Catharine Hernson
The women’s volleyball team will start next season with a new coach. Though Trish Arnold is not a new face for the team having her as coach will be different for the Cavalier’s team. With high hopes after last year’s poor record the team looks to the new coach for a change of attitude and to turn the season around.
Arnold is a recent Cabrini graduate and played on the volleyball team for four years, as captain for two of them. Though she just graduated she does have plenty of experience coaching. She coached high school teams for seven years; five seasons at her other alma mater O’Hara Catholic High School and five seasons at the Baldwin School.
Leaving high school will be strange for Arnold, “I’m sad to leave O’Hara because it’s my alma mater and I’m going to miss a lot of players.” To try and keep the O’Hara feeling Arnold is recruiting one player to come to Cabrini from the team she coached.
Arnold is used to knowing her team and next season will be no different, she played with three of the players during her time on the Cavalier’s team. Arnold is not intimidated by this fact. “Both years I was captain so they seem me in the same respect, as a leader. Also I was an assistant coach last year so that was a nice stepping stone.”
The team is looking forward to Arnold taking over as coach, “Trish is a natural leader, very hard work ethic, dedicated. Also very caring as a person,” Teresa Holland, a sophomore player, said.
“It doesn’t bother me,” Alexis Strizzierre, junior captain, said. “Trish is a great volleyball player and I think she has potential to be a great coach. If I can learn something from her and improve my game then it doesn’t bother me because Trish and I have been playing together for years.”
Arnold hopes to help the team improve on their game, “most people think that once you get out of high school you stop learning the game, but that is completely untrue. College is when you take your sport to the next level of the game, because there is still so much to learn.” Arnold said.
The top goal Arnold has for next season is to recruit good players for the future. “Recruiting is essential to any winning program and that’s been my top goal since I started,” Arnold said. She has already recruited four players from around the country, two from Pa., one from N.J., and one from Conn.
The team knows what Arnold has been doing to improve the chances for next season. “Before Trish even applied for the job she was recruiting players from all over to help our struggling team. She had pure dedication to the tam that she had no involvement with anymore. I know that myself and the rest of the team plan to be very dedicated to winning next year and I know that Trish will too.” Strizzierre said.
“I think Trish can turn the team around, I really think her motivation and dedication will really help us out,” Holland said
Arnold’s philosophy as a player was to give 100% all the time, practice, conditioning and games. She expects the same attitude from her players. The team and the new coach want to have a winning season and make it to the PAC tournament next year.
“I feel that Trish will not only help us to be a better team with conditioning and training, but also she will make us better people, not just athletes,” Holland said.
“I loved to play volleyball with Trish, she was a great athlete and I think she’s going to be a great coach to play for. The women’s volleyball program here at Cabrini is in desperate need of a turn around and I think Trish is the one to do it. As captain I most look forward to a winning season under Trish. And I’m not graduating until the team beats Eastern,” Strizzierre said.
The team looks forward to having an ex-player as a coach, especially Arnold. They looked up to her as a player and captain during her days on the team, and now can use her knowledge of the game to have a winning season.
