach, so I don't even understand why she wanted me to do that. And, you know, I've been. I've been by her side for, like, 27 years now. So it's like a full circle moment.
[00:09:32] Speaker B: That hard to say no to Cathy Vaughn.
[00:09:35] Speaker A: But, you know, just to say that, I think one of our biggest strengths that me and von have is that, you know, sometimes I'm aware that the kids that need to perform, I'm not concerned necessarily about the kids that are exclusively focused in on volleyball, but there's something to be said about those, those other kids that, you know, I play basketball and volleyball's a little similar. Or, you know, I played lacrosse last year and it didn't work out for me, so I'm going to try this. But, you know, just as you said, I felt like you just had tryouts, like, last week, and you're already, like, five games in.
[00:10:08] Speaker B: We started, I think, the last week of March, and today was our 12th practice, and we've had four conference games and a tournament. Yeah.
[00:10:16] Speaker A: So what I'm trying to say is that, like, you don't have enough time.
[00:10:18] Speaker B: And, like, it's hard to build that team chemistry because that boys volleyball season compared to all the other seasons in any sport in high school is the shortest. I always feel like, you know, girls volleyball is the best part, is that it's a long season. We start 2nd, 3rd week of August, and we don't end until Halloween. And in April for the boys, I think we have three games a week, two practices, if you're lucky, Saturday tournaments. So not a lot of time to make adjustments in between games.
[00:10:47] Speaker A: Right. And I think just coaching with that type of pressure because you don't have enough time, I mean, you could see market improvement, but you don't really have the same amount of time you do as like a basketball season.
[00:10:57] Speaker B: Absolutely right.
[00:10:58] Speaker A: Because basketball just, it feels. And, you know, like when you were saying about the fall season, I still think that's short in comparison to basketball season. Basketball season just keeps going and going and going, you know, but, you know, that's really cool. And, you know, if, if there's any advice I can give to you in that situation is that you want to squeeze the most. And it's funny, I said this kind of like, it was, it was like a real off the record moment. And, you know, sometimes I'll go up to Kathy and I'll go, I'll just ask her this, like, very philosophical, high level. Like, what do you think about what this is? And I'm like, what is your favorite thing about what we've been doing all this time? And she's like, you know, I love getting a kid. And she says this. I love getting a kid off the street and being able to have them for seven weeks and be able to compete with a kid that plays all the time.
[00:11:47] Speaker B: And, I mean, from last year's team, you could look at three or four kids who never played volleyball before. I think she wasn't a senior this year. I think she was a senior last year. The strides that Nora Casey made.
[00:11:58] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:11:59] Speaker B: Ridiculous. A basketball player who showed up and you see her running back ones in a slide with the proper footwork and killing the ball.
[00:12:07] Speaker A: Right, right. Well, that's, that's where I come in and I just go, like, I just like what I did with Kennedy this year. I just, like, just pretend it's like a left handed layup. But then after that, I just kind of give them something that they understand because I don't have enough time. I don't have enough time to make it, like the technical correct way. Yeah, right. Like Kennedy, first and foremost, like, I'd say, like from her junior year, should.
[00:12:29] Speaker B: See her on the boys net. We threw her in every now and then to block the boys.
[00:12:32] Speaker A: Yeah, she killing them. Does she miss volleyball now?
[00:12:35] Speaker B: I think so, yeah.
[00:12:36] Speaker A: She had such a great seat. Shout out to Kennedy Myers, who had, like, the season of all seasons last.
[00:12:41] Speaker B: Year, and she had the championship kill.
[00:12:43] Speaker A: She did. She did. So I want to go back to, like, just how you got into, like, sports in general. Like, so where did you grow up? What did you play growing up?
[00:12:53] Speaker B: I grew up in Belmore. I went to public school my whole life until high school, I went to Kellenberg.
[00:12:59] Speaker A: And how did you get to Kellenberg? Because I always say this, and a lot of people don't understand because we both fall in the same category now. I'll say I went to Hofstra University, right? And I love Hofstra. I spent a lot of time. I spent more time as a student at Hofstra. I got, like, four degrees from. You could see it, right? This is how we do. But, you know, I'm, like, 25 years to remove, but I'm so loyal to my high school. Like, I love it so much, and it's a cult. I get it. It's a cult.
[00:13:31] Speaker B: It's absolutely a cult. And I'm still buying into it, and.
[00:13:34] Speaker A: I'm still in it. Like, I'm. And I'm talking about, like, I graduated way longer than you did, and I'm still in it, and I love it so much, and I don't think I'll ever. It's. It's such an important part of my identity.
But I also know that in the beginning, my parents forced me to go to latin school, and I didn't want to go at all. And I hated them. I resented them so much. I begrudgingly went to school for two years, learning Latin, wearing a uniform, like, it just was not fun. And there was only, like, 60 kids in the school for Latin school, and everyone else were giants, right? But then when I went to 9th grade, all of a sudden there's, like, an influx of 600 kids, and they didn't know anything, and I knew everything, so it kind of flipped in that way. But I just want to know, like, how do you got into when you could have just went to methamphetam? Yeah.
[00:14:22] Speaker B: So my parents, they both grew up in queens. They were products of catholic school their entire lives.
And my, they really left it up to us. They didn't force anything on us. But a lot of my older cousins, they had gone on to Holy Trinity, a few at Kellenberg. And I remember just, you know, my cousin Shannon she actually played volleyball for coach Vaughn. And I remember every now and then just going to pick her up and how.
[00:14:48] Speaker A: What's Shannon's last name?
[00:14:49] Speaker B: Beauregard.
[00:14:49] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:14:50] Speaker B: Class of. I think she was zero one or zero two. Shannon.
[00:14:52] Speaker A: So brother. Brother. John's your cousin? Yeah. Okay. Because I went to school with.
[00:14:58] Speaker B: John is my cousin, and their siblings went to Holy Trinity. I had a few siblings on. My dad said, go to Holy Trinity. And when I was in about 7th or 8th grade, my parents started taking. My mom started taking us to the high school fairs. We went to Holy Trinity and Kellenberg. And if you had asked me when I was in 7th grade where I was going to high school, it was always going to be holy trinity. My two older cousins who lived four houses away were basically my older brothers. And they played basketball, they played football, and we were always there. Always there. And then when I saw Kellenberg, I liked it. I thought it was really cool that, you know, there's animals in the building and the teachers have dogs, but I felt like, you know, I got there and it was kind of. I felt.
It's hard to explain. My. My first ever principal said to us when we taught 8th grade, and the parents were freaking out about where they're gonna go to high school, she said, it's a match to be made, not a prize to be won. And when you go, you're just. You're just gonna know there's that feeling you get and you know you're gonna be there. And when I went to Kellenberg, I thought that this was it.
