A brand-new start for NVC volleyball, with Bishop leading the way
Photo: Scott Bishop
Photo by Marty James
By MARTY JAMES
It's only a few weeks away, the day in mid-August when the 12 players who are listed on coach Scott Bishop's roster make their way into the Napa Valley College gym for their first practice of the 2024 volleyball season.
It's a day that Bishop, who is in his first year with the Storm, has been anxiously awaiting, given all the work that he has put into recruiting – a long process that has had him getting the word out about Napa Valley re-starting its program. NVC did not have a team last year.
Bishop has assembled an all-freshman team that consists of players from five different states – California, Oregon, Idaho, Washington and Nevada. Four of the players are from Southern California.
"I cast a pretty wide net," Bishop said last week. "I'm on a number of recruiting platforms. A few of the platforms allow you to kind of just blast that far and wide and just have a lot greater reach.
"I think I've reached out to over 5,000 student athletes."
Since January, when he took over as coach, Bishop has been getting information out about the program, Napa Valley College, the area, and also River Trail Village, NVC's new on-campus student housing project that opens in August.
He has been connecting with coaches and club directors, letting them know that he is leading the program and is looking for players.
"It's then following up in-person with anybody that shows some interest and trying to coordinate a time for them to come and visit," said Bishop. "It's inviting prospective student athletes to come on campus and do campus tours and get to know me and the campus.
"Most of them are going to be living here on campus. This brand-new student housing is beautiful. It's really nice to be able to just have that reach across the country and beyond to try and get an option for players to consider."
The Storm volleyball program partnered with Nike for a summer camp in June at NVC, said Bishop. Seven of the incoming players on the NVC team were here to assist Bishop with the camp. There were 30 players that attended the four-day camp.
Training sessions and clinics that are run by Bishop are held three days a week during the summer.
"They helped me run the camp," Bishop said. "Those seven got to meet each other for the first time and then participated in helping run and coach the camp. So, that was a good way to get some team bonding early in the season.
"We had those seven players come in for the first time, meeting each other, helping us out with the camp. All of them bonded instantly and got along really well. I think when you can get on the same page as your teammates, and maybe you have the same vision, that kind of helps get everyone kind of connected to start with.
"So, it's been really rewarding so far. I'm looking to keep this momentum going."
Practices for the NVC team start in mid-August.
It's a brand-new start for the Storm, and it's Bishop, who has coached high school, community college, major-college, club and collegiate club volleyball, who is leading the way for the NVC program.
He won CIF state championships as the head coach at Campolindo High School-Moraga in 2006 and 2010. He led the UC Berkeley women's collegiate club team to a fifth-place national finish. He has coached at different levels for 30 years
He said it's been a "significant challenge," given the fact that there are not any returning players for the Storm. Napa Valley was not able to have a team last year due to not having a coach.
"It's been pretty exciting, just having the pieces fall into play," said Bishop. "It's really opened the door to a lot of amazing young women to have this opportunity. So, I think we're all feeling really lucky to just have this place to kind of connect to and I'm really, really pleased with those that have been able to commit so far.
"It's great getting up to 12 (players) in this short amount of time from when I started until now. And it's looking like it's going to be a really competitive team. So, I'm looking forward to working and training with them."
A look at the 2024 NVC volleyball team:
* Adelina Avila-Navarro, Lincoln-Stockton.
* Ava Pendleton, Winston Churchill-Eugene, Ore.
* Caitlin Kenney, Vintage-Napa.
* Gracie Stepp, Paradise.
* Helena White, Priest River Lamanna-Priest River-Idaho.
* Jordynne Hensley, Toledo-Winlock, WA.
* Keana Daneshmand, International Polytech-Claremont.
* Kendal Widell, Twelve Bridges-Lincoln.
* Rylee Santos, Yerington-NV.
* Sofia Camargo, Fullerton Union-Fullerton.
* Sydnee Coulthrust, Fullerton Union-Fullerton.
* Willow Diamond, Woodrow Wilson-Long Beach.
Bishop said he has seen two of the Storm's players in club tournaments. He has also looked at player's highlight videos.
"For the most part, it was a video evaluation," he said.
The NVC team will have about a week of practices and training before its first nonconference match of the season. The Bay Valley Conference season begins in October.
"A little extra training time before hitting the conference is just fine with me," said Bishop. "I'm really excited with the potential that we have to grow into. And the athleticism level is higher than I thought it was going to start out with. So, I'm excited to be a part of that."
The goal, said Bishop, is to be competitive during the upcoming season, a combination of nonconference and Bay Valley matches. But he is working to build a quality foundation and instill a family atmosphere, where everyone feels connected by a team bond.
"We need to have a growth mindset so that everyone's coming in learning," said Bishop.
Bishop also wants to have a year-round program for the Storm.
"I think it's definitely been a really fun process to re-restart the program and have an opportunity to build all the pieces that the foundation is going to start with. Really fortunate, given the short amount of time frame, with the quality of the student-athlete coming in," said Bishop.
"I'm definitely enjoying this ride so far. And I look forward to continuing the opportunity to train and grow the program.
"I'm echoing back to the emotions that I'm finding from my players. All of them are so excited and enthusiastic and just really looking to hopefully finding that joy of the sport.
"We're looking forward to hitting the ground running. Everyone that's coming in has been very motivated to learn and grow and develop and are looking forward to not just the season, but all of our offseason work that we're going to do as well. We're going to continue to really try to grow that love of the game."
Bishop was Campolindo's head coach from 2002-2011.
He was the head coach at Holy Names University of Oakland (1995-96) and the head coach at Los Medanos College-Pittsburg (1997-1999).
He was an assistant coach at University of San Francisco (1996-1997) and San Francisco State (1999-2001).
He was a volunteer assistant coach for the women's team at UC Berkeley (2001, 2013).
Bishop started the women's collegiate club program at Cal and was the team's coach (2011-2012).
He was the head coach at El Cerrito High (2013-2022).
He has also been with Golden Bear Volleyball Club and Absolute Volleyball Club.
* Marty James is a freelance writer who makes his home in Napa. He retired on June 4, 2019 after spending 40 years as a sports writer, sports editor and executive sports editor for the Napa Valley Register, a daily newspaper in Napa County. He is a 1979 graduate of Sacramento State and a member of the California Golf Writers & Broadcasters Association. He was inducted into the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Hall of Fame in 2016, the Vintage High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019, and the Napa High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2022.