The local school announced Monday it had filled two of its vacant coaching positions. Frank Sandomenico will be the school’s new volleyball coach. Spanish Springs also hired Rob Moreland to take over the boys soccer program. Both men will be the fourth coaches for their teams in eight years when the new school year begins in August.
“It’s a relief to get this out of the way before the fall season, and really, the fall season starts at the end of May. So now these guys have time to prepare over the summer,” Spanish Springs Athletic Director Art Anderson said.
Sandomenico’s name should be familiar to Cougar fans. He coached the school’s football program from 2001-2005 before stepping down. He has remained at the school teaching weights and U.S. History.
Spanish Springs volleyball has yet to qualify for the regional playoffs since the school opened its doors in the fall of 2001. It is the only team sport at the school still stuck with that distinction. The Cougars have never had a winning season and did not capture a single league game last fall.
Sandomenico admits he has little volleyball coaching experience, but he believes he can make the program better.
“Our program has been pretty down. The girls haven’t had much success. The more I talked to the kids and thought, we’ve got quality kids, the more it made me want to do this,” Sandomenico said. “I know how to run a program, motivate kids, fundraise, do all those things. I think it will carry over.
“This program needs someone who has energy, structure, discipline and can relate to kids. That’s my strong point.”
SSHS athletic officials believe over the long term Sandomenico can turn any relative shortcomings in volleyball knowledge into strengths.
“The decision to hire Frank was based, above all else, that he’s just a good coach. We in the athletic department know he’ll devote 100 percent of himself to gaining volleyball knowledge and he’ll surround himself with good volleyball people,” Anderson said. “We believe he’ll bring success to a program that has not had very much success.”
On the boys soccer front, Moreland takes over a Spanish Springs program that reached the postseason for the first time last fall. It was one of the few bright spots for the program, that has struggled through more than its fair share of lopsided loses.
Moreland brings an impressive resume to Spanish Springs. He coached the Wooster boys from 1992 through 1997. His teams missed the regional playoffs just once in that span.
He has coached at Reno High for the past 10 years, the first five as the boys head coach. He guided the Huskies to North Region titles in 1998 and 2001. He served as a Reno assistant boys coach in 2003 and 2004 before returning to the sidelines as the head girls coach the past three years. Moreland-coached teams at Reno never missed out on a playoff berth.
The veteran coach, who played at UNLV in 1984 and 1985, lives in Spanish Springs. He owns and runs his own business, Physical Therapy and Sports Rehab, in Sparks. He admitted with his four children growing up and getting closer to high school age, he wanted to cut down on his time on the road.
“We live about a mile away from the school. I figured it was time to stay closer to home,” Moreland said. “I think this will be a new challenge. There are a lot great kids out there and a nice community of people.”
If Moreland brings the same success he’s had in the past at other schools to Spanish Springs, the Cougars program is one on the rise.
“We’re bringing in a coach that will definitely take us to the next level,” Anderson said. “He brings years of experience and that’s experience at the next level.”
The first official day of practice for fall sports is August 18.
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