Laguna Beach High Announces New Girls Varsity Head Volleyball Coach

From the Laguna Beach Unified School District:

Laguna Beach High School Principal Joanne Culverhouse announced that Raúl Papaleo was named the new LBHS Girls Varsity Head Volleyball Coach. Dr. Culverhouse stated, “Raúl’s excellent experience as a player and a coach–and his focus on positive and winning attitudes will build and establish good relationships with our community and our players.”

LBHS Athletic Director Mike Churchill remarked, “We feel very fortunate to have Raúl as our new coach. He has a very impressive resume as a player and coach that is sure to translate into successes on the court. We look forward to a long relationship and continued success in our girls’ volleyball program.”

Mr. Papaleo was born and raised in Puerto Rico where he participated in a variety of individual and team sports before focusing on volleyball. Both his parents are educators and he is looking forward to the opportunity to give back to the sport he has enjoyed since childhood.

Mr. Papaleo has more than 20 years of volleyball experience. He competed on the Puerto Rico National Team and was a member of the first Puerto Rican beach volleyball team to compete in the Olympics. He is a 2003 Pan American Games Bronze Medalist and a two-time North Central American and Caribbean Confederation (NORCECA) Gold Medalist in 2003 and 2008. He was an NCAA All-American and played on the AVP Tour for four years. He has experience coaching club, high school and college volleyball teams. Mr. Papaleo holds a B.S. Major in Supervision from Purdue University.