[00:16:06] Speaker A: So you felt that early on, huh?
[00:16:08] Speaker B: Yeah, probably that last visit after it, before I took the co op in, like, October, November of 8th grade, I was like, you know what? I think this is the one.
[00:16:16] Speaker A: Now let me ask you a question, just, like, from a student perspective, like, from a student, like, my persp, my experience going into 9th grade and somebody like you going into 9th grade. Where were those latin school kids that were in your grade? Were they bullies? Were they.
[00:16:31] Speaker B: No.
[00:16:31] Speaker A: No, they weren't. They weren't.
[00:16:32] Speaker B: Were they ambassadors?
[00:16:33] Speaker A: Ambassadors.
[00:16:35] Speaker B: They definitely knew more than I knew. One of my best friends to this day, my friend Amanda, she was there from 6th grade to 12th grade, okay. And she was nowhere near a bully, but she kind of knew the ins and outs of the system. And I felt like she was at such an advantage because she knew everything and we were coming in blind. So she actually helped us out a lot, saying, like, you know, use the courtyard for this way. Or when you're going to gym, do this, or knowing kind of what teachers you can get away with things with, knowing that, you know, maybe teacher a is not the one to mess with you. You're not going to mess with Miss Trenicost, right. If your locker is near Miss Tryna cross office, try not to go there eight times a day.
Or, you know, with maybe somebody who's a little more easygoing like Mister Heitner, you could. You could joke around a little bit, and that was really helpful.
If I could do it again, I would go back to Kellenberg in a second.
[00:17:28] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:17:29] Speaker B: I would go for latin school if it wouldn't break my parents bank account.
[00:17:32] Speaker A: Listen, I'll say that I agree with. I agree with that sentiment, but I wouldn't want to go to latin school in the nineties with all my friends. Like, I wouldn't want to go in 2024.
[00:17:43] Speaker B: It's definitely changed. Yes, it's definitely changed. I'm not there during the day, but I wish I was there during the day.
[00:17:51] Speaker A: I feel like you will be at.
[00:17:52] Speaker B: Some point, but, yeah, I don't know what it's like to teach there now. There's a few kids from my graduating year who teach there now, and they all really have nothing but positive things to say about it. Yeah.
[00:18:03] Speaker A: I mean, look, I think it will be now, always and forever be a safe space for you, right?
[00:18:11] Speaker B: Yeah. And you hear all about the Kellenberg bubble, and it's.
It's a great place to be, honestly.
[00:18:17] Speaker A: Yes, it's very much.
[00:18:18] Speaker B: It's really nice getting to go back there as an adult and help somebody, you know, through the coaching world. Just help somebody the same way someone like Coach Strauss or Coach Heitner helped me.
[00:18:29] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:18:29] Speaker B: Because I never had much contact until senior year with coach Vaughn.
I've had more contact with her as an adult, as, you know, an assistant coach or as a friend. Cause during the season, her and I talk after every single game, or we're in a group chat with me, her and Courtney, where we're discussing NCAA volleyball all day and night. And it's just. It's really great.
[00:18:55] Speaker A: Yeah, sure.
[00:18:55] Speaker B: So, Kellenberg volleyball has given me so much, and I couldn't be more grateful.
[00:18:58] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. But I do want to talk about how you got into volleyball when you went to Kellenberg.
[00:19:04] Speaker B: So I played on my middle school team, um, in. Not in 7th grade. I broke my. Shattered my wrist skiing and my brother played, and I was the manager. I learned how to do the book and all that fun stuff. And so he was playing, and I was a manager. And then I joined the team in 8th grade. And I loved it. It was so much fun. It was a short season because they do the four seasons in public school. And I had a really great coach shout out to miss Smith, who still coaches, I think, at that middle school, grande middle school. And, you know, she knew the game pretty well, but she wasn't doing anything advanced with us. We weren't running plays. We didn't have a setter, but we had a really fun team. We had a great time, and we killed it. We went nine and one that year. And then it came time in 9th grade where I had to make the decision. I had played baseball. I wasn't particularly good. My brother was pretty good, but he had broken his foot freshman year, so he wasn't playing either. And I remember, you know, I got the sign up sheet and I went to sign ups. I'm one of two freshmen there and these giants. I was five two as a freshman. And I was terrified, absolutely terrified. I went to my guidance counselor, Miss Mangione, and I was like, I don't know if this is for me. I don't know if I could do it. I didn't know Mister Heitner. I didn't teach him. He taught my brother. And then she actually went to Mister Heitner and said, listen, dan Gilroy's twin brother is terrified. And Heitner kind of pulled me out of class the next day. He was like, come to the gym.
See how it goes. I promise you're gonna be fine. He had no idea what I was like as a player. He had no idea what I was like as a kid. But the fact that they went on a limb to tell me it was gonna be okay. And I went. I remember going out. I was so embarrassed. Nobody else was wearing knee pads, and I was the only one. So I went back into the locker room, pretended I had to go to the bathroom, and I took off my knee pads and I went back in, and it was a sort of receive drill. And I started passing the ball. And a senior came up to me and shook my hand. He said, who are you?
And for the life of me, I can't remember his name. But after that, he said, don't be nervous. You're doing better than half these kids. You'll be here for the next four years. And he was right. I was the only freshman on the team.
And then the next year, my brother had tried out, and so did a few of our friends who really grew into volleyball as the sport. And that sophomore year we had these lights out freshmen come in, Michael Phillip and Phil Beas. And it was just, it was a great ride.
We didn't win until my senior year. We came in second. My junior year we lost to either St. Anthony's or chamonat in the finals.
And then we played senior year, we won every single conference game except for one. Our last conference game we lost to Shamanado and in five sets. And I remember just being. We were devastated.
And then the next game was playoffs. We rolled over Trinity. We rolled over, actually, I think we got a bye for the first round. So we beat Trinity in the final four and then we have shamanade and we lose the first two sets.
And it's at that point where we were kind of shell shocked. And it was a long, long match and we reverse wet them for the win. And to this day it was.
It was like a storybook. It was. It was the best feeling. The highlights are still on YouTube, I think.
And that team was really special. We weren't the best of friends off the court, but it didn't matter. We had just such a good, cohesive team unit. As soon as we stepped on the court, anything that happened the day before or in practice didn't matter. It was right then, right now. And we had, we had a great team. Phil Bees. My brother, Bobby Kawalski was one of our. He played middle and outside. He could crush the ball.
[00:22:53] Speaker A: Bobby Kovalski, wow.
[00:22:55] Speaker B: He could crush the ball. Connor Goss could crush the ball.
