Even though you are over two years removed from a career, you have those moments you see from afar that hit home for you personally.
For me, that time came today as I checked my Facebook news feed that included a link to a published report in the St. Helena Star’s online edition. The report confirmed that both Benny Rabanal and Marc Luelsdorf, who were the Saints volleyball and girls soccer head coaches, were stepping down from their posts.
Since I am over two years removed from being a sports reporter, I don’t know if the decisions of these two men were in the works previously but when it hit the public domain, the story piqued my interest.
In my 18 years as a sports reporter, I was fortunate enough to spend 10 on the Upvalley beat that covered St. Helena and Calistoga. On the Saints side, the team’s Rabanal and Luelsdorf coached were prominent figures many weeks in my sports section.
Rabanal had been coaching since 1987, serving alongside former Saints head coaches Donna McCornack, Ouvidio Gomes, Walter Boncato and Herschel Sandler before taking the reigns as the head Saint in 2000. Rabanal coached both the JV and varsity teams.
In that span, St. Helena won the North Central League I title 13 times in 16 seasons, it was just a matter of would the title be sole possession or shared. Translation, the NCL I foes spent years chasing the Saints.
The 2005 and 2016 campaigns were among the few down years. The former was an 8-24 season that saw the team lose outside hitter Haley Mannix to a torn ACL. The team was never the same. Last season, the Saints went 13-14 overall and 9-5 in NCL I, finishing tied for third. St. Helena reached the CIF North Coast Section Div. III playoffs only to get swept by eventual runner-up St. Joseph (Alameda).
The high points of the Rabanal era came in 2003 and 2010, both teams reached the NCS Div. IV title game, losing to Justin-Siena and Marin Catholic respectively. The 2010 team reached the NorCal tournament as the No. 8 seed and upset top-seeded Ripon in five games. That Saints team was led by Maddy Densberger, whom I consider in a select group of student-athletes I had the privilege of covering. Densberger later starred at Sonoma State University.
Like Rabanal, Luelsdorf enjoyed a long tenure with the Saints, 14 years to be exact, with the last six being as the varsity head coach. Under his guidance, the Saints have won at least one NCS Div. III playoff game the last five seasons. The high point was 2011, which was his first taking over for Milton Gallegos. That season, the Saints reached the NCS Div. III title game only to lose to St. Vincent (Petaluma) 1-0. Last season, St. Helena went 13-4-2 including a satisfying 1-0 win over NCL I nemesis Clear Lake and a NCS Div. III postseason upset over No. 2 seeded El Molino (Forestville).
The volleyball program has a replacement with Lauren Dickson set to take the helm. Dickson, joined the Saints last season as Rabanal’s assistant. Dickson stared at Los Altos High before becoming an All-Big 12 player and dean’s list selection for the University of Colorado. Her husband, Roger, grew up in St. Helena.
The girls soccer program is seeking a replacement for Luelsdorf said Saints athletic director Tom Hoppe.
The biggest thing that stands out to me about the legacies of both Rabanal and Luelsdorf is that the narratives are similar. With St. Helena volleyball, I will always consider McCornack the trailblazer, not just because she led the Saints to two CIF State titles but because of her role in making girls athletics more mainstream. With St. Helena girls soccer, I will always consider Gallegos the trailblazer. The Saints started girls soccer as a program in 1996. While the program did not win at a high level under Peter Weber, he sowed the seeds. When Gallegos arrived in 2002, the Saints became a consistent winner. They continued that trend under Luelsdorf.
While you could say that both were more of caretakers of talent than developers of such, there’s something to be said for sustaining success, which is not as easy as some might think.
The New York Giants floundered after Bill Parcells handed over a ready made roster for Ray Handley in 1991. That didn’t turn out so well. Two playoff-less seasons later, Handley was fired.
The college, pro and high school ranks have ample stories like this one and those who kept the winning legacy going for a short period of time, only to see the success flame out a few years later.
I will always have a special fondness for both Rabanal and Luelsdorf for selfish reasons. Both were very media friendly. Throughout my career, I enjoyed a very good working relationship with most every coach I interacted with regularly. The regularly negative one (aka “Pricks I Covered” list) has reached maybe three fingers. Win or lose, Rabanal and Luelsdorf were gracious with their time. That quality is not easy to maintain. I’ve dealt with coaches that were happy-go-lucky in wins but crotchety in losses.
In an era where many overvalue sideline histrionics, these guys had a demeanor that was similar regardless of outcome. That demeanor drove their critics crazy but I feel different, when it comes to personality coaches and players have to do what fits them. No style is any more right or wrong than the other, I’ve seen both Tony Dungy and Jon Gruden lead their teams to titles.
Regardless of win-loss records, those coaching at the high school level and lower do it as a labor of love. Rabanal and Luelsdorf did it for a long time.
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