The Mendham Girls Volleyball team welcomes three new coaches to the program who are also staff members at West Morris Mendham High School. The new head coach for Varsity volleyball is Mrs. Maria Castro-Alvarez, or just Mrs. Castro. Mrs. Castro is accompanied by returning coach Ms. Kathleen Tucky, who has been coaching at Mendham High School for over 10 years. Coach Tucky has coached Freshman, Junior Varsity, and Varsity Finally, Ms. Haley Babus is the new Junior Varsity, or JV, volleyball coach, and Ms. Jennifer Stevens is coaching the Freshman team. All of the new coaches are also health and physical education teachers.
Mrs. Castro has coached at multiple high schools and colleges. She grew up playing volleyball, and continues to play in the Garden Empire Volleyball Association, or GEVA, Adult League. She will also coach Mendham High School’s boys intramural volleyball program. Mrs. Castro has been wanting to return to coaching, and the 2023-2024 girls volleyball season aligned perfectly with her plan.
When asked how she believes the season will go, Coach Castro answers, “The season is looking extremely good. I am super excited to see how far they go this season. But, I am also expecting each player to grow as an individual, and as a volleyball player while having fun.” Mrs. Castro is excited to see how the season goes, and to see all of the girls’ hard work, time and effort pay off. All of the girls from all three levels have easily acclimated to the new coaches and their techniques, and have seen many improvements both as a player and as an individual. While many coaches strictly focus on the physical aspect of sports such as working out and/or conditioning, Mrs. Castro focuses heavily on the mental aspect of volleyball: “You can either think or play; you can not do both.”
While many practices are filled with game play, film review, and conditioning she also ends many practices with meditation, and thoughtful reflection. So far Mendham Volleyball has had two games, both away. The first game against Sparta with close sets resulting in a 2-0 loss for Mendham. The second game against Roxbury ending with a 2-0 in Mendham’s favor starting the season off with a 1-1 record. Continue supporting Mendham’s volleyball team!
