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Sunday, October 27, 2024 | 11:01 AM
Christopher Horner | TribLive
Shaler boys volleyball coach Paul Stadelman watches from the sideline during a match against Butler on April 2.
Bright orange Syracuse T-shirts stand out among the blue and gold-clad supporters and wooden bleachers in the usually dingy Fitzgerald Field House. Annie (Bozzo) Carter appreciated that Shaler volleyball coach Paul Stadelman still supported her when she came to town with her college team.
“My first week there, I felt overwhelmed and scared,” said Carter, a 2015 Shaler graduate. “I still remember the text he sent back to me. When I played at Pitt, he came every time. I still rely on him for advice.”
Carter took over the Shaler girls volleyball program when Stadelman stepped aside following the 2021 season. But Stadelman continued to coach the boys team, guiding Shaler to the program’s first PIAA Class 4A title last season.
Stadelman was named the 2023-24 Pennsylvania boys volleyball coach of the year by the National Federation of High Schools and the PIAA. Stadelman has a 107-77 record since taking over the Titans boys program in 2012.
During that time, Stadelman built Shaler from an also-ran in a brutal section to a perennial threat to make the PIAA playoffs. The Titans finished 3-9 in section and in sixth place during Stadelman’s first season in 2012.
To dig out of the cycle of struggle, Stadelman pushed conditioning and emphasized attempting to try to outwork larger opponents. Jon Ramsey, who graduated from Shaler in 2018 and played at Penn State Altoona, only had two years of volleyball experience before he came to high school.
Ramsey, who is now an assistant coach with the program, didn’t play club volleyball until he was a junior. When Ramsey first got to high school, he couldn’t figure out why he had to run so much.
“The structure he has from when players are freshmen pushes the younger players to be better,” Ramsey said. “He’s not hard on players because he’s trying to be rude. He sees potential in anyone, no matter who you are. I was quite taken aback by it. As I got older, there was a good reason for what we were doing. There’s a method to how he does it.”
Shaler’s boys program smashed the glass ceiling in 2019 when it made the state playoffs for the first time. The Titans have been a regular participant since. Shaler has made the last three state tournaments, finishing as runner-up in 2023 and exiting in the second round in 2022.
Despite Stadelman’s insistance to the contrary, Ramsey’s not sure he could keep with today’s Shaler players.
“The last few years were a fever dream,” Ramsey said. “I play with them at practice sometimes and I can’t hang. The physical gifts that the teams the last two years have, it’s unbelievable. I don’t play and train all the time, but even back when I played in high school, I’m not sure I would have cracked the starting lineup.”
While Stadelman was building the boys program, he established his reputation as a volleyball junkie. He started refereeing matches in 2017 and also led the Shaler girls program for four years. The Titans girls program had their best run during the 2021 season.
Shaler shared the section title with a North Allegheny, which was in the middle of a still-continuing run of seven straight state titles. The Titans finished as WPIAL runners-up and reached the state semifinals before North Allegheny knocked them off.
Outside hitter Mia Schubert, a standout on 2021 team, said during the PIAA playoffs that Stadelman pushed everyone in her class to get better. The six seniors in that class, which produced over 50 wins and two WPIAL title appearances during their careers, lost their first five matches as freshmen.
“I don’t know if it was his coaching style or not. It was that high school is much different than middle school,” Schubert said in 2021. “He really cares about everyone. He pushes you hard and it can be hard to get used to that. He wants the best for us and knows what we’re capable of. If you are underperforming, he will try to get you to the level you can play to.”
Seeing Shaler sweep Parkland to win the state title last season was satisfying for Carter. While Stadelman was an assistant coach on the teams she played for, his impact carried on for her as she pursued playing in college and becoming a teacher.
“He’s still a mentor of mine,” Carter said. “He cares about his players like no one else who ever coached me. He coached the same way if Shaler had a winning or losing record. That translated into coaching. Kids want to play for him. They feel his support, and they want to play hard for him.”
Tags: Shaler
