Lincoln-Way North girls volleyball coach Mary Brown won’t have to look far to find Knights gear when she takes over the boys and girls programs next year at Lincoln-Way Central.
All six of her children attended and played sports at Central.
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“There is a lot of red in our house,” she said, laughing. “I can dig some things out of the kids’ closets.”
Brown’s move to Central became official this week as District 210 officials announced several coaching changes that will take place after Lincoln-Way North closes its doors in June.
Brown, the 2015 Daily Southtown Girls Volleyball Coach of the Year, has been at North since the school opened. She had winning records in seven of eight seasons — the last of which was her best — as the Phoenix (34-4) recorded a school record for victories and advanced to a Class 4A supersectional.
She also worked in the boys program on the lower levels and will coach the sophomore team at North in the spring.
“I’m excited for a new beginning,” Brown said. “I’m going to miss North immensely. That was a wonderful place to work. I learned a lot and gained a lot. But I’m looking forward developing a program at Central.”
Kris Fiore will coach the boys and girls teams at Lincoln-Way East. Fiore will be entering his seventh season as the boys coach at East.
“It’s going to be a challenge and there will be a lot of working pieces through the whole program, with kids coming in from North and some kids leaving East,” Fiore said. “But I’m excited about the opportunity, and hopefully we can have some great success.”
Fiore’s appointment as the girls coach at East meant the end of Linda Vivona’s term as the only girls coach at East.
Vivona, who took her final team at Queen of Peace to state in 1995, came to Lincoln-Way in 1996. She won 118 matches in five seasons before taking over the new program at East in 2001. In 15 seasons at East she won 334 matches, including seven regional titles and three sectional titles.
Vivona reapplied for her position at East, but was not retained.
“They said they were moving forward and that I was not one of the coaches they were selecting,” Vivona said. “I respect the fact that they have decisions to make. They are in a very tough spot where they have to make some big decisions.
“When Dr. (Lawrence) Wyllie called me (in 1995), I felt that this was an excellent district and a great opportunity to coach and share my passion for the sport, and my love of fitness with my (physical education) students.”
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Jodi Frigo, who was in her second year as the girls varsity coach at Central, will replace Brian Thorp as the boys head coach at West in 2017. Frigo coached at Marist for several seasons in both the boys and girls programs. She also spent two seasons as the boys head coach.
She will be serving as an assistant on Thorp’s staff this spring in his final season. Thorp is an out-of-building coach who teaches at Manhattan Junior High.
The girls position at West will be filled by Matt Lawrence, who was the boys head coach at North and an assistant in the girls program with Brown.
Rory Olson, who started the girls program at West when it opened in 2009, stepped down. She is expecting her second child.
“I’m going to miss (coaching) terribly,” she said. “It was a rough decision. But between me having another little one and my husband (Eric Olson) being a coach in the fall (at Homewood-Flossmoor), I didn’t reapply.
“I’ll be having my own little team at home now.”
Twitter: @tbaranek