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Los Altos High School has hired a brand new coach to introduce a brand new sport. Dave Radford says he is looking forward to building the school's boys' volleyball program from the ground up.

The 30-year-old Long Beach native has been playing the sport at a competitive level for about 20 years. Radford says he knows talent when he sees it, and that he is confident the first year program is going to be good.

"I'm looking forward to developing a boys' volleyball culture at the school," he said.

Radford said has 12 young men on the squad already and is optimistic more will join in the weeks to come. He is looking for any and all "athletic guys that want to learn to play volleyball and have fun."

For those wondering if they would like the sport, he said it is often compared to fast-paced sports like tennis or basketball. And like basketball, he said, there is room on his team for a variety of different skill sets. Some players need to be able to jump high to spike or block the ball; others will end up learning to specialize in setting the ball to be spiked, and others still will learn to specialize in back row duties -- thinking fast, moving faster and making sure the ball stays in play.

This year there will only be a varsity team, Radford said, but he is optimistic that a junior varsity team will be added next year.

Radford played volleyball at his college, Hope International University in Fullerton, and said he enjoys the way the game can change suddenly. "Every time someone touches the ball you can get a very different reaction."

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