{"id":3595,"date":"2025-07-03T20:14:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-03T20:14:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/?p=3595"},"modified":"2025-07-03T20:14:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-03T20:14:09","slug":"mccallister-is-girls-sports-coach-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/?p=3595","title":{"rendered":"McCallister is girls sports Coach of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Knights bounce back to top of North Central League I standings in volleyball<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lake County Sports on Facebook<\/p>\n\n\n\n

KELSEYVILLE >> The last thing in the world she wants is the lion\u2019s share of the credit for Kelseyville\u2019s run to another North Central League I title in volleyball.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Donelle McCallister, the Coach of the Year for girls sports in 2024-25, gives the majority of that credit to her assistant, former longtime head coach Larry Bresso, after watching the Knights hang another championship flag on the gym\u2019s walls following a 17-7 season that featured a league-best 12-2 mark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kelseyville and volleyball success have gone hand in hand down through the years. The school was on the latest of its great runs right before COVID-19 shut down the sporting world during the 2020-21 high school season. The Knights went 12-1 in league (second) and 26-4 overall in 2017, 14-0 (first) and 33-7 in 2018 and 13-0 (first) and 22-6 in 2019. Prior to that, they won league titles in 2013, 2015 and 2016. When play resumed after the COVID-19 shutdown, Kelseyville struggled through successive losing seasons in 2021 and 2022 before regaining its balance in 2023 (13-3 league, 21-9 overall), and winning it all this past season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McCallister has been there the whole way, but she said it does indeed take a village to make a great program, and Kelseyville High School volleyball is clearly that, with a track record of success few can match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe No. 1 reason why Kelseyville has been so consistent in girls volleyball is because of one person, Larry Bresso,\u201d McCallister said. \u201cHe brings to our team years of experience and dedication that no one in our league has access to. I have had the honor of learning what I know today from his years of success.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McCallister said the support of the school\u2019s administrators and athletic directors down through the years is another reason the volleyball program has had only a handful of bumpy seasons during its many long stretches of success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey are the people who help make a program a success by following CIF guidelines, making sure coaches and athletes have completed all requirements, finding funding, and standing at our matches supporting our girls.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McCallister said the hard work of her athletes during the season and in the offseason and the support of parents is something else that sets the Knights above other teams in the win-loss department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey have consistently developed their volleyball knowledge both during volleyball and offseason through summer camps, club teams and the participation in other sports available to them,\u201d McCallister said of her players over the years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The support of the Kelseyville community also has elevated her team\u2019s performance level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey have done nothing but support all programs at Kelseyville High School, including the myriad of sports our students participate in,\u201d McCallister said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, in regard to the 2024 season that produced another championship, McCallister said her seniors made that task a lot easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI really enjoyed working with Cali, Nyejzniya, Olivia, Victoria, Savannah, Ashlyn and Briana,\u201d McCallister said. \u201cNot only great athletes, but also great human beings. I expect big things from each and every one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This past season\u2019s seniors carry on a great Kelseyville tradition, according to McCallister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs for working with these athletes, each senior that has graduated has left an indelible mark in my heart,\u201d she said. \u201cWhatever I gave them, they gave me back in triplicate. This last year was especially emotional, maybe because I am heading toward the end of my career.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Knights bounce back to top of North Central League I standings in volleyball Lake County Sports on Facebook KELSEYVILLE >> The last thing in the world she wants is the lion\u2019s share of the credit for Kelseyville\u2019s run to another North Central League I title in volleyball. Donelle McCallister, the Coach of the Year for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3596,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,86,17],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3595"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3595"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3595\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3598,"href":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3595\/revisions\/3598"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3595"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}