Well known for his success in leading the Bonita Vista High (BVH) girls’ volleyball team in multiple California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) wins, Chemistry teacher and girls volleyball coach Ahmad Rice takes on a new role as the BVH girls’ lacrosse coach. He expresses why he took on the opportunity of applying as the new coach.
“I wanted to do something new [and] fulfill the need for a coach. I believe that I will be able to learn [more about lacrosse] and see if we can do well with the lacrosse program [just like] I’ve done well with the volleyball program,” Rice said.
Although Rice has no prior coaching experience with lacrosse, he is familiar with the aspects of the sport. This is as a result of having coached several other sports throughout his 12 years of coaching. In order to become familiar with lacrosse, Rice is currently volunteering with a local club lacrosse team, the South Bay Vipers, in Chula Vista.
“One of the things that [Coach Rice] did on his own was professional growth. He went to one of the local club teams and volunteered his time as a coach to learn the game and some of the different individual facets and intricacies that go into women’s lacrosse,” Athletic Director Tyler Arciaga said.
Arciaga shares how Rice seemed a natural fit to fulfill the spot as the lacrosse coach due to the valued importance of being an educator on campus for students. One of the many advantages Rice demonstrated as a coach was that he proved he could run an effective and successful volleyball team.
“Girls lacrosse coaches can be challenging positions to fill. There is not as much [lacrosse] here as it is in other parts of the country right now. It’s definitely growing, and we’re excited for it. But it can be difficult to find somebody with that expertise, who wants to come in and do all the work that a head coach has to do at the high school level,” Arciaga said.
In order to prepare the lacrosse team, one of Rice’s goals is to begin the lacrosse preseason in November once the girl’s volleyball season ends. The reason behind Rice starting preseason earlier than usual is to better the team’s chances of success. Another benefit Rice explains is to give himself a head start in becoming familiar with his players skills and interests.
“We do preseason to make that connection and see who is who. I feel that even though [there will be] returners, they are not guaranteed a spot. Everyone has a clean slate every day that they play,” Rice said. “People have bad days, but if I go with a blank slate for everyone—skill set and whatever else—it offers everyone a little more opportunity to succeed in their way to improve overall.”
Attack, midfielder and junior Renata Herbst reflects on her previous lacrosse seasons and the minimal number of practices prior to their spring season’s official start. Herbst was one of the many players that participated in the club lacrosse team and encouraged Rice to learn the rules of the game.
“I’m excited because I know that [Coach Rice] is really trying to learn the girls lacrosse rules. He’s been coming to [our] club practices and learning how to coach lacrosse and trying to understand the rules. By the time our season comes around he will be doing well,” Herbst said.
Rice explains that one of the most challenging aspects of this new position is the culture shift from his previous coaching experiences. He reflects that it took a year to change the competitiveness, high expectations and work ethic when he first became the girls volleyball coach at BVH. Rice hopes to follow his previous methods to make the girls’ lacrosse team a better program as well.
“For me, I am the same regardless of what sport it is. Personally, I feel the expectations are high for any sport you do. Training, fundamental skills for sure, being at a competitive level, that is across the board for any sport I coach,” Rice said. “The skill set might be a little different. For me, I relate lacrosse to football. The crazy part is, the moves that they do in lacrosse are very similar to football moves, but the concept of how you score is [similar to] basketball.”
Rice holds himself to several goals before the spring season begins, one of these being to create a winning program. One way he will track this goal is to improve from some of the team’s standings in the 2022-2023 season. If the team only won two games last year, Rice hopes to at least win four games this season to further develop the program and athletics at the school.
“I saw him do it for volleyball, he has many years of experience, whether it’s here, or in other schools and in the club world. I have complete confidence in him that he’ll be able to run this program from an administrative standpoint, and be able to give the girls that stability and a great experience,” Arciaga said.
