By SCOTT NOVAK

Niles Daily Star

DOWAGIAC – Former University of Notre Dame men’s volleyball coach Bill Anderson has been named the Dowagiac varsity volleyball coach.

Anderson, a 1978 Niles graduate, replaces Ryan Frontczak, who resigned earlier this year.

Anderson has played and coached college volleyball as well as coached high school and club volleyball.

He played at the University of Cincinnati in 1981, but when the school dropped its program, he headed to Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne.

Anderson coached the Notre Dame men’s club team for six years, winning four conference championships and was named Coach of the Year in 1986 and 1987.

During his tenure, the Fighting Irish finished 13th at the national tournament.

After leaving Notre Dame, he coached high school volleyball at South Bend LaSalle and then at South Bend St. Joseph.

He led LaSalle to its first sectional appearance in 20 years and won a pair of sectional titles at St. Joseph.

He returned to his alma mater to take over a Niles program that hadn’t had a lot of success.

Without a feeder system or much backing from the school, he left the program and moved to New York City where he began his career in child welfare.

While he was the director of youth services in New York, he got the itch to get back into coaching.

He was given the chance to coach at Hunter college, a successful program in New York, where he continued that tradition by winning the league championship and posting a 38-5 record.

He was then offered the men’s job, taking over a program that was not as successful as its female counterparts.

He built that program into a league champion, going 21-5 before deciding to leave volleyball.

“I figured I had accomplished everything I wanted to,” Anderson said.

With his family back in Niles, he was looking for a way to return to southwest Michigan and still be able to impact people.

In August of 2009 he formed It’s Possible Inc., a program designed to help formerly incarcerated people build healthy lives and readjust to and make a difference in society.

He completed the move back to Michigan in December of 2009.

Still having that itch to coach volleyball, Anderson became involved with the Krush Volleyball Club in Niles.

He coached an 18 Select team this past year, taking players who were cut from the other Krush teams and turning them into a unit.

“I tell my parents that my goal is to make each student-athlete better, both individually and as a part of the team,” he said. “If they stick it out, they will improve.”

Anderson actually found out about the Dowagiac job while coaching with the Krush club.

New Dowagiac Athletic Director Scott Lawler said that Anderson’s experience both as a player and a coach were attractive when deciding to make him the new coach.

“He had loads of experience,” Lawler, who also has a coaching background at Notre Dame. “He has been successful everywhere he has been. He has a passion for youth and he has the kind of structured plan that we were looking for.”