Wellesley High School has named Gary Patch, a Massachusetts Volleyball Coaches Association hall-of-famer, as its new girls varsity volleyball coach.

“He has extensive coaching experience at the High School, College and Club level,” says Wellesley Public Schools Athletic Director John Brown. “He comes to us highly recommended by players, parents, coaches, athletic directors and administrators. We are excited for the start of the upcoming season.”

The Raiders this past season, under coach Fabe Ardila, finished 11-8 overall, 4-5 in league play. Ardila and Patch are close friends, Patch says.

Coach Patch comes to Wellesley after having been the head coach at the Rivers School in Weston. Before that, he served as head coach at Medway High School, where he led the team to the State Tournament all twelve seasons he was there. He was named the Tri Valley League Coach of the Year four straight seasons while leading Medway to the state finals.

Patch has also coached at Assumption College, Bancroft High School, the Bay State Games and Ursuline Academy. He is the head coach for the top-level SMASH Volleyball Club.

A busy man indeed, Patch off the court works for a plastics injection molding company in Hopedale.

He’s looking forward to the fall season at Wellesley High.

“Based on participation levels in club and the excellent feeder program (middle school participation), I believe that the culture at Wellesley can be at the same or better as towns [such as Needham, Newton, and Natick],” Patch says. “Many of the top players from these programs have played for me at one point at SMASH.”

“I am quite excited about the commitment and participation level Wellesley has for volleyball and hope to continue the passion for the sport. Volleyball is such a big part of the Patch family,” he says. “My wife was a college volleyball player and even our dogs are named Bump and Set. I look forward to getting started there.”

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