The first time new Gateway girls volleyball coach Erica Bosh would see her players on the court was on August 12 at the first preseason practice at Gateway’s Furrie Sports Complex.
The Keystone Oaks and Pitt-Greensburg graduate and volleyball product officially came on board as the new leader of the Gators program in early August.
She said she is excited to work with the girls and help build a team that will compete for a spot in the WPIAL playoffs in Class 3A.
“I coached at Pitt-Greensburg and club and felt I was ready to be a high school coach,” Bosh said. “I talked to a few people and saw that Gateway was looking for a coaching position. I saw the success they had last year and I want to help them build on that and continue that growth.”
Bosh hoped to meet the players and their parents at a meeting and get an update before tryouts and the first practice.
“We’re really ready to get going with the girls and see what kind of teams we can put together,” she said. “I’m excited to work with them and develop a good routine and rapport with them. I want to go in there and lay out my expectations for them and talk to them about what their goals and expectations are for the season. I think we’ll be able to build something pretty quickly.”
Bosh said the girls’ work in the gym over the past few months should pay off during the first practices and practice games.
“Talking to Don (Holl), Gateway’s athletic director, the girls have been doing a lot of good training in the gym with the boys team over the summer,” Bosh said.
“I also talked a little bit with (Gateway Boys) coach (Phil) Randolph and he said that there is a consistent attendance of girls at practice and it looks promising. These girls want to win and get better together.”
Gateway finished tied with Plum for second place in Section 1-3A last year with a 9-3 record behind champion Hampton (12-0).
The Gators were seeded No. 11 for the WPIAL playoffs and were stopped in straight sets by Armstrong in the first round.
Gateway was a young team last year with only four seniors. All four – McKenna and Mallory Brown, Alice Childs and Michelina Estremera – were selected to either the section first or second team.
Veteran outside attacker Ashley Young was named to the second team, while veteran center attacker Auroya Brown received honorable mention.
Gateway will be in Section 5-3A this fall with Derry, Franklin Regional, Greensburg Salem, Indiana, McKeesport and West Mifflin.
Derry, Indiana and West Mifflin participated in the WPIAL playoffs last year along with the Gators.
“I know it’s a new section for everybody and I’ve been able to look at a few things,” Bosh said. “I think the best thing we can do is take it day by day, develop a game plan and play to the girls’ strengths. We don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves. We still have a lot of work to do internally before we can focus on (regular season) games, especially in this section.
“I come from a more defensive background, but I also have experience hitting from high school and college, so I think it’s really important to make the girls versatile. At club we’ve worked a lot on defense this season, and after serving and receiving came into play first, we’ve really worked on offense.”
Bosh said the practice games – at Ambridge on Aug. 19 and at home against Highlands on Aug. 22 – will be a good test to see how the girls work together in things like system rotations and combinations.
Bosh graduated from Keystone Oaks in 2014 and quickly became a valuable member of the Pitt-Greensburg women’s team.
As a sophomore in 2015, she helped the Bobcats to their most wins since 2008 (eight) and secure a spot in the conference playoffs for the first time since 2009.
Bosh recorded 418 digs from her libero position as a senior in 2017. That total was the second-highest in program history for a single season, only her school record of 459 as a junior in 2016 was higher.
In 2018, she moved from being a player for the Bobcats to being the program’s head coach, a position she held for four years.
The 2019 season was her best, in which she led UPG to a total of seven wins.
Bosh also began her career as a club coach in her first season at Pitt-Greensburg. In recent years, she has coached at P3R Volleyball, whose season begins in November and runs through the spring.
Their 14-Platinum team got a chance to extend its season as it secured a trip to the USA Volleyball Nationals in Las Vegas last month.
“Erica is a volleyball player through and through,” said Holl. “She is a person who loves the sport. You can tell by the enthusiasm she exudes when you talk to her. And her work as a player and coach speaks volumes. Her experience and personality make us pretty excited to see what she can do here at Gateway.”
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Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and Pittsburgh’s eastern suburbs. A Clearfield native and Westminster (Pa.) graduate, Love joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at Clearfield Progress. Reach him at [email protected].
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