For the 2023-24 season, the girls’ volleyball program aimed to take a new coaching approach. It was difficult to find three coaches for the three different teams, so the program
hired one coach for all teams. Former coach Loren Anderson stepped in and oversaw the performance and success of all three teams, from freshman to varsity. This all changed when Anderson quit midseason due to a disagreement at a tournament in Sonoma on Sept. 23. The unexpected resignation of the coach with 32 years of experience came as a surprise.
Anderson moved to Redwood from Boise, Idaho, where he ran a club volleyball team and coached three high school teams for 15 years. He later worked as a club coach in Colorado after coaching high school and club teams in Arizona.
In his short-term role as the girls’ volleyball coach at Redwood, Anderson collaborated closely with Jaden Hendrickson, varsity team captain and senior athlete, who is committed to California
Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly). Hendrickson commented on how the practices worked before Anderson stepped down.
“[All three teams] practice at the same time. [Coach Anderson] explains the drill, and we all do the same drill at once. We play a lot of two-on-two [and] three-on-three. It technically works with every team,” Hendrickson said.
Anderson said he believed in giving his teams a lot of autonomy in their daily practice to self-regulate. Players typically began practices by discussing overall goals as a whole group, then the team captains would begin practice and ensure everyone stayed on task. Meanwhile, Anderson walked around and checked in with each team.
Meanwhile, Jenna Beauchamp, Junior Varsity (JV) captain, took on new responsibilities at practice as a result of Anderson’s coaching system. Beauchamp faced challenges with the new coaching style.
Before Anderson left Beauchamp said, “Considering [Anderson] is coaching three teams, [my co-captain] Lilianna Huerta and I basically run drills. It’s a lot of responsibility, especially if [your teammates] don’t want to listen to you. Our job is to make sure that we are there to support teammates, lead drills and make sure things run smoothly,”
As Anderson has resigned from coaching at Redwood, the challenges and successes that came from his coaching style will no longer be relevant.
Under Anderson, the varsity Giants played in a tournament on Sept. 23 that had a specific rule about appropriate
sportsmanship. If parents, players or staff acted disruptively towards the referees, they could give a yellow card to that team, and the other team would get 13 points as a penalty.
As the tournament continued, there was back-and-forth discussion between referees, coaches and parents.
A disagreement regarding proper conduct at the tournament led to Anderson sending out an email the following morning, announcing that he would no longer be coaching any of Redwood High School’s teams.
Despite the struggle at the start of the season to find coaches, three new coaches have been hired since Anderson’s departure, as confirmed by Athletic Director Jessica Peicsh. Kevin Bianchi will be coaching the freshmen team, Jill Jackson will be coaching JV and Jake Spain will be coaching varsity. The varsity team also gained two assistant coaches, Ethan Dressen and Nick Honrada.
New varsity coach Jake Spain brings a depth of experience to the team as one of the directors of Absolute Volleyball Club. With his direction, the varsity team is determined to conclude the season on a high note, showing resilience and determination despite the earlier coaching challenges. Spain’s leadership is expected to play a pivotal role in steering the team towards success throughout the remainder of the season.
