New Girls’ Volleyball Coach Coming to Huntington

Huntington UFSD athletic officials are working to replace longtime varsity girls’ volleyball head coach Todd Donaghy, who has decided to retire from his position. Donaghy is a district resident and a Huntington High School alum.

Seven candidates have already applied for the position. A decision is expected this spring. The Blue Devils are graduating seniors Brianna Borenstein, Lauren Donaghy and Isabella Morris. Huntington will return sophomores Madelyn Falk, Manpreet Kaur, Dakota Respass, Melanie Rodriguez, Jocelyn Thorbourne, Andreana Vlahos and Amelia Carino and juniors Emily Barba, Kymora Dorvilus, Shannon Koepele and Mia Miller.

Three of the returning players participated in a screening of the first coaching applicant. Player participation in the process is expected to continue as athletic department officials look to provide players with a voice during the selection of coaching staff members.

It was a tough decision for Donaghy, who has thoroughly enjoyed his time coaching at Huntington High School and has taken delight in the success achieved these past two seasons.

“I wanted to give this decision some time so I could reflect on where I am and where I want to be,” Donaghy said. “I will be entering my 29th year of teaching next fall and have coached for 35 years. The last seven have been the most enjoyable of them all, with five years as varsity coach, one as the JV coach and one year at Plainview-Old Bethpage as boys’ varsity coach and a county championship playoff appearance.

My objective with this program was to change the culture of the program and make it a playoff team.  Year one was about changing the culture then the next four we were exactly where I wanted to be.  Two seasons one game short of making playoffs (one bad match and then injuries derailed those two seasons) then back to back years of making playoffs. I'm very proud of what we were able to accomplish.”

Last fall, the Blue Devils made the playoffs in back to back seasons for the first time in decades. Huntington finished fourth in the league and eighth in Suffolk. “This was a fantastic group of kids to be around,” Coach Donaghy said. “We were undersized and in some cases had people playing out of position, but they worked hard each and every day and accomplished something that I wasn’t sure could happen this year. They made playoffs! It goes to show if you put in the effort and give 100 percent, 100 percent of the time anything can happen.”