Titans follow Weis’ way
No one has to tell Mark Weis that he has a difficult job.
Weis takes over as head volleyball coach at University High School, replacing the departed Amanda Velasquez.
“I’ve been an assistant coach here for four years,” the former head coach at Liberty explained. “And I’ve been Amanda’s varsity assistant, so I know just what’s ahead of me. I think a first-year coach coming into this league for the first time could easily be overwhelmed.”
Greater Spokane League volleyball has dominated the state’s large-school division for more than two decades. Since 1984, the year Shadle Park won its first state title, at least one GSL team has played in the state title match in all but six tournament finales and the league has boasted the state’s top team 14 times.
Mead will vie for its fifth consecutive state championship this season, and for the second year in a row its strongest competition for that title will likely come from Lewis and Clark, last year’s state runner-up.
If that isn’t enough to curl the hair of a first-year coach in the GSL, the most valuable player at this summer’s AAU National Championship tournament was a sophomore at LC last year.
“The volleyball in Eastern Washington is as good as it gets, no matter what league you’re talking about,” Weis said. “When I was at Liberty, we played in the Bi-County League and it was pretty dominant at that level, too. Extrapolate that up to the big school level and it was pretty comparable.”
Under Velasquez, the Titans played well with the GSL elite. University reached its first state tournament since 1974 at the end of the 2003 season, and returned the following year to earn its first trophy in the sport after a sixth-place finish.
“We haven’t been as successful as we would have liked these last few years, but we’ve been close,” Weis said. “And we can be again.”
Weis has had some time to get acclimated in his new job.
“Amanda left after the end of last season, so I’ve had a chance to get used to the idea,” he said. “We have great coaches back for our junior varsity, and Mark Stinson, the basketball coach, is back as our C Squad coach. I will probably still try to hire a varsity assistant.”
Weis said he learned a great deal working with Velasquez.
“I always thought I was a pretty good Xs and Os kind of a coach,” he said. “What I learned a lot about working with Amanda was about communication and about chemistry. Amanda had an incredible way of communicating with her players.
“I really believe that, after working with her, that I’ve learned to be a much better coach.”
Weis hosted a camp at University this week, working with talent that will eventually show up on his varsity roster a year or two down the road. Later this summer there will be a team camp, and Weis will lead three University teams in a summer league at Spokane Falls Community College at the end of the month.
“I’m going to have my hands full for a while, but it will give me a chance to get a look at the way we work together,” he said. “I want to try players in different positions and experiment a little bit with lineups and rotations.
“Most importantly, I want to get a feel for the kind of team chemistry we’re going to have. When you play at this level, it’s not just about being able to make plays. Everyone can make plays. It’s about finding that something special.”
Volleyball players in the Central Valley School District understand the commitment the sport requires, Weis said. A great many play club volleyball, something the new head coach encourages.
“We get a lot of players who also do other sports,” he said. “That’s something we encourage at U-Hi. So there’s a trade-off. On the one hand, you’d like to see kids getting a chance to play lots and lots of volleyball. But on the other hand, we have great all-around athletes.”