JEFFREY REINHART jreinhart@LNPnews.com
CONESTOGA VALLEY GRAD CRAIG ESBENSHADE IS SET TO REPLACE LONGTIME COACH AL KOFROTH ON CV GIRLS’ VOLLEYBALL BENCH
The post-Al Kofroth volleyball era at Conestoga Valley is underway.
Craig Esbenshade, a former assistant coach under Kofroth for seven seasons, will be the Buckskins’ next varsity girls’ coach, pending school board approval, the New Era has learned.
Esbenshade, a 1988 Conestoga Valley grad and 1992 University of Tennessee grad, was CV’s boys’ and girls’ junior varsity coach and assistant head coach from 1994-2001 under Kofroth, who was told last month that CV’s boys’ and girls’ volleyball programs were going to go in a new direction, and he was not asked to come back to coach.
“They (the school district) have their reasons,” Kofroth said in a published report. “They didn’t tell me what that new direction was.”
Kofroth was the head coach of CV’s girls’ team since the inception of the program 17 years ago. His girls’ teams won seven L-L League championships in a row from 1995-2001, and under Kofroth, the Bucks won District 3 championships in 2001, 2000 and 1998.
CV won the PIAA crown in 2003.
The Bucks also won 148 L-L League Section 2 matches in a row from 1993 until 2006, when Garden Spot snapped CV’s long streak.
Kofroth also coached CV’s boys’ team the last 24 years, starting at the club level before the launch of the L-L League.
“In a way, Al is a legend,” Esbenshade said. “He started the girls’ program at CV and even won a state title. It’s a cliché answer, but I don’t think I can fill his shoes. He built a tradition of success here. All I want to do is keep it going.”
Esbenshade, 38, left his post at CV when he was promoted to head golf course superintendent at the Lancaster Host Resort. He and his wife, WGAL-TV reporter Anne Shannon, have three sons.
“This will be a daunting task,” Esbenshade said. “But I look at it as a challenge. It’s a really good opportunity, and I get to go back to CV, where I’m from … and I’m familiar with the program. I learned a lot about coaching under Al, and it’s a goal of mine to keep the program going.”
Esbenshade, who coached current Olympian Kim Glass during her first two years at CV, will just coach the girls’ team for now. There is still a vacancy for the Bucks’ head boys’ volleyball coaching job.
“There is very competitive, high-level volleyball in the L-L League,” Esbenshade said. “A lot of girls from around here go on to play in Division 1 or Division 2 programs. Volleyball around here is excellent.”
