April 16, 2008...9:07 pm
Lamppa Heads For The Pac-10
And who can blame him?
If you’re a coach in his position, if you were offered a job with a close friend at a Division I school with significantly better facilities, more job security (not to mention a nice pay increase), wouldn’t you do the same thing?
Yeah, you would. Just as Brian Lamppa did Tuesday, resigning his position as head volleyball coach at USD to take the associate head coaching gig at Washington State.
I understand that his announcement came as a shock to his Coyote team. And understandably so. The Coyotes had an amazing season last year, and return six seniors for next year’s team.
Lamppa heads to the Pacific Northwest alongside former SDSU volleyball coach Andrew Palileo, who took the head job at Washington State.
The two are close friends and have similar visions for coaching and for the game itself.
“We share a lot of the same common beliefs and values,” Lamppa told The Volante this week. “We have found we have quite the bond and connection and that is something that takes time to develop. I am honored and humbled he (Palileo) chose me to be on his staff.”
Yeah, it wasn’t the best time for the move - for the Coyotes - but keep this mind: Lamppa did what many of us would have done in the same situation.
Coaches want to challenge themselves, and by going to WSU (which was 10-22 and 1-17 in the Pac-10 last year) Lamppa has a significant challenge.
We should all wish him the best of luck out there.
— Jeremy Hoeck
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