We had. James Fulford was our right side. He could crush the ball. Ryan Branigan was a sophomore setter at the time. And he could, he had, he had ridiculous hands. He could spread the offense, be unpredictable. We had a really great team and it was, it was, it was fun. It was just fun. We had so much fun playing. And I think the best part of that win was that we forced Shaman to miss the boat for Aquapron.
And the boat had to turn around and come get them. Cause it was a three hour match and it was. And to this day, I think Mister Heitner said that Mister Trenicoff still brings it up, saying that we can't have the championship on x day of the year because this is the day of aqua prom. So, you know, 1011 years later, he never forgot that.
[00:23:46] Speaker A: I just want to shake your hand.
[00:23:47] Speaker B: Because I never heard that story.
[00:23:49] Speaker A: I know, off air. Before we started recording, I showed you my 1999 plaque. Cause that was my senior year and I have a very similar story, but not as.
We didn't reverse sweep anybody, but I'll say that shaman was undefeated up until the championship game. And they only lost one game. Yeah, they. They won every match. The only game that they lost, they beat us in four. Mm hmm. But I'll never forget this. This is my senior year, and you know how it is, right? It's like, comps are over. Yeah. This is it.
[00:24:20] Speaker B: This is all you have left. This is it. How is your story gonna end?
[00:24:24] Speaker A: How are you gonna let your senior year end? Right? I'll never forget, Coach Vaughn took over for Mister Soloski my junior year, and Mister Seloski was very laissez faire. He was. Rolled the balls out and. But the thing is, like, when I was a sophomore, we did the reverse week. We were down 20, but I didn't play. But the thing is, like, I had psychos on my team. I had this kid, Matt Vitro. I had Steve Wright. These guys play club volleyball since they were in, like, 6th grade. I never played the sport. I never played this when I tried out. You know what happened when? Like, during tryouts, biggie Smalls died.
That's what. That's what. That's what I was. I'm thinking, like, I'm not gonna make the team, but shout out to Tom Grilly, who's, like, my partner in crime. He was in my homeroom. We were the only sophomores that tried out. We made the team. But you know what's really funny about Matt Vitro and Steve Wright? They acted like we were. We played volleyball before, so they would always go like, what are you doing? Like, I don't know what I'm doing. I don't understand why you keep treating me that way.
[00:25:27] Speaker B: Baptism by fire.
[00:25:28] Speaker A: But we learn, and we learn from their leadership. And then, you know, I think when Bond took over our junior year, we were nervous because she wanted to do all of these drills, and she wanted us to, like, I don't know what you wanted us to do, but, you know, now I know, obviously now, but, you know, at the time, you're just not understanding the rhyme or reason. But it all kind of came to focus our senior year because the game plan that she had for that last final championship game, everything that she said, and I'll never forget this, like, right before we started playing, she's like, if you execute all of these key points that I'm telling you, we'll be successful in the match.
And I'll tell you what, they only lost one game that whole season. We swept them. Say goodbye. That's the end of my senior year. So I feel you, man. I feel that's not, there's no better feeling than beating shamanade in the finals. And listen, I respectfully say that because you want to have competition, you want to have St. Anthony's to be good, you want them to be at full strength.
[00:26:29] Speaker B: And you know what? And that's something that, being with coach Heitner, it's really fun coaching with him after being his player because in many ways he stayed the same, but in so many other ways, he's just advanced his level of knowledge of the game. You would hope, right? And it's, it's really, he's, he's relies on, you know, he likes, I'm crazy about stats, so I do the stats and, and every now and then he'll just turn in the middle game. He goes, what's the hitting percentage? What's this? How many net violations? And he really is able to just use those in game numbers to make our adjustments. And that's we did yesterday, you know, we had to do something a little unconventional. We were having trouble closing the block out of our middles, so we made a change. We moved one of our people who are swinging in the middle. We moved him to the right side and we threw our setter, Chris Paglisi, who is ridiculous. He had 58 assists yesterday.
We moved him to the middle. He would just run the offense setting out of the middle and he just was quick enough to close the block and that changed the game. This, a simple adjustment like that gave us the momentum. And that's not something I remember us doing when I was in high school. Maybe we didn't need it, but it's just those simple in game adjustments that he does so well and the trust that he has in his coaching staff and in his players. And you see the same thing from you and Kathy. One of my favorite things about, not that I have many playing coaching against you guys is because I feel you guys are very cool, calm and collected on the bench.
[00:28:01] Speaker A: Well, that's after 25 years.
[00:28:03] Speaker B: And I coach very emotionally because I. You do? Yeah.
[00:28:08] Speaker A: And listen, there's nothing wrong with that, right?
[00:28:12] Speaker B: Yeah. And I don't even have an assistant at St. Mary's, which has got to be rough.
[00:28:16] Speaker A: It's a lot.
[00:28:17] Speaker B: So I had a really great senior this year. I taught her last year. She was in my homeroom. I teach her again this year and she said, you know, hey, Gilroy, if you need help, I can stay. My after school job doesn't start until 06:00. Anyway, and it's right down the road from St. Mary's, so I can stay. I'll go with you to games and, you know, I'll help you with paperwork or whatever else you need. And she had played volleyball once or twice. She didn't really know the game, but she knew the girls on the court. And having her as kind of my assistant slash manager was so helpful because there were times where I thought I was pushing too much and I'd take my seat and I'd say, you know, next ball, get the next ball, see what happens? And she'd turn to me and she goes, you need to call timeout and yell at them. And I was like, no, back off. I need to back off. I need to back off. I yell too much. And she goes, call the timeout and yell at them. I was like, are you sure she was? Yeah, call the timeout. I yelled at them and it clicked for them. She was like, they just needed to be pushed. And I, from a senior in high school telling me that to telling me that I need to, you know, not back off was a real, was a real sign of maturity from her.
[00:29:26] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:29:26] Speaker B: So shout out to Sofia.
[00:29:27] Speaker A: I also think that's a maturity from, from your standpoint that, you know, I think one of the things is that there's one thing to take your power and use it for, I guess, authoritative reasons. Right? But then there's another thing for, like, how Vaughn does it, how I do it, where it's like you have power and you use it to empower other people to be the best version of you and only enhance what we already do. So I already feel as though based on your experience, you started to realize that. Right? That's a very important part. But, you know, before we get into all that, just talk about how you stayed connected to the game after your senior year because obviously you went to college and then got your teaching degree.
How'd you stay connected to volleyball?
[00:30:15] Speaker B: So I didn't coach immediately. Once I went to school, I went away for a year and a half and it was a good experience. I'm happy I did it, but I didn't love being away, so I transferred home and I started working full time and going to school full time. I finished my undergrad degree and I wound up, I stayed connected more through Kellenberg than I did through volleyball.
