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Jonathan Bukva talks with his team during the Bruins' Cardinal District semifinal win over Potomac.
Prince William Content Manager
pfrommelt@digitalsports.com
With Thursday night’s 3-1 victory over Woodbridge, the Forest Park volleyball team captured their ninth consecutive Cardinal District title. Forest Park first-year head coach Jonathan Bukva talks about the challenges of leading a team with such a strong tradition, how the Bruins were able to pull out the title and what lies ahead in the Northwest Region tournament.
What was your background before coming to Forest Park and what was it like taking over a program with such a history of volleyball dominance in the area?
“My background volleyball was three years as an assistant coach at Osbourn Park. Forest Park was always our biggest rival in the county. I kind of heard at the end of last season that the possession may be open and I bounced the idea of the Osbourn Park coach and we just laughed about it because really weren’t 100 percent sure that it was going to happen. This summer, when the position did open, I figured that I would throw my name in the pot just to see what would happen. If I didn’t get the job, I would be fine back at Osbourn Park and if I did get the job, I would have to be up to speed real quick.
“When it happened, it was pretty exciting. It was exciting and kind of frightening at the same time. There is a lot of tradition at Forest Park and I nobody ever said ‘You have to win or you are going to be gone,’ but from the beginning, it was understood that there was tradition there that they would like to keep going. That was my main goal for the year, to make sure that tradition kept going.”
Can you talk more about what the team has been through to get to the point of winning a title, because it is so often the Forest Park volleyball does win the Cardinal title but this one looked a little bit harder?
“There were just a lot of new people. There’s only two or three returning varsity starters or varsity players for that matter and a new coach and new kids coming in. Everybody just had to learn each others flaws and how they react to the ball and how they react to each other. In the beginning, we weren’t playing very much. We weren’t gelling as quick because there weren’t as many games for us to learn each other with.
“There is only so much you can do in practice, especially with the small team that we had at the beginning of the season. I think that one district loss put them in their place, realizing that they weren’t completely untouchable. They were going to have to play this year if they wanted to win.
“From that point on, after that loss, we had another win and another loss, but then they went on a streak for a while. The girls just started playing with each other and they just learned how to play together. There are a lot of times when we play a weaker team where the girls don’t seem like they are gelling. They kind of know that they can get away with it. When their big games come up, you see a lot more of a team atmosphere and the girls really getting along.”
Obviously there was pressure on the team and pressure to keep that tradition. What were you feeling when you won — when you succeed in getting that Cardinal District trophy?
"It was extremely exciting. At Osbourn Park, we had won the last three district titles. Each one was exciting but this one was really exciting because it was the first one as a head coach. It was my first title. It was really exciting and it was kind of like the pressure was off — a lot of pressure off my shoulders and back since we did keep that tradition going.
“The more I think about it — it doesn’t stop there. We are expected to win more than a district title. That is just a small piece of it. An important piece, but there are still more games out there that we need to win for this team to have a successful year.
“It think that we will have a successful season if we make it to states, but if the girls come to play, we can make it as far as they want to go. We have a truly dynamic team. Sometimes they are hot and sometimes we’re cold. Hopefully they will get caught on a hot night."
Let’s talk about Rachael and Kellie Goss. They are two players that are something special. Can you speak more on coming into a program and having girls like that on the team?
“Forest Park is an ideal job for anybody because you already know that you have talent there that can carry you. At the same time, I ran into this early — they are very elite atheltes and it takes a different type of motivation to motivate elite athletes to stay up on their game 100 percent of the time. Sure, they can go through the motions and be just as successful as any average player in the district, but if you want more from them, you have to find a way. It probably took me 3/4 of the season before I finally realized how to connect with those two to get what I needed from them.
“That is something that we will work on more this summer and next year. I think that we will be going full throttle next year.”
What do you know about Fauquier, [the Bruins' first-round game on Tuesday night]?
“They are a pretty interesting team. They are hot and cold too. They have beat some big teams and have lost to some weaker teams. Again, I think that it will come down to who shows up to play tomorrow.”
