Volleyball Season 2019

The new volleyball season is starting this year off with a new face in the coaching department. Coach Brunelli has been appointed as the new head coach of the Varsity Volleyball team.

He started this season by securing the first win of his coaching career at a home game against Westwood Regional High School. Similar to many high school students, Coach Brunelli had no exact career path in mind when he was younger. He just went through his high school years and eventually attended college.

At the age of twenty, Coach Brunelli finally saw his future in the coaching world. Growing up being an athlete, Mr. Brunelli did feel a career in athletics was something that he could go into. His love of sports comes from his experience as a three-season athlete by playing soccer, basketball, and baseball. However, when he reached college, he wasn’t qualified enough to participate in college sports, leading him to attend intramural volleyball where his love for the sport grew.

Mr. Brunelli has been coaching for six years, with five years under his belt as an assistant coach. Brunelli aims to create an ambience of trust and support within his team, encouraging all athletes to come to him whenever they need help. “The reward of coaching lies in the fact that my athletes can obtain that mutual trust and friendship by getting to know each other,” he says.

Besides all the emphasis he puts on athletics, Coach Brunelli puts the education of his athletes above the sport since education will carry them into real-life much steadier than volleyball will. Unlike other coaches, Mr. Brunelli does not view his athletic record as his successes, but the experience that his athletes develop on the court “by playing hard, together, and as a team.”

Similar to many at CPHS, Mr. Brunelli has had several former family members that have attended and coached here, including ex-football coach Mr. Brunelli. He followed in their footsteps, and continued his uncles’ memorable legacy by becoming a coach. A key component of being an effective coach is being able to communicate with the athletes which is a skill that Mr. Brunelli would like to further improve. One of the goals he hopes to achieve for this season and the upcoming one is to place a banner in our gym highlighting the successes of the volleyball team, that represents and rewards their hard work.