I got an email, I graduated in December. I got an email in September from Father Tom saying that volunteers are needed to go to the Solomon islands where his brother is the archbishop and they're looking for volunteers to teach English or computer skills for three, four months. And I didn't delete the email, but I read it, and I kind of shoved it aside, but it never really left my brain. So I figured, you know, why don't I meet with Father Tom, see what this is about? And next thing I know, it's January 18 19th, and I'm on a plane halfway across the world to the Salmon Islands, and with another. Actually, with another classmate of mine, Anne, who now teaches at Kellenberg. And we did that for three, four months. And it was such a learning opportunity. And once I came back, I never really lost contact with Father Tom. I started teaching at our lady victory in Flora park, thanks to one of his recommendations. And then I started coaching club. It was my friend who graduated with me was his little sister's team, and his mom was the coach, and I was her assistant. And that's how I started coaching club. It was nothing serious. It wasn't sport time. It wasn't Cali. It wasn't academy. It was, you know, kind of a smaller club. And after that, I, you know, I kind of got the hook and trying to think it was right after COVID. It was the 2021 season. I ran into coach Strauss a few times because we lived near each other at 711. I was on my way to work. She was on her way to work. We were getting coffee in the morning, and we just started talking. And then later in July or August that summer, she text me she had gotten my number from either coach Heitner or some other teacher whose number I had, and she said, hey, out of nowhere, my assistant dropped out. Are you interested? I know you played volleyball. I know you've coached before. Are you in? And from then on, I dove right in.
We had an undefeated season with her.
We won the championship.
We beat San Anthony's, like, six times that season. Twice in conference, three times in.
[00:32:44] Speaker A: Don't feel good. Yeah.
[00:32:45] Speaker B: Oh, it feels so good. Three times in tournament, once in the championship. And that team was outstanding. That was your team this year. Your varsity team was my JV team. And seeing the strides that some of them made in not just their gameplay, but in their knowledge of the sport. I mean, watching Bianca, she played outside for us. I know she plays libero for club, and she's running your offense as a setter this year. I mean, Stella, as a freshman, was putting the ball down, no problem.
But I think my most. Who I'm most impressed with is Kelly Miller.
Kelly Miller walked into that gym having barely touched a volleyball before. And you played against this this year, and you threw her in the middle, and she's running a slide of and crushing the, the ball down the line. And I just remember seeing her after the game, and I went, you are so good, and you don't even know it.
[00:33:40] Speaker A: Oh, you're gonna find out this year.
[00:33:43] Speaker B: I'm good.
[00:33:43] Speaker A: I'm good.
[00:33:43] Speaker B: I don't have to find out. And watching someone like Lexi Gurnstein, same thing. That girl could pass any kind of ball you give her.
And then your seniors, Alana Grace and Julia Maniscalco. I've known Julia Maniscalco since she was a little girl. Her older sister and my younger sister played softball together. So there was one time where she came up to me in practice when she's a sophomore, and she goes, is your sister Erin Gilroy? I said, who are you? And why do you know that? And she goes, well, my sister's Brianna Matiskalco. And then it clicked. I was like, you play softball? Your dad was the coach. He's a maniac. He's awesome.
[00:34:16] Speaker A: Hold on. You didn't notice that from her last name?
[00:34:19] Speaker B: Matiskalco could be common. I didn't really know.
[00:34:22] Speaker A: All that's not as common as Gilroy, I don't think.
[00:34:25] Speaker B: And then it kind of clicked. And to this day, she's just a great kid. She's a freak athlete. I actually brought her up in practice today. To the boys, I said, when in this shrill, you know, clapping and saying hey is not a celebration. If you watch any sort of film from your girls team this year, Julia Madiscalco is on the floor, slapping the floor with her fists, screaming, let's go, let's go, let's go. That's the kind of energy I want.
And her and Bianca just had a disgusting connection this year. That debal out of the back row was a killer.
[00:34:59] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I just want to take the time. Cause I don't think I've ever done this on the pod. But I want a special shout out to Julia Meniscalco. Currently, she's in her softball season. And I know that's, like, a thing, but, you know, I had a conversation with her her junior year, because her junior year didn't go the way she wanted it to. You know, I'll say.
I remember the first day of tryouts, um, her junior year, she was putting the ball down, right? But then, I don't know, something. Something didn't click during the game. And I would come up to him, like, what's up with you? Like, I know you're an amazing. I know what you do in softball. I don't know what it is. Are you thinking too much? And I really try to crack the code that whole year, but I'll say that when we lost the St. Anthony's, I remember some. At some point, I had a conversation.
[00:35:49] Speaker B: She was out for blood after that.
[00:35:51] Speaker A: Listen, all I said was like, listen, it's your senior year, right? I know you're going to play softball for a while.
I just. I just hope that you're happy around the same time next year of your body at work when it comes to volleyball, because this might be it for you. And, boy, did she deliver last year. Boy, she was playing great. And I'll never forget what she did. Like, even I got a whole article with her. There was a whole spread on her, a Newsday when we lost as a variant in the state championship. But she gained my respect. She gave my respect triple time when it came to her senior year and all the contributions. So I just wanted to first and foremost, thank everything that she did for Kellenberg volleyball. And that's what I'm talking about. Just having those relationships with somebody, that it's her secondary sport. And I understood that. I understood that in real time. But that doesn't mean we don't have to all be all in, you know, during the season.
[00:36:43] Speaker B: And there was not a single occasion when she's on that court where you would ever doubt that this girl is all in. And you could say, say the same thing about Grace, same thing about Alana, all of them. Every single one of them. Alyssa at the same time, you know, Jackie, even if they're not in the court, someone like Amelia or Amanda, every single time that they are on the court or even on the bench, you have no doubt that those girls are all in. And that's a testament to something that and Kathy built, because there's no doubt in my mind that, first of all, they don't want to disappoint you or Cathy.
[00:37:13] Speaker A: Right?
[00:37:15] Speaker B: It's a hard. It's a hard thing, and we understand that.
[00:37:18] Speaker A: We understand that. But at the same time, like, I pride myself in being approachable, and, you know, I know it's hard. I'm not discrediting how. How much pressure there is to perform, especially, like, with the body of work, of what we've done in the past. But I think the first day of practice, we always say, like, you know, last year was, and, you know, this year was different because we lost. So it, you know, we sometimes I kind of like when we have the chip on our shoulder and we don't have the pressure of already winning. Yeah. But, you know, I say very similar things every year. Is that, like, you know, what's so great about last year? We're not worrying about it after I just say what I'm about to say. We did whatever we did last year, but this your turn now, and we're trying to do the same thing. So it's a clean slate.
[00:38:05] Speaker B: The scoreboard is still zero.
