Over the past seven seasons, Central volleyball has endured a revolving door at head coach. There have been eight separate coaching changes, many of them coming shortly before the season and once during.
The ninth occurred last week, as athletic director Al Sorrentino announced the hiring of Erin Clark to take over the program, and he hopes he won’t have to find a replacement any time soon.
“We get her in early enough that she’s able to conduct a summer conditioning program, stuff like that. That’s something that we haven’t had in a while,” Sorrentino said. “We’re pretty happy to have her.
“We’ve had qualified people we thought were ready to move the program in the right direction and things happened. I’ve always said I think we have talent as far as the female athletes who play volleyball. We just need someone to come in, tap that talent and get the program to where it should be. Obviously we think Erin is that person.”
The Lady Bears were once among the most consistent teams in the area, but haven’t had a winning season or regional appearance since 2009.
Prior to that campaign Emily Gore had taken over from Vicki Weaver, who helmed the program from 2004-08 and complied a 70-48 record. But Gore left the following summer for Nature Coast, starting up the coaching carousel.
Anthony DiSciascio essentially coached the next three seasons, however he didn’t initially take the position until a week prior to the 2010 season as a surprise replacement for the original hire, Kristi Langworthy. He stepped down in 2012, only to return five matches in when Alyson Wagoner resigned.
Since then, Andrea Kneser, Sara Hampshire and Dawn Ali-Carr have all taken a turn on the bench. This past season marked the low point, as the Lady Bears went 0-17.
As much as Central is seeking stability, so is Clark. She has resided in Hernando County, where her husband is from, for the past two years, racking up a lot of miles.
She graduated from King High in Tampa back in 2003, earning a scholarship to the University of Tampa where she played for four seasons. A middle blocker with the Division II Spartans, she was part of a national championship squad in 2006, and was an All-American and National Player of the Year nominee the following year as a senior.
After college, she spent a year playing professionally in Austria, then returned home to start her coaching career. She was a varsity assistant and head middle school coordinator at Tampa Prep from 2008-09.
In 2011, Clark was a volunteer assistant at UT, then was an assistant coach at Tampa-Academy of the Holy Names from 2012-13 and head coach at Tampa-Leto in 2014. She spent last season as a varsity assistant and JV coach at Ocala-Trinity Catholic.
Additionally, she has coached with Tampa Bay ONE Volleyball Club from 2011-13 and Ocala Power United the past two years.
“I was just looking for something local,” Clark said. “I want an opportunity to contribute to the community I was living in, since I was spending so much time driving out of county. I’m excited about it. I’m excited about the opportunity to take over a program to build.
“We’re definitely looking to stay in this community. I’d love for this to be a long-term situation. I think it’s a great fit. They’re looking for somebody to take control of the program and build it. I’m looking to be local and contribute to the community. I’m looking at it as an opportunity to bring back a competitive spirit.”
Clark said she doesn’t like to set specific numerical goals, so the plan going forward is simply to try and return the Lady Bears to their level of the previous decade.
“We’re going to look at the next couple of year as a building opportunity, to build an atmosphere and culture that puts you in a positive direction and really defines the team,” Clark said. “I hope in three seasons we’re making moves toward state competition and just getting out of the district.
“For me, it’s all about the development of the girls, not only on the court, but as young women contributing to their community and society.”
Follow Chris Bernhardt Jr. on Twitter @cpbernhardtjr.
By the numbers: Central volleyball (2004-15)
Year Record Head coach
2004 21-5*^ Vicki Weaver
2005 16-9 Vicki Weaver
2006 15-10^ Vicki Weaver
2007 7-19 Vicki Weaver
2008 11-5 Vicki Weaver (70-48)
2009 13-9^ Emily Gore
2010 9-14 Anthony DiSciascio
2011 6-17 Anthony DiSciascio (15-31)
2012 9-13 Alyson Wagoner (1-3)/Anthony DiSciascio (8-10)
2013 6-17 Andrea Kneser
2014 6-15 Sara Hampshire
2015 0-17 Dawn Ali-Carr
* Denotes district championship
^ Denotes regional appearance