Get to know new Mendham volleyball coach Carly Rivera
MENDHAM, N.J. — The Mendham Girls Volleyball program has a rich and proud tradition, one that was added to last year with a 2021 Group II State Championship.
A truly impressive achievement!聽
It is rare that the head coaching position opens up after a season similar to the one Mendham just completed. Yet, that is precisely the situation head coach Carly Rivera is stepping into after the previous coach, Greg Racz, resigned his position to spend more time with his family.
鈥淚鈥檓 enormously proud to work with a program that has a legacy like Mendham鈥檚. The administration is serious about making volleyball a priority. The teams have been performing at a high level and I鈥檓 excited about the opportunity.鈥�
Coach Rivera is primed for the position and is eagerly embracing what is in front of him. A lifelong volleyball enthusiast, Carly began playing volleyball at the age of nine in his native Puerto Rico, where volleyball is akin to baseball in America.
鈥淰olleyball is like a second religion in Puerto Rico,鈥� Coach Rivera related. 鈥淭here鈥檚 quite a passion for the game there.鈥�
A graduate of Cornell University, where he was the starting setter and captain of the volleyball team, Carly brings a tremendous amount of experience with him.聽
鈥淚n addition to having a love for the game, I鈥檝e developed a passion for working with young people, coaching them and seeing them develop,鈥� he said.
Three years after graduating from college he created VB Rags, a line of volleyball clothing that is still in existence. Fifteen years into a successful marketing career in which he advised numerous corporate clients (Dentyne, Cadbury, and Fiji Water among them), Carly opened up a junior volleyball academy under the VB Rags banner.
鈥淚 left the corporate world because there wasn鈥檛 anything in that sphere that could match the contagious energy and passion of volleyball,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 began my high school coaching career at Morris Catholic in 2012, but after two years I decided to open a junior academy. While focusing on VB Rags and building it into the number one junior club over the last eight years, I have had other opportunities to get back into coaching. When the opportunity to coach at Mendham came along, it felt like the right place at the right time.鈥�
While approximately 90 percent of the scoring players from the prior year鈥檚 2021 state championship squad will not be returning this year, Coach Rivera is excited about the program and the current talent.
鈥淲hen you walk onto the Mendham court, there is an instant feeling that this house has to be protected, that home court has to be defended. I鈥檝e met with about half of the kids who are expected to try out and I think we are going to have an extremely competitive team. There鈥檚 a terrific opportunity for a number of young, talented kids to step up this year.鈥�
Mendham will play over 20 regular season games (including a challenging tournament in Demarest), plus the county and the state tournaments. By the end of the year, the team will have played more than 30 games. After competing against some of the better programs in the state, Coach Rivera is expecting to have a seasoned team once tournament play starts.聽
鈥淚鈥檓 very active trying to schedule pre-season games, reaching out to other coaches to set up scrimmages with good teams,鈥� Carly said.
With a new coach and a young, eager team, it looks to be another exciting year for the Mendham Girls Volleyball team. Please come out and support them!
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