Spring wrap-up Q&A: San Juan Hills volleyball coach misses having his family in the gym

Editor’s note: The Orange County Register is having the area’s spring sports coaches take part in a Q&A about the 2020 season that was cut short by the coronavirus crisis.

Garry Currier, San Juan Hills boys volleyball

Q: How are you adapting to being home every day during the spring?

A: This has been tough. I miss my guys. I enjoy going to practice every day and watching them get better.

As weird as it sounds, my brain and body don’t know what to do. I wake up and think I have a match or practice. My son thinks he has no more friends at high school because we don’t get to go to practice.

Q: As a coach, what do you miss most about your “normal routine” (pre-coronavirus)?

A: The family in the gym. My 3-year-old son, Sawyer, and my 5-year-old daughter, Dixie, got to come to a lot of the volleyball practices and matches. The boys, especially the seniors, became big brothers to them. I miss the gym and my boys.

Q: When you think about your team these days, what stands out the most?

A: The brotherhood. We did “quarantine” senior night, where I drove by all the seniors’ houses and I announced the seniors from the senior night and so many underclassmen and their parents came to join our caravan. It was amazing to see 30 cars with players and parents driving and honking their horns for these seniors.

Q: As a coach, what has been the worst moment for you this spring and why?

A: Telling my seniors that we won’t have a chance to compete. They were growing so much and we had come so far already. That was tough, to not know our last practice was our last.

Q: And what has been the best moment for you this spring and why?

A: Senior night drive-by. Very memorable for me and the seniors. They had no clue what was going on, but it was awesome to surprise them.

Q: If you could play one match tomorrow, what would that look like? (Opponent? Venue? The circumstances?)

A: I would love to play Capo Valley High School. They have the former head coach (Tom Kohler) that was at San Juan before I got here, and I am sure it would be awesome for the seniors to play him.

I would love for it to be in the San Juan Hills gym, and no circumstances, just a good old-fashioned game to show how far we have come as a program with the senior leadership.

Q: What do you want your players to learn from all of this?

A: Never take anything for granted. You never know when the last time you put on that jersey, and the last time a group of friends and players this special will come around again.

Q: For fun, which player(s) on your team made you laugh the most?

A: Jacksyn Foti (Jr.) and Gage Doble (Sr.)

Q: For fun, who on your team would you like to challenge to a friendly showdown on the court? And do you go for the kill, block or ace?

A: All of them. They are a great group of guys and I would ace them off the court with my wicked float serve, ha, ha.

Q: For fun, what song would you want to play on the bus for this year’s final bus ride home?

A: Eve to Adam, “Immortal.”