Scott Bishop to lead Napa Valley College volleyball program as Storm's new head coach
Photo: Scott Bishop
Photo by Marty James
By MARTY JAMES
Scott Bishop has won at the high school level, leading Campolindo-Moraga to CIF state championships in 2006 and 2010.
He has won at the collegiate club level, starting the women's program at UC Berkeley and directing the team to a fifth-place national finish in only its second year of existence.
He has experience as a college head coach and assistant coach, community college head coach, and youth club coach.
Now, as the new head volleyball coach at Napa Valley College, he is ready to start building a program and working to get a team on the court for the fall 2024 season. Napa Valley did not have a team last year due to not having a coach
"I'm incredibly excited to take advantage of the opportunities that Napa Valley College has," Bishop, 52, said Tuesday night at the NVC gym. "I don't have any players returning from (the 2022 season). So, I get to start all of the culture and the habits and the players that get to be the beginning of that momentum."
Napa Valley lost its last two matches of the 2022 season, falling 3-0 at home to Yuba College-Marysville and falling 3-0 at Los Medanos College-Pittsburg. The Storm ended the season at 4-14 overall, 2-10 in the Bay Valley Conference. For the season, the Storm averaged 6.47 kills per set, 5.42 assists per set, 2.42 service aces per set, and 17.08 digs per set.
Chelsea Reilley stepped down as head coach and Robert Stamps stepped down as the Storm's Director of Volleyball after the 2022 season.
Bishop's hiring was announced by Jerry Dunlap, the Storm's Athletic Director and NVC's Dean of Kinesiology, Health, Dance, Administration of Justice, Social Sciences.
"First and foremost, we're excited to have Scott on board and part of the Storm family," said Dunlap. "It's been a year-long search to find a qualified candidate. And obviously, Scott met all the criteria. Scott rose to the top.
"He's doing a really good job with the recruiting process, trying to bring girls on to campus and have a full roster next fall. He's brought a lot of young women onto campus, with their families, on recruiting tours. And with some of our new recruiting platforms we're using, we're starting to get a lot of interest in Napa Valley College. So, we're excited about the future."
Bishop said he has already had a number of recruiting events on campus to try and attract some of the local players during the winter break. NVC's on-campus housing project, River Trail Village, is set to be completed this fall. Dunlap led an on-campus tour for eight prospective players over the winter break.
"With the student housing being built, it's really a game changer for being able to recruit the world and really trying to bring in local kids, kids from California and far and beyond," said Bishop, a resident of El Cerrito. "I spent the last two months recruiting like a madman, trying to get the word out, reach and connect players and then having great conversations with players all over the place.
"We're continuing to reach out to players out of state. I've had conversations with (players from) Oregon, Washington, Texas, Florida, Colorado, Canada, Puerto Rico. I had a Zoom call with a player from Serbia last week.
"I'm on four different recruiting platforms. I've been blasting the opportunities far and wide. A lot of players are interested in talking, to see what Napa Valley College has to offer for them. It's a beautiful area. It's a beautiful campus."
Bishop has an extensive background in volleyball, playing on a club team in college at UC Berkeley and coaching at different levels for 30 years. On his resume, Bishop points out: "I have a deep and passionate love for the great sport of volleyball." He has coached high school volleyball for 19 years and club volleyball for 19 years.
He was director of Campolindo's volleyball program and the head coach from 2002-2011.
The Cougars went 34-2 overall, 18-0 in the Diablo Foothill League, and won the state Division III title, beating Laguna Beach, 3-2, in 2006.
The Cougars went 34-3 overall, 12-0 in the Diablo Foothill League, and won the state Division III title, beating Cathedral Catholic-San Diego, 3-2, in 2010.
"It was a really fun, rewarding experience. Campolindo was a strong program to begin with as far as experience wise," said Bishop. "It was really fun to be part of a program that is able to get to that level and find success and win. Most teams are ending their season and are looking for ways to define success with their program. And we were extraordinarily lucky and worked hard at the same time for that opportunity."
Bishop was director of El Cerrito High's volleyball program and the head coach from 2013-2022. He led El Cerrito to multiple Tri-County League titles and to the CIF North Coast Section playoffs eight straight years.
Bishop said he is continuing to set up on-campus visits for prospective players.
"I'm really looking for players that are going to be able to come in their freshman year and impact the program and be able to really compete at a high level from day one. So, things are off to a really good start," he said.
Bishop has been in contact with area high school and club coaches, getting the word out about NVC volleyball returning to the court.
He has also been in contact with prospective players.
"I've been really energized by the student athletes that I've been able to connect with, their interest in the program and starting to get a glimpse of what that's going to look like. It continues to be a motivating factor to keep up the work," said Bishop. "A lot of students still haven't had a chance to visit campus and are setting up that opportunity. These next few months are going to be pretty critical in the recruiting season."
He added:
"There's a lot of exciting progress being made very quickly, each day. I think when we're building the program, the very first year, it's going to be really critical to have the right mindset.
"We're definitely headed in a direction where we're going to be, I think, quite competitive from Year 1. I
just appreciate this opportunity here at Napa Valley. And I'm really looking forward, just as the pieces continue to fall into place, where that's going to take us."
Bishop was a volunteer assistant coach for the women's team at UC Berkeley, his alma mater, in 2001 and 2013.
He was with Golden Bear Volleyball Club, from 1994-2011, serving as head coach for 14-17 year-old age group teams that competed nationally with great success. He was a lead instructor in the club for 18 years.
He was the head coach at Holy Names University of Oakland (1995-96).
He was an assistant coach at University of San Francisco (1996-1997).
He was the head coach at Los Medanos College-Pittsburg (1997-1999).
He was an assistant coach at San Francisco State (1999-2001).
Bishop graduated from Skyline High School-Oakland in 1989.
He graduated from UC Berkeley in 1994 with a degree in environmental science.
At Cal, he played on the men's collegiate club volleyball team as an outside hitter. He was a four-time All-American and a two-time MVP at the national tournament. Bishop helped Cal to four collegiate club championships.
Bishop started the women's collegiate club program at Cal and as coach (2011-2012) led the team to 13th- and fifth-place national finishes.
He is currently in his first year coaching a 14s age-group team with Absolute Volleyball Club of San Rafael. According to its website, www.absolutevb.com, Absolute Volleyball Club, founded in 2005, "has become a premier club in Northern California, as well as nationally."
Bishop and his wife, Grace Bishop, have two daughters, Téa Bishop (21) and Karis Bishop (17), and a son, Sinjin Bishop (13).
Grace Bishop played two years of basketball as a guard at the University of New Mexico. She transferred to Cal State East Bay in Hayward and played three years of volleyball as a middle blocker/middle hitter.
* Marty James is a freelance writer who makes his home in Napa. He retired on June 4, 2019 after spending 40 years as a sports writer, sports editor and executive sports editor for the Napa Valley Register, a daily newspaper in Napa County. He is a 1979 graduate of Sacramento State and a member of the California Golf Writers & Broadcasters Association. He was inducted into the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Hall of Fame in 2016, the Vintage High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019, and the Napa High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2022.