[00:38:07] Speaker A: Yeah. So, and it's. And, you know, like, like I said with Julia, like I said with Bianca, like I said with grace, like, here's your time. This is your time. Alex Ekin is not coming through that door. This is your time to do what you need to do. Yeah.
[00:38:22] Speaker B: There's no molder anymore.
[00:38:23] Speaker A: No, no. But, you know, I think what's so great about the situation that we have is that we have been able to successfully graft, you know, like a kid, and they model the behavior of somebody that's already doing it, and you go like, okay, well, it can't be that hard. All I got to do is rip. I mean, it's hard, but all you got to do is replicate the success of what they've done already. So you know what's going to happen. You know, the beats of the game. So that's cool, man. I appreciate that, that compliment. Here's a question that I just was always, like, I guess, curious about that. I've never really had the opportunity to ask somebody at the junior varsity level of, you know, because there's a schism. And I'll say, like, in the beginning, we didn't necessarily have the same continuity the first couple of years that I was in. Right. And I'm not saying, like, it was a bad philosophy or anything, but I truly felt that once coach Strauss took the reins, it felt like the continuity was a lot better. Everything, like, once we got those kids, it was much more of a turnkey situation when we did get them. But I just want to know, just, you know, outside looking in, you know, just being able to be around those girls around the same time because, you know, I find it fascinating because what I try to do, and you could probably attest to this, not to say that Kathy and I aren't involved with the JV because obviously we do the workouts and, like, she gets to know them and, you know, they've came to the camp and all that. I get all that, but during the season, I'm we're very hands off with JV and that's. That's kind of by design because we want you to grow. We want you to have your own experience. I don't want to be giving you any extra pressure that you already have because you have your own situation. Right. And at the same time, it's very seamless. But what's it like, I guess for you as a coach and for the players as well, of just, you know, aspiring to see like what it is at the next level. Because as you could, as you could probably vouch for. It's a different ballgame going from jv to varsity. So what is that experience like? Just as a coach, just watching us and then, you know, also the players and just watching how varsity conducts business.
[00:40:34] Speaker B: So being with coach Strauss and coach Sindone for that JV season, I think that I couldn't pick two more of the perfect coaches to be at the Kellenberg volleyball JV level. Because not only do they just have so much patience for helping grow each athlete individually and working them as a team, but they also just make it a point to be so disciplined in certain aspects of the game that once you go to varsity, it's second nature and you and coach Vaughn don't have to worry about it. Things like calling your seams, following the ball to the line. Communication is key. If we do those every single practice, that's not a problem for you in two or three years when you're playing for a championship at the varsity level.
I can't speak for Sindon and Shrek specifically, but I always thought that JV is a training ground for successful varsity championship season. And if we do our jobs correctly, you are not only on that team for you and coach Vaughn, but you're starting, and you're starting at a high level. It was almost like your basic training and the way that cause you guys were there for you helped us. On the first day of tryouts, we had 150 girls try out for an 18 spot team. And, you know, having your input on, you know, maybe even people who were on the team as freshmen, who were trying out as sophomores, who's grown, who's not grown. And me walking in blind, completely new, that was really overwhelming. But having JV be yourself, it's your time to grow more than you have at varsity because you're young enough where you know you're still learning the game a little bit as a player. You're not maybe as mature and making your volleyball IQ decisions, but that's our job to prepare you for two years of varsity. And I look at someone who only had one year of JV, like Bianca and Stella, but, you know, they play constantly outside of the gym, so we knew they were ready. But looking at someone who played even changed positions as a jV. I mean, I look at Alana and Grace who were both, you know, Libero and DS interchangeably throughout our season, and you threw them in different positions as well in the back row, but they had just such respect for the game and that came from Strauss and Sindone. The love and respect and commitment to the program started with us and which is why it's so much sweeter coming back, watching them as varsity players. If you had a home game and we had a home game, we would say, if you can stay, you're staying to watch varsity.
If you can't, by all means go home. But that's like, it's almost, it's like a program builder. It's. They're going to support you when they come to our games early. We're going to support them by staying late for them and you can see what you need to do to get to that level. And I remember sitting there with Coach Strauss and with coach Sindone and our team saying, look at the way she approaches that ball or look at her hands on serve receive or watch her footwork on that slide. And our girls are taking mental notes of what they need to do to get to that. And that's a big deal. It's that training ground to kind of build that program into a more cohesive unit.
[00:43:36] Speaker A: Now, just as a coaching staff, you know, obviously you guys do things, you know, like there's continuity, but, you know, me and von approach things much differently and we have been the only constant, obviously. We had Peshoda for a couple of years. We had coach Hoffman, who's now at Wanton. We've had a bevy of different, you know, assistant coaches that have joined our ranks, you know, and then we have Tara Hagerman and then also coach Brady, who has been able to join us. And, you know, I also wanted to point this out. This is very important just for anyone that, you know, has a program long withstanding, you know, I really. I really try to go out of my way to make Laurie feel comfortable, coach Brady feel comfortable because that's kind of hard to just come out of nowhere and then just.
[00:44:21] Speaker B: It's definitely intimidating on the outside looking in.
[00:44:23] Speaker A: Yeah. So what, what was, I guess, like, what, what did you observe from just the way Coach Vaughn and I and the rest of the coaching staff conduct business as a coach, especially, you know.
[00:44:36] Speaker B: Now that I'm on the other side of the net as you guys, just the. The automatic respect and discipline that your varsity team has. It's. I don't have to tell them, call the seams. I don't have to tell. You don't have to tell them to follow the ball to the line. You don't have to tell them, oh, maybe it was a good idea to tip there because either they already are doing it, telling each other in between each point, which is, you know, difficult going from a program like Kellenberg to maybe a program that's. Maybe. I don't want to say bad. I mean, I loved coaching at St. Mary's, but maybe the talent isn't exactly what I was used to.
[00:45:10] Speaker A: Well, let me preface this by saying that, like, you know, you have come at a mature stage of what we're doing. Like, when I took a long time, we would get killed by our lady of mercy. We would get killed by Sacred Heart. We'd always be in the middle of the pack, and, yeah, we'd compete, but it's the same. Like, when I see you call your first time out, I remember that. I remember, like, you feel so close, but you feel like it's slipping away. Cause you just don't know how to execute when you need to. So to me, it's like, it's a necessary step and learn. You have to learn how to fail spectacularly in order for the win.
[00:45:48] Speaker B: When I get into that pregame huddle, I give our starting lineup, we say our Hail Mary.
I say the same thing. No matter what the opponent is, I don't care what the score looks like at the end. But if we're going to get. If we're going to get a loss here, you better make the other team work for it because we don't lie down and let teams roll over us. Now, does it happen?
