It all started in 1968. Ed was helping Phil LeBrock teach “power” volleyball to the Physical Education majors at the University of Bridgeport and it turned out to be the beginning of a coaching career that would span over two decades. When Andrew Warde High School in Fairfield added varsity girls’ volleyball in 1974, Ed became the first head coach. This was a bit unusual because back then there were not many men coaching girls’ high school teams. He used his experience, enthusiasm and dedication to build Warde into one of the top programs in the state. His teams consistently qualified for post-season play both in the FCIAC and in the state tournament.
At Warde and then Fairfield High School, Ed and his teams compiled some impressive statistics. There were numerous FCIAC division championships, five FCIAC league championships and six times they were FCIAC league runner-up. Ed’s teams qualified for the state tournament every year including four trips to the CIAC Class LL finals; unfortunately, the top prize eluded them all four times. Ed has received much recognition in his coaching career. To name just a few, he was selected as the CAIC Volleyball Coach of the Year in 1978, he was the Region II Coach of the Year three times and represented our region at the National High School Coach of the Year Awards.
During Ed’s 25-year career he has given much more to the sport than just his coaching. He served on the volleyball state committee from 1980-86. Ed was also instrumental in gaining acceptance for boys’ volleyball in the state. He wrote many letters and appealed to the athletic directors and coaches, encouraging them to add this sport for boys. He saw his hard work come to fruition when, after several years as a club sport, enough schools added boys’ volleyball for it to gain recognition by the CIAC as a full varsity sport. Ed is also a founding member of the Connecticut Women’s Scholastic Women’s Volleyball Hall of Fame.