City College has gone back to its recent past to find a men’s volleyball coach.
Armen Zakarian, who played for the Vaqueros as recently as 2005, has been hired to take over the program guided by Melody Parker for the past 13 years,
Zakarian played two seasons for Parker before continuing his collegiate career at UCSB, where he played as a libero in 2006 and an outside hitter in 2007.
“I was ecstatic when Melody called and asked me to apply for the job,” said Zakarian. “She taught me how to be a better person, not just on the volleyball court.”
At 25, Zakarian will be the youngest coach at SBCC, pending board approval.
He was a two-time All-WSC performer at SBCC in 2004 and ‘05, helping tbe Vaqueros to a WSC title and a state Final Four appearance in 2005. The 6-2 outside hitter was SBCC‘s Male Athlete of the Year that season.
He played two years at UCSB under Ken Preston and was No. 2 on the team in digs in 2007 when he earned the Most Inspirational award.
He earned his B.A. from UCSB in August, 2007, majoring in communications and minoring in Exercise & Sports Studies: Athletic Coaching. He’s working on his Master’s degree in Kinesiology at Cal State Sacramento and is projected to graduate in May, 2011.
Zakarian is currently the head coach of the Northern California Volleyball Club, an assistant with USA Volleyball Boys High Performance Camps and an assistant at Jesuit High. He’ll attend the USA High Performance Camp in Wisconsin Dells, Wis., on July 20-30, working with the Boys Select A1, A3 and youth training teams.
In 2007, he served as a volunteer assistant for the UCSB women’s volleyball squad and was a head coach of the Santa Barbara Boys Volleyball Club from 2003-08, earning a third-place finish with the 17-under team at the 2007-08 USA Junior Olympics.
“SBCC’s program has always been great, he said. “Sports is all about winning. I’m bringing a young, fresh pedigree. I know Santa Barbara and all the high schools. I’m sure kids from all over Southern Cal will want to come and play here.
“I want to run a fast-paced offense. Serving and passing are the name of the game.”
