New volleyball coach prioritizes team mentality

by Dan Holland

For first-year Nordonia High School Girls’ Head Volleyball Coach Erick Sopata, it’s all about bringing back the team’s winning ways and putting the team first.

“We are working really hard at creating a positive culture and environment for the girls,” said Sopata. “We’re doing everything we can to help the program get back to having some success. For me, my main philosophy is that it’s all about the team.”

Sopata, who previously served as an assistant girls’ varsity volleyball coach at Nordonia, was the head volleyball coach at Strongsville High School for 18 years. He has also coached a national team at Academy Volleyball Cleveland for the last decade.

“I was the varsity assistant coach at Nordonia in 2020-21 under head coach Tim Vasko,” said Sopata. “We had a high level of success at Nordonia, but when my daughter Mya graduated, I stepped away from coaching in high school. I knew that Nordonia had been struggling for the last couple of years, and when I saw that the position was open, I reached out to Athletic Director Rob Eckenrode and was able to earn the position as the new head coach.”

The team finished in sixth place last year in the Suburuban League National Division, posting a 9-16 overall record and a 5-9 mark in the conference; something Sopata hopes to improve on. The team started off this season with six straight wins.

“I think the kids are really buying into the team concept, and that has allowed us to make a lot of progress so far,” said Sopata. “One of our overall strengths is that we have several attackers that can attack from various positions on the court, which gives us a lot of versatility as to what we can do offensively. We’ve been really focusing on serve/receive, setting and defense; those have been our primary areas of improvement.”

Returning players Sopata is counting on to step up this season include seniors Riley Barwidi – the team’s libero, or defensive specialist – and Aleithia Wilson as a middle blocker. Outside hitters include junior Rylee Kinnell and sophomore Addi Lefeld, along with junior centers Morgan Root and Avery Palinkas.

“We’re looking to have a winning season, and by getting off to a 6-0 start, that is building some confidence,” said Sopata. “Being able to be competitive and be near the top of the conference would be terrific. There’s some tough competition with North Royalton and Wadsworth – those will be some tough teams. We also want to have some success in the playoffs again this year.”

Sopata, who grew up in Macedonia and currently lives with his family in Northfield Center, has been around volleyball as both a player and coach for the last 35 years. His daughter, Aleah, is currently on the varsity team, and his son E.J. plays on the Nordonia boys’ volleyball team.

“I’m just looking forward to having a chance to continue to keep building this program and hopefully getting it back to where it was in 2020-21,” added Sopata. “I’m really enjoying this opportunity to work with these kids.” ∞

Photo: Erick Sopata was previously a head volleyball coach for 18 years at Strongsville High School. Photo submitted.