The BSM volleyball team is in a very unique situation with a coach/daughter trio being a part of the team. Phong Luong, father of senior captain Anna Luong and freshman Sarah Luong, is the head coach of the volleyball team. Coach Luong coaches Anna on the varsity level and Sarah on the junior varsity level.  Coaching and parenting are two grueling jobs, and Phong Luong succeeds at both.

Coach Luong first got into coaching volleyball when his eldest daughter Anna started playing the sport in grade school.  He started as just a volunteer coach for her school; when Sarah was old enough to play volleyball he coached her too.  “That developed into coaching them at the club level for many years,” Coach Luong said.

In 2012, Coach Luong was hired to coach the BSM B-Squad volleyball team for a year before being named the varsity head coach the following season.

Coach Luong had coached volleyball prior to coaching his daughters. When he was in college, his brother was the head coach of a college program, so Luong got to assist and observe him. “[The job] was very helpful in building a solid coaching foundation and [it] fanned the flame for coaching,” Coach Luong said.  At that time, he was also playing volleyball competitively for several clubs and really enjoying it. He knew that one day, he would like to coach.

Having a parent as a coach isn’t something one sees everyday, but Anna and Sarah have adapted to the situation.  “He has been my coach for a long time now, so I am pretty used to it. It’s a different type of pressure having your dad as your coach; sometimes I like it and sometimes I don’t,” Anna said.

Coach Luong agrees that there can be mixed emotions for everyone involved when one is coaching their children.  “Coaching my daughters has been a bittersweet experience. Bitter because it is hard to separate the roles of being a coach and dad to them at the same time, while also being the coach to the rest of the players,” Coach Luong said. “I try very carefully to avoid any situation where my actions as a coach are viewed as playing favorites to my daughters.”

Coach Luong also affirms that he does have higher standards for his daughters than he does for the rest of the players on the team. “I am definitely harder as a coach and place higher expectations on [my daughters] than I am with other players on the team. I realize this approach may be unfair to my daughters, but that’s my attempt at minimizing the perception of favoritism regardless of how baseless that perception may be,” Coach Luong said. “What they have achieved on the court is solely attributed to their hard work, skills, and being a supportive teammate—not because they are the coach’s kid.”

Anna agrees that her dad is harder on her than the other players, but believes that this is necessary for the good of the team. “He is definitely harder on us, but I like the challenge and I understand why he does it,” Anna said.

Even though there is a “bitter” aspect to coaching his daughters, the positive experiences he has had far outweigh the negative ones. “The ‘bitter’ part pales in comparison to the joy and the many fond memories we have from volleyball.  As any parent can attest, kids grow up so fast and their schooling years just fly by,” Coach Luong said. “The time I have been able to spend with my daughters on the volleyball court has been such a blessing and something I’ll forever cherish. I’ll never regret that I made the decision to go back into coaching if only for this reason.”

From Anna’s viewpoint, there are plenty of similarities and differences between her father at home and her father on the volleyball court. “He pushes my sister and I just the same on the volleyball court as he does in the classroom. He is much more patient at home than he is on the volleyball court,” Anna said.

On the volleyball court, the Luongs and their teammates have been working hard to reach their full potential this season. “I’m so proud of the team and how hard they are working. It’s a great group of girls and they are all so supportive of each other. As a coach, that’s all you can ask for,” Coach Luong said.

After cruising to a 4-0 start, the team has maintained a winning record all throughout the season, even against a tough schedule. “Our season is winding down with just a couple of more games and one more tournament before we head into sectional play. The strength of our schedule was much tougher this year, and we have been competitive in every match,” Coach Luong said.

The highlight of the season has been winning the Subway Classic Tournament in Marshall and the Dig Pink Invite at BSM, and the Red Knights hope to build off of that momentum and get hot at the right time. “Right now, our record is [20-8] and we are just coming off our best stretch of volleyball when we won the Subway Classic Tournament last weekend.  This tournament featured 24 teams and marked the first time BSM has won any tournament. We are  peaking at the right time and hope to make a run during sectionals,” Luong said.