OBERLIN — Keith Jenkins is going to find out if you can, in fact, go home again.
Jenkins is returning to the area from Tennessee to become the varsity volleyball coach at Oberlin High.
An Elyria High graduate, Jenkins took Fairley High in Memphis from winless to the third round of postseason play last year.
Jenkins played boys volleyball at Elyria until the sport was discontinued in his junior year. From there, he went to Syracuse University, where he played on an intercollegiate club team all four years while undertaking a triple-major. He was a right-side hitter and defensive specialist on the club team.
“I’ve always loved to play volleyball,” he said in a news release. “I’ve seen my own game develop. Now, as a coach, I love to see the impact that I can have on the athletes. They don’t know their potential. But, with practice and success, they can learn to trust their own skills. Volleyball is a skill sport — the more you practice, the better you get.”
Jenkins intends to focus on skill development, attitude and teamwork.
“Volleyball is all about cooperation and being a team player,” he said. “Teamwork is necessary for success. It fosters respect and teaches other important lessons.”
Oberlin athletic director Nancy Boutilier liked what Jenkins did in Tennessee.
“Keith showed that he put his playing knowledge and experience to excellent use as a coach and as a motivator of young women,” she said. “He turned that program around in Memphis and brought more players into the program. He motivated them to take the game more seriously. And more fans came to see the girls play.”

Falls gets new coach

Avon Lake resident Dino Pietromica has an awesome task staring him in the face.
Pietromica, a former Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin coach, is the new coach for the Division I state champion Olmsted Falls Bulldogs.
Pietromica succeeds Dawn Moses, the Bulldogs head coach for 14 years, who resigned to spend more time with her family. Moses had a 280-85 record at Falls and guided the Bulldogs to a 29-0 record and the school’s first Division I state title in her final season. The Bulldogs defeated Cincinnati Ursuline 39-37, 16-25, 25-21, 25-12 in the title match.
Pietromica had a 77-75 record from 2002-07 at NDCL, including a North Coast League co-championship and a Division II district title.

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