With Thursday night’s 3-1 victory over Woodbridge, the Forest Park volleyball team captured their ninth consecutive Cardinal District title. Forest Park first-year head coach Jonathan Bukva talks about the challenges of leading a team with such a strong tradition, how the Bruins were able to pull out the title and what lies ahead in the Northwest Region tournament.
What was your background before coming to Forest Park and what was it like taking over a program with such a history of volleyball dominance in the area?
“My background volleyball was three years as an assistant coach at Osbourn Park. Forest Park was always our biggest rival in the county. I kind of heard at the end of last season that the possession may be open and I bounced the idea of the Osbourn Park coach and we just laughed about it because really weren’t 100 percent sure that it was going to happen. This summer, when the position did open, I figured that I would throw my name in the pot just to see what would happen. If I didn’t get the job, I would be fine back at Osbourn Park and if I did get the job, I would have to be up to speed real quick.
“When it happened, it was pretty exciting. It was exciting and kind of frightening at the same time. There is a lot of tradition at Forest Park and I nobody ever said ‘You have to win or you are going to be gone,’ but from the beginning, it was understood that there was tradition there that they would like to keep going. That was my main goal for the year, to make sure that tradition kept going.”
Can you talk more about what the team has been through to get to the point of winning a title, because it is so often the Forest Park volleyball does win the Cardinal title but this one looked a little bit harder?
“There were just a lot of new people. There’s only two or three returning varsity starters or varsity players for that matter and a new coach and new kids coming in. Everybody just had to learn each others flaws and how they react to the ball and how they react to each other. In the beginning, we weren’t playing very much. We weren’t gelling as quick because there weren’t as many games for us to learn each other with.
“There is only so much you can do in practice, especially with the small team that we had at the beginning of the season. I think that one district loss put them in their place, realizing that they weren’t completely untouchable. They were going to have to play this year if they wanted to win.
“From that point on, after that loss, we had another win and another loss, but then they went on a streak for a while. The girls just started playing with each other and they just learned how to play together. There are a lot of times when we play a weaker team where the girls don’t seem like they are gelling. They kind of know that they can get away with it. When their big games come up, you see a lot more of a team atmosphere and the girls really getting along.”
Obviously there was pressure on the team and pressure to keep that tradition. What were you feeling when you won — when you succeed in getting that Cardinal District trophy?
"It was extremely exciting. At Osbourn Park, we had won the last three district titles. Each one was exciting but this one was really exciting because it was the first one as a head coach. It was my first title. It was really exciting and it was kind of like the pressure was off — a lot of pressure off my shoulders and back since we did keep that tradition going.
“The more I think about it — it doesn’t stop there. We are expected to win more than a district title. That is just a small piece of it. An important piece, but there are still more games out there that we need to win for this team to have a successful year.
“It think that we will have a successful season if we make it to states, but if the girls come to play, we can make it as far as they want to go. We have a truly dynamic team. Sometimes they are hot and sometimes we’re cold. Hopefully they will get caught on a hot night."
Let’s talk about Rachael and Kellie Goss. They are two players that are something special. Can you speak more on coming into a program and having girls like that on the team?
“Forest Park is an ideal job for anybody because you already know that you have talent there that can carry you. At the same time, I ran into this early — they are very elite atheltes and it takes a different type of motivation to motivate elite athletes to stay up on their game 100 percent of the time. Sure, they can go through the motions and be just as successful as any average player in the district, but if you want more from them, you have to find a way. It probably took me 3/4 of the season before I finally realized how to connect with those two to get what I needed from them.
“That is something that we will work on more this summer and next year. I think that we will be going full throttle next year.”
What do you know about Fauquier, [the Bruins' first-round game on Tuesday night]?
“They are a pretty interesting team. They are hot and cold too. They have beat some big teams and have lost to some weaker teams. Again, I think that it will come down to who shows up to play tomorrow.”