[00:46:08] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:46:09] Speaker B: Sometimes it's uncontrollable against maybe Calenberg or Sacred Heart, but, you know, that first game of the year this year, we only lost to St. Anthony's by four, five points. It was 25 21 at one point, and we hustled. We had a young team this year. We lost five seniors, I think, last year to this year, and. But we. I had. I brought up a lot of sophomores. One of my best players was a sophomore last year. She's a junior this year, and I'll have her, thank goodness, next year. So I'm really looking forward to, you know, the program building. Now that I know what my, the cards in my hand are, we're going to be able to improve a lot, and I think we have improved. Looking at the way this team has played compared to, you know, some teams in the past from St. Mary's, I think that we've improved leaps and bounds beyond what they've done in the past.
[00:46:54] Speaker A: Yeah. And let's just get into that. Shout out to Courtney Bernstein, former coach of Mount St. Vincent all the way up in the Bronx, and then also one year at ticket heart, somebody that also, that we coached at Kellenberg, you know, and we're, you know, I just want to say, first and foremost, just looking at everyone and knowing that it's part of the Kellenberg tree, we are very proud of all of the accomplishments that you guys set forth for yourself. You know?
You know, it's something that, that we, we don't take lightly. Just talk about how much Coach Bernstein has been an influence on you in your development. It's.
[00:47:31] Speaker B: It's so funny.
We coached club together last year, and we really met probably last July or August at a Kellenberg Open gym.
It was one of my last ones before I knew, actually, I think it was the one where I announced to the girls that I wasn't coming back. I was taking a teaching and coaching job at St. Mary's, and I was nervous that coach von and coach Jurass wouldn't let me come back for that open gym.
[00:48:01] Speaker A: No.
[00:48:02] Speaker B: And coach Von said, no, no, no. You went to the girls to tell them, and you come back next week and you come back the week after until your season starts because the door is always open. And Courtney came on a whim. And that's the first time we met.
We talk on the phone every day, Courtney and I, she's become very quickly one of my best friends, and we coached club together last year. And having her influence, learning from her, who's coached at the club level, the high school level, the college level, both men's and women's, that experience between. Between you, between Courtney, between coach Strauss and coach Sindone and coach Vaughn, I have been so lucky to have such a support system of coaches around me where if I'm having trouble with something, you know, I'm having trouble team cohesiveness, I'm having trouble, you know, finding a serve receive drill. I reach out to Courtney or to coach Vaughn or to coach Strauss, and I'm. And not a moment's hesitation, no matter, you know, I'm not the enemy, but I'm an opponent now. But there's no hesitation that I'm going to get some help when I need it. I really love during NCAA season, Courtney and coach von and I have a group chat where we kind of get on each other about, you know, you have to pick in December who you're. Who you're pulling for.
And Coach Vaughn was really going for the Arkansas underdog. I was pulling for Pitt. I'm a huge Pitt fan. And Courtney was bouncing between a few. She liked Nebraska, she liked Pitt, she liked Stanford, and where we were just, we were just until 1230 at night, watching volleyball constantly and just talking the game over and over and over again.
And the fact that I've only known Courtney for maybe a year, year and a half, and we've become so close is a testament again to that Kellenberg relationship, how Kellenberg volleyball brings people together and it's been an invaluable experience.
[00:49:48] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. And I'll say that it's automatic love. Like, you know, you go through the trenches, you go through our program, whether it be on the boy's side or girls side, whether you played or you coach, you know, that's something that's going to stick with you no matter where you go, right. Because that's the foundation of the things that you do now. How did it come about of you getting hired at St. Mary's? And, you know, how. How difficult was that was for you to just kind of separate yourself from, from Kellenberg?
[00:50:15] Speaker B: So I had taught for four years. I taught middle school, history and religion at a catholic school in Flora park, our lady victory. And I loved it there. The people I worked with remain to this day some of my greatest friends. The students were great, but I knew I wanted to venture on from middle school and that my end goal was always, I wanted to teach high school. So I got an email from a relative of a student that I had taught, and it was a link to, you know, I know when we talked in the future, we said that high school is something you wanted to do and St. Mary's is hiring. So I applied online.
I was working a summer camp with another Kellenberg alum, Casey Augustinaccio. I was running her volleyball at catholic sports camp.
[00:51:06] Speaker A: Love that camp.
[00:51:07] Speaker B: And we went to that as kids all the time. So one of my cousins, Caitlin, was running the basketball camp.
[00:51:13] Speaker A: That's a St. Rose, Belmore, Massapequa, all that area.
[00:51:16] Speaker B: It was at Maria Regina in Seaford.
My cousin was running basketball. I was running volleyball. And I told Casey I needed the day off because I had an interview. And, you know, Casey's a catholic school educator also. And she said, absolutely, I'll do volleyball for the day. You go. So I went in for the interview, and I remember thinking, oh, that went pretty well. I loved the principal. He was such a nice guy.
I remember him asking way more personal questions than my first interview when I went for teaching, which I thought was a good sign. And then I got to camp at 1230, and my phone rings at 1245. I said, casey, I'm getting a phone call from St. Mary's. Can you cover volleyball for five more minutes? And my principal said, you know, I want you to come in tomorrow and interview with me again and our head of the department. So I told Casey, and she said, oh, you're getting this job. And I thought, no, no, no. There's other people who are older, maybe a little more qualified. And she goes, you're getting this job. Go there tomorrow and call me after. So I went there and they offered me the job. And I told them my principal has since made fun of me a little bit for this. I told them that I wanted the weekend because it was a Friday. I had my cousin's wedding on Saturday, and I had a lot to consider. I didn't want to leave a teaching environment where I was so comfortable.
I loved my middle school. I loved teaching there. I loved my coworkers.
And I knew if I had taught at St. Mary's, it would mean I would have to give up coaching at Kellenberg. And because he saw on my resume I was a coach for Kellenberg and club. And he goes, oh, that's perfect, because we could hire you as a coach also. Our varsity coach just left.
[00:52:59] Speaker A: That sounds good to me. Yeah.
[00:53:01] Speaker B: And it was just. And I remember I called Strauss, and I still have the screenshot of what she sent me after I called her and she said, you are too good of a person, of an educator, and as a coach to not take this opportunity.
She said, don't you think for 1 second of not taking this job as much as I would want to keep you, this is something you need to grow to be something better than what I could teach you to be.
And she really pushed me. She said, do not think of this as an ending for you. Think of this as a place for you to establish what you know you could establish.
And so I took the job, I started coaching, and I just used everything that I remember.
I remember actually, Strauss invited me to her home, and she gave me a big packet of every drill we've ever done in the year with a description of how to do it with the goal. She gave me a list of YouTube videos to watch. She gave me a list of serve receive rotations, just so I had something to fall back on from my Kellenberg days. If I was stuck at St. Mary's. And one of the first matches I hosted, it was holy trinity.
