A new coach takes the helm

“I just love the game and what it does for athletes,” said Armijo’s newest Volleyball coach, Mr. Mark Reyes. “It teaches [students] how to become team players and react to different situations that are applicable outside of sports.”
Coach Reyes has had an interest in coaching since he was a child. “Growing up playing team sports, I was given opportunities to be a captain,” he said. “Giving advice to my teammates and seeing them implement the advice was very rewarding. In its core, coaching is like teaching.”

Both of his daughters (Khalia – Class of 2021 and Kaylie – Class of 2024) have been on the Armijo team, but they started playing long before that. They joined teams when they were 11 and 8 respectively, and that was when Coach Reyes showed a more serious interest in coaching, but he was involved with it before that.
He has over a decade of volleyball coaching experience with boys and girls of all ages. He’s coached club travel leagues and school programs, including three eighth grade Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) Championship titles at Holy Spirit School, with one team record of 41 wins and 0 losses, along with several other awards in the last five years.
His goal this year is to create a team of situational players. “Volleyball is such a random sport,” he said. “If the athletes all know what their jobs are and know how to react to the random situations, we will do great! There would be no confusion and that leads to team confidence and team chemistry. Players will have a higher volleyball IQ and understand the game on a different level. My deeper goal is to have as many players become coaches themselves.”
When he isn’t working and coaching, he enjoys spending time with his wife and his daughters as well as “my wiener dachshund dog Koji and our cat Dash,” he said.