Foothill volleyball coach Dusty Collins in his 30th season as Falcons sit second

Dusty Collins is coaching his 30th season at Foothill High, and his girls volleyball team is again in the race at the top of the East Bay Athletic League.

With four regular-season matches left, the Falcons sit by themselves in second in the league standings and are on track for another postseason trip, Pleasanton Weekly columnist Dennis Miller wrote this week. Collins has coached both girls and boys teams at the school.

Foothill opened 1-2, falling to James Logan and Branson, which Miller describes as programs that are always strong. The Falcons then went 3-1 at a Sept. 5 tournament, losing only in the last match, to Marin Academy.

In their most recent week of play they swept San Ramon Valley on the road, 27-25, 25-23, 25-20, a result that put them alone in second. They also beat Dublin 25-10, 25-12, 25-18.

A longtime observer's view

Miller, who has covered high school sports in the Tri-Valley since 1985 and has followed all 30 of Collins' Foothill seasons, called him the top coach he has seen locally in any sport. He wrote that former Foothill football coach Matt Sweeney told him years ago that he felt the same way.

Miller credited two things. The first is getting the most out of his rosters: Miller recalled many preseason conversations in which Collins said, "If I can get a setter this year, we'll be decent," only for the setter in question to finish the season with All-EBAL honors.

The second, Miller wrote, is communication. He recalled Collins explaining the difference between coaching boys and girls roughly this way: "With the boys, you come in for practice and get right to it. With the girls, you have to ask about their day and what's going on, then you can get to practice."

Miller, who has also announced many Foothill senior nights and playoff matches, called it a privilege to cover the program.

Source: Pleasanton Weekly.

Sources

pleasantonweekly.com