And we took Holy Trinity to five sets, and we lost 17 to 15. And at the end of the game, Karen Hogan came over to me and she shook my hand and she goes, what the hell have you been doing with the St. Mary's team like this? I said, what do you mean? She goes, you put the fear in me, and I haven't got that from St. Mary's in a long time. And I didn't know Karen Hogan so well yet. I know her a little better now.
And when I told that to coach Vaughn and coach triath, she said, you know, for you to get a compliment like that from Karen Hogan is a huge deal. She was like, you've changed the game. And I've had some parents say to me and my principal say to me, you know, this program's really changed under you.
I'd like to take some credit, but at the same time, you know, I got really lucky with the athletes I have.
They don't complain too much when I, when I get to yelling or get to pushing too hard, because I tell them every time, I was like, if I'm not pushing you, it means I don't think you can do it. But I'm pushing you because you are so capable and, and they're a very capable team, and I have a blast with them. They kill me sometimes, and they know that.
But I respect the hell out of that team, and it's a lot of fun coaching them.
[00:55:19] Speaker A: That's awesome, man. And I just want to know, personally speaking, what was it like playing us the first time?
[00:55:26] Speaker B: I was so nervous.
I remember I. I did the book for that jv game, and I don't really have much. Like you said, you don't have much involvement with your jV. I don't have much involvement with St. Mary's jV. I kind of let them do them, and I did the book, and then I had to go to a meeting, so one of my, one of my girls did the book for the second and third set, whatever. So I walked in, I walked downstairs into the gym. Cause you know that immaculata gym, you gotta go down to the basement.
[00:55:54] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:55:55] Speaker B: I walked down, and I walked down the stairs, and your girls are in the hallway stretching, and I hear it's Brendan and it's Julia and it's Lana. And all of them were so excited to see me. And I just remember. I remember I said to a few of them, just be nice to us. Please. Just be nice. And I don't remember. I know the results of the match was, you guys swept us, but I remember that it was. Our girls had. Even when we lost, the girls said, you know, that was a fun game because your girls were just really respectful and really nice across the net. And they. And they got to joke around a little bit. You know, one of my outsides plays club with a few of your players. She's played club with Alyssa and Sophia Chong. And so they knew each other. They were able to, you know, trade some back and forth. And I remember being so intimidated. And afterwards, you and. You and Kathy both said, you know, this is a change team. And those words to me was like, was confirmation that it was paying off.
[00:56:56] Speaker A: And listen, I'll just say from. And I'm talking purely from a coach's perspective, like, you know, okay, yeah, we're undefeated. We. Whatever, right? We've done very well. And I want a whole league to be good, though. You know, I want to have. I want to have the ability to go like, wow, this team has improved. This team is improved because, you know, as. As great it is to have all the success, I still want you to do well.
[00:57:24] Speaker B: And you know what?
[00:57:25] Speaker A: It's.
[00:57:25] Speaker B: It's not fun blowing every team out of the water. It's not.
[00:57:29] Speaker A: It's not.
[00:57:29] Speaker B: You want to compete, which is why I'm real. The boys this year, the league has really stepped up. I remember my senior year, we blow in through people like St. John the Baptist and prep and Trinity. And we played Anthony's, and we did very well. It was 30 sweep, but they competed. St. John the Baptist, they competed Trinity. They absolutely competed. Chaminade. We competed. It's. And that's. It's a very stressful and very demanding coaching experience because we could be. We're so capable, but these other teams are testing us, and that's what's making it real fun.
[00:58:03] Speaker A: Is Linda the coach for the boys team?
[00:58:05] Speaker B: No, it's there. I don't remember her name, but it's the. The jv girls coach is the boys varsity coach, and she does a very good job.
[00:58:12] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:58:12] Speaker B: Very good job. They have a young setter who's a freshman who he's going to develop into a very strong player.
[00:58:18] Speaker A: So how is your.
What's it looking like for your St. Mary's team next year?
[00:58:23] Speaker B: So I graduated.
[00:58:24] Speaker A: Just coming back. Right?
[00:58:25] Speaker B: She's coming back. She's a junior this year, so I'll have her next year. I'm going to keep both my outsides. I keep one of my middles.
Actually, I just got my first college recruit. My middle, Kayla, she's a senior now. Outstanding player. She hustles, she jumps through the roof. She is playing. She just committed to play at old West Berry.
[00:58:47] Speaker A: Good for her.
[00:58:48] Speaker B: So it was my first college recruit. I mean, not including, like. I mean, I never coached some of those girls that you had at Kellenberg, but I knew them very well, and when I was on jV, they were on varsity. So someone like Teresa.
[00:58:58] Speaker A: Yeah. Listen, all your experiences count.
[00:59:01] Speaker B: All your experiences count. But she was my first, you know, that was. I was the head coach, and I helped her through the process. And I know the old Westbury coach pretty well. She's. She's a Cali coach.
Her and I talked during the season, and she came to a few games, and, you know, so she's playing. I lost. So I keep both outsides. I keep my middle. I lost both my setters. I ran a six two this year. But I got eyes on a jv girl and possibly a girl who's transferring from Arleigh to mercy since that school's closing. And I got eyes on a middle, actually, I'm recruiting one of the basketball girls, a few of the basketball girls to play.
[00:59:39] Speaker A: That's. See, that's what I want to hear. That's what I want to hear.
[00:59:42] Speaker B: She's new this year, but I teach her in class. Claire Fitzpatrick. She is lights out from the three throw line.
She went to public school last year. I think she was central Islip. She played volleyball on their varsity team as a right side. So I. And I said to her in class, she played. We had spirit week a few weeks ago, and she's playing in the thing, and I'm reffing the game. And I said to her, I said, claire, why don't you play with me next year? It's your senior year. Why not? And she goes. And she said, I have no problem doing that. She goes, but I want you to know, if I'm playing, I'm taking it seriously. I said, that's all I could ask for. You're more than welcome. So she's gonna come to some of my spring open gyms, and some are open gyms and I am looking forward to seeing how she plays because she's an athlete and that girl can play and she could be a game changer for us.
[01:00:26] Speaker A: Listen, I would hope first of all shout out to Kevin White. We're going to get into referee cause this is referee rant. Let's not get it twisted. Even though I'm a coach, but that's got to be weird watching me referee as you know me the way you know me.
[01:00:40] Speaker B: Yeah, the team really, the girls basketball team thinks it's real funny when before the games I'm going with my camera, I'm doing media day for girls basketball and you come over, take a picture of the refs. Take a picture of the refs. No. Sophia Maldonado thought it was really funny that I had to do a photo shoot for you guys.
