Dodulik Reaches 100 Career Wins
By Christian Lynch
Another month yields another coaching milestone at Kingsway. With field hockey coach Sara Lewis and girls soccer coach John Kodluk earning their 100th wins last year, football Coach Tony Barchuk winning his 200th game in the fall, and girls basketball coach Karyn Pickard winning her 300th game this winter, Kingsway certainly has had its share of coaching milestones in the last two years.
Well, one more has been added to the list. On April 29, the boys defeated the 13th ranked team in New Jersey, Cherry Hill East, 2-0 (25-17 and 25-12), to earn the program’s 100th win. As Coach Brent Dodulik has been the only head coach that the program has ever known, it was his 100th win as well. At press time, they have a record of 23-3 and are ranked 14th in New Jersey.
“I anticipated having a strong team this season so I set up a challenging schedule to push us,” said Dodulik. “Our team goals for the season included winning the Olympic Conference Patriot Division, breaking our season win record (19 wins), and getting 100 program wins.”
After losing their second game of the season to conference rival Sterling, their goal of winning the first ever division title looked doomed. However, the team then went on a 12 game win streak that lasted almost a month, beating 15th ranked Hunterdon Central and 13th ranked Cherry Hill East as well as winning the Moorestown Tip-off tournament. Senior middle blocker Dayo Adepoju was named the tournament MVP.
After losing two close meetings against the top two teams in New Jersey, Southern and Bridgewater-Raritan, they went on another two week winning streak which saw them host and win the inaugural Gloucester County Tournament 2-0 over Washington Township with senior outside hitter Stan Storchevoy being named tournament MVP. They received the second seed in the South Jersey section of the state playoffs and earned a bye in the pre-quarterfinals.
So how did volleyball become the power at Kingsway that it has become?
“(Former athletic director) Joe Galliera told me that they were starting a boys volleyball team for 2007-2008 and that he thought I was ready to become a head coach and start the program,” said Dodulik. “One of the biggest struggles early on was that no kids grow up playing volleyball, so everyone has to learn the skills, including me. As a new team we certainly took our lumps but in the eight seasons that I’ve coached we have only failed to reach the playoffs one year.”
“I quickly developed a general understanding of the game and how it should be played. However, I wasn’t satisfied; I wanted to be better. I brought on assistant coaches Anthony Badaracco and Drew Owens, as well as volunteer trainers Craig Wolfe, John Clendening, and Jolen Aldaya, as well as alumnus Ryan Novzen, who has volunteered countless hours assisting both the boys and girls programs at Kingsway.
“I have picked up technique and drills from each of these guys and formulated what works for me, and, as this season shows, it’s really starting to come together.
As for the 100th win?
“It is really a testament to the hard work my teams and coaches have put in over the years,” said Dodulik. “It’s really all about the program’s success. We just stay positive and control the things that we can on our side of the net.”
The team had 100 win shirts made to celebrate this milestone for the program. They gave them out to the alumni when they arrived for the first annual alumni game, as these graduates were all a huge part of reaching the milestone.
In terms of the future, Dodulik has a great deal of optimism.
“I see the program having a very bright future. I continue to learn and improve as a coach each year and I hope that this continues for as long as I am coaching. I have also had many guys from all levels express interest in playing club volleyball in the winter to prepare for next season. For the first season I feel like I have a team of volleyball players instead of a melting pot of soccer players, wrestlers, and basketball players that are just looking for something to do in the spring like some teams of the past.”
