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There are very few givens in the local prep sports scene, but one that certainly seems to ring true every year – the Foothill High girls’ volleyball team will be the thick of things at the end of the season.
The Falcons started the season 1-2, although the losses to James Logan and Branson, two programs that are always strong. On Sept. 5, the Falcons went 3-1 in a tournament, falling only to Marin Academy in the last match.
The die was set at that point.
Now with four games left in the regular season, the Falcons are all alone in second place and are on course for another postseason berth.
The Falcons are coached by Dusty Collins who is in his 30th year coaching at the school where he has guided both the girls’ and boys’ teams.
Collins is flat out the best coach in any sport that I have seen locally. And that’s saying a lot, as there have been many great coaches in the East Bay Athletic League over the years.
It’s a blessing to the athletes who have grown up in the area that there have been so many outstanding coaches – coaches that care more about wins and losses, coaches that genuinely want to make the kids better people.
And to me, Collins stands above all of them.
I have had multiple conversations with former Foothill football coach Matt Sweeney, an iconic coach in his own right. It was several years ago when Sweeney told me he held the same view of Collins.
What is it that makes Collins such an incredible coach? I have been around and covered Collins’ teams for all 30 years. To me, there are two main things.
One, he gets the most of his players. There have been many times when I know that the opposing teams have had more talent, yet come the end of the match, it’s the Falcons that get the win.
If I had a dollar for every time he has told me before a season started, “If I can get a setter this year, we’ll be decent.”
At the end of the season, after a great year and an All-EBAL award for the setter in question, you just had to shake your head and smile.
Second, he reads his audience as well as any coach I have seen.
I can remember a lengthy conversation we had about the differences between coaching boys and girls.
I have coached both boys’ and girls’ teams and never really gave much thought to different methods of coaching. Collins laid it out in a way that made it clear and made me reflect on my coaching days.
I don’t remember the exact verbiage, but it went along these lines: “With the boys, you come in for practice and get right to it. With the girls, you have to ask about their day and what’s going on, then you can get to practice.”
And that’s the key – communication. Collins has always understood his teams and players. He knows when you push and when it’s time to back off.
It has been a privilege to cover all those Foothill teams and it was an honor to announce so many Senior Nights and playoff games for Foothill.
Congrats on 30 years of excellence Dusty!
Foothill on the court
The Falcons had another good week and currently sit all alone in second place in the EBAL with four games to play.
The big game of the week was a 27-25, 25-23, 25-20 win at San Ramon Valley that gave the Falcons solo possession of second place.
Highlights came from Ilayda Caglar (20 kills, 15 digs), Kait Vogel (12 kills, 11 digs, 11 service points), Olivia So (23 digs, 6 service points) and Sewa Adesuyi-fasuyi (9 kills, 4 digs).
The second game of the week was a 25-10, 25-12, 25-18 win over Dublin. The highlights were from: Makenzie Bulaon (17 assists, 8 service points), Sherya Patel (11 assists, 4 aces), Addie Boeschenstein (4 kills, 1 block) and Ale Sioco (7 digs, 4 aces).
Editor’s note: Dennis Miller is a contributing sports writer for Embarcadero Media Foundation’s East Bay Division. To contact him about his Pleasanton Preps column, email acesmag@aol.com.