[01:00:57] Speaker A: So do they know I coach Ed Kellenberg?
[01:01:00] Speaker B: They ask, you know, they go, how do you? Cause I teach almost every single one of those girls on St. Mary's varsity basketball, maybe except for four or five of them. So I teach out of, let's say the 1718 of them. I teach three quarters of them, right? And they ask, they're like, how do you know, how do you know the riff? And I was like, well, he coaches at Kellenberg, I coached at Kellenberg. And they're like, okay, you're Kellenberg freaks.
So they're like, oh, you're part of that cult together. I'm like, yep, absolutely.
[01:01:26] Speaker A: That's so cool. But yo, I just want to say just from a referee's perspective, like it is always my honor to ref them because I know that coach white, his whole system, his, you know, his assistants, I just know he played in high.
[01:01:41] Speaker B: School with my dad and my uncles at Holy Cross.
[01:01:43] Speaker A: What I'm trying to say is that it's very similar to how I feel about like our volleyball system, right? It's like, it's very similar. So like I don't talk to them about it, right? I'm like just, I'm a fly on the wall. I referee my game. But you know, even last year when they played and they won the state championship, they were an amazing team and I was very fortunate to be able to ref a lot of their big games. Like, so shout out to the Barbo twin. Shout out to Tara. And I remember me and Tara, we used to be at the same training facility. So I remember I met her like when she was in 9th grade, 10th grade during the pandemic. And she was working hard, like don't think for once that these girls are working real hard to get.
[01:02:22] Speaker B: She would be in the gym at St. Mary's, I think, at 630 in the morning, and she's from Deer park, so that's a drive for her.
[01:02:28] Speaker A: Yes, sir.
[01:02:29] Speaker B: She would drive. She would wake up, I think, 515, 530, and be in the gym from 630 to the time home started at.
[01:02:36] Speaker A: 08:00 so I wanted to ask you about just that experience of, like, gravitating towards those basketball kids, seeing their success, because it's very similar to the Kellenberg volleyball. It translates to this sport and just watching them. And we're talking about the 22 23 season of when they won the state championship. What was that experience like? Just following them and being able to teach them and, you know, just being around that because, you know, Kellenberg doesn't have the same exploits in basketball, but, like, you know, I'm very fortunate to be around that as a referee. But what was your perspective?
[01:03:09] Speaker B: So they were a great group of girls, that whole team. I know I didn't teach as many of them, like the seniors, I didn't necessarily teach, but I always had a break when they had study hall. So if they didn't feel like going into the. Into the library, I'd have, like, 15 kids in my classroom, and they would just be, you know, doing their homework or just hanging out. And I told them, you know, as long as you're doing your work, you can stay. Cause I was doing my work. And being with, you know, those basketball players, they were such leaders on and off the court in the school, outside of the school. They were such role models. And the same way, I feel as though the seniors on your team are now, they. It's the model behavior for everybody else. You know, there was no opportunity for any sort of disruption in team chemistry or. Or any little fights or spats to break out, because Kayla Williams, the Barbos, and Tara Murray were not letting that happen.
And Kevin White was just so involved. Even if he wasn't, even if they had a game later that day, he would be in. He's in school at least once or twice a week, keeping an eye on them, seeing how everything's going, talking to their teachers, making sure their grades are up to scratch.
[01:04:22] Speaker A: Oh, he's not playing, huh?
[01:04:23] Speaker B: No.
And one of our seniors this year, Sophia Maldonado, she was an all american nominee. And one of the things that she said. Cause I did a little interview with her to put something up on our social media, and she said, you know, one thing that my mom and coach Kevin always say is that you are a student athlete. You're not an athlete student. And, you know, it's got to go both ways. You're not on the court if you're not passing your class and not just passing excelling. And she made first honors this year, and it was just, you know, really important for them. And Kevin really stresses that if you're not doing well in the classroom, you don't even have the opportunity to do well in basketball. You're not stepping on that court. And one of his sophomores, Tiana Thompson, I teach, and that girl is great. She's good in class. She's respectful in class. She's the nicest kid. She's got. She's. I teach her in global history. She's got 95, and she can. She does it all. And she's really. She's going to be somebody to watch looking forward. But I think, you know, the chemistry that they have and the commitment that they have to their program and to each other is something that is very special. I see it very much in Kellenberg, volleyball, and that's really a testament to St. Mary's women's basketball also.
[01:05:33] Speaker A: Absolutely, man. And shout out to their successful run through all of these years. You know, they definitely ran through a brick wall at Christ the king, though. Christ the king.
[01:05:42] Speaker B: That was a tough game.
[01:05:43] Speaker A: They played St. Joe's by the sea. I had the state championship a couple of days later. St. Joe's by the sea, I always thought was the best team in the city. No, Christ the king's the best team in the city. They would. They just. They weren't going to be denied that year.
[01:05:55] Speaker B: Christ the king was very strong in the paint. Very strong.
[01:05:59] Speaker A: It's.
[01:05:59] Speaker B: It's like watching Iowa versus LSU. Yeah, that's almost. Except this time, the LSU, strong in the paint, Christ the king had the advantage. They were a tall team.
[01:06:07] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah, man.
So, you know, it's so cool to hear all these experience that you have now.
You know, I'll just say, I really wish you continued success in all the things you do. And, you know, I really. As much as we love you at the Kellenberg side, I feel like you're calling us at St. Mary's, man, like they need you. You know what I mean? Like, I feel like if you stick around long enough, I feel like you'll. You'll. You'll get the fruits of your labor.
[01:06:36] Speaker B: In anything could happen.
[01:06:37] Speaker A: I really do, man, but wish you continued success, man. We're going to wrap this up. We're going to have a part two at some point.
Any final words you want to say before we part ways?
[01:06:46] Speaker B: No, just. It's an. It was an absolute pleasure being here. I'm excited to be back at Kellenberg again for boys volleyball. And it's. It's just a thank you one more time to you, to coach Strauss, to coach Vaughn, to coach Shindone, to Mister Fekman, for letting me come back, to mister Heitner, for bringing me back. For the boys. It just, you know, I would not be who I am without the experiences I've had as both a player and a coach through Kellenberg volleyball. It's a really special place.
[01:07:09] Speaker A: Kellenberg volleyball all day, man. Do you think of me as a ref or a coach more?
[01:07:16] Speaker B: I mean, personally, as a coach, just because I have way more experience with you as a coach than watching you ref games. But both, yeah.
[01:07:24] Speaker A: Okay. That's fair.
[01:07:25] Speaker B: It's the referee rant, right? Not the coach rant. Yeah.
[01:07:28] Speaker A: Yeah. But I do love talking about coaching, but for Brendan Gilroy, it's Ralph the referee.
