After two seasons of volleyball under Steven Hagenlocher, the girls varsity volleyball team will be playing this season with a new coach. Harold Weinstein, a physical education teacher from the Bronx, is taking over as head coach.

Weinstein, a former boys and girls varsity volleyball coach for Forest Hills and Robert F. Kennedy High School, is “looking forward to a fun season–come what may in the win loss column.”

Although having the usual coach’s goal of winning, Weinstein has stated that “having fun is a primary goal and winning and losing just happens to come with the territory.”  He also wants his players to be able to look back at the season and think of the great experiences had with their fellow teammates.

Sophomore Leann Senat said that Coach Weinstein “is experienced and down to business” and yet also “enjoys the sport he coaches.”

In addition to coaching high school varsity volleyball, Weinstein has coached the men’s and women’s volleyball teams for SUNY Old Westbury and is a certified volleyball official.  Besides coaching volleyball, Weinstein has coached high school varsity basketball, soccer, softball, and handball. He is also a USPTR certified tennis instructor.

Accepting this position was not a difficult decision for Weinstein.  Townsend Harris High School is a name he is familiar with.  His mother was a teacher and a senior advisor at Townsend Harris “back in the early days” when the school was still located on Parsons Boulevard. Weinstein himself worked at Townsend Harris years ago as the handball coach; he said that since then, his goal has been to be a part of “this storied institution.”

In three years the team has had two head coaches: Wanda Nix and Steven Hagenlocher.  The success of these past coaches isn’t something to be overlooked.  Ms. Nix was the coach since the school’s inception and from 2001 to 2010 posted a 64 and 37 win- lose record. Hagenlocher posted a respectable nine and nine record over two years, making it to the second round of the 2011 playoffs.

Junior Emma Noblesala who spent last season playing under Hagenlocher said that she loved playing for him, explaining that he was a great coach who taught her a lot. Emma also believes that it will be a bit of a hard adjustment to Weinstein, but when the transition is made, the team will thrive because of their chemistry.

Senior Bianca Dilan knows the challenges of adjusting to a new coach; this is her third coach in four years as a member of the varsity volleyball team.  Bianca, the only player who had played for Nix and Hagenlocher, said that “every coach has a different way of doing things, and it’s your job as a player to just keep your mouth shut and do as they tell you.”

Weinstein will be coaching high school varsity volleyball for the first time in ten years. As he prepares to get back into the routine of having fun, he will also try to get the team back into playoff form after a three win and five lose season last year.