As the varsity volleyball coach for both the boys and girls teams, Lori Gragnola observes from the sidelines during games and takes note of the play styles of the opponents for the team to better adapt to the game situations. Her players count on her to adjust their positionings resulting in more winning games.
Aside from daily practices and games, players are often little aware of their coaches’ lives outside of their sport. What they might not know about Gragnola is that she has taught and coached for decades and has Saratoga connections that date back to the 1960s.
In 1969, her family moved to Saratoga; she has three older brothers — Dave, Jim and Tom. Dave has been the longtime golf coach for both girls and boys at SHS.
Gragnola starts her days at 5:30 a.m. While she makes her homemade hot coffee with vanilla creamer, Gragnola plays the daily Wordle from The New York Times. Afterward, she goes to the gym for an early workout to stay fit.
“My routine sets my tone for the day. It helps me be organized and on track,” Gragnola said. “I write a list every night to make sure I’m set for the next day.”
Coming off of her morning exercise boost, Gragnola heads to East Side San Jose to teach PE to 4th and 5th graders at several schools in the Alum Rock school district for her 12th year. Gragnola first fell in love with teaching the subject in 1990, 34 years ago when she picked up a PE job at the clubhouse in Foothill elementary, and she hasn’t looked back since. After two years, Gragnola worked at Redwood Middle as the athletic director for nine years before going to Cupertino to teach PE for another 13 years.
Gragnola’s teaching style creates a strong bond between her and her students, who even teach her the new, modern slang. She then showcases this new vocabulary to the Saratoga volleyball players.
“I treat [my students] with respect and as humans. I love when they try new things and find something they can excel at,” Gragnola said. “I get great joy planning workouts and activities for them.”
Courtesy of Lori Gragnola
Lori Gragnola and her 5th grade students at Hubbard Elementary School
The next activity of Gragnola’s day brings her to SHS — coaching boys team in the spring and the girls team in the fall.
She began coaching volleyball here in 1998 and did so until 2009. She took a break for several years but then made a return to the boys’ volleyball team in 2021.
Depending on whether the team has practice or a game, she follows different routines. On practice days, she gets to the school early to visit the athletic trainer Caitlin Steiding for preparation and to plan practice. Practices always include serve receive, defense, hitting and a scrimmage.
On game days, Gragnola follows her strict superstitions and always wears the same outfit. In the boys’ varsity season of 2024, she consistently wore a red Aviator Nation sweatshirt, blue cutoff shorts and golden Gucci shoes. It is safe to say that this outfit led the team to an eight-game win streak.
“It’s a superstition — I wear the same outfit if we win, and wear it until we take a loss,” Gragnola said. “I’m big on superstitions. I use the same pen to write the lineups until we lose a game, no one is allowed to sit on the fourth seat on the bench, and we always eat candy during the game.”
Following a long, eventful day, Gragnola goes home and enjoys a snack while reviewing game film. Some of her favorite snacks include goldfish, string cheese and chips with guacamole.
Despite having a fairly standardized routine daily, Gragnola is still motivated to get up bright and early to fuel her passion for coaching volleyball and teaching young kids.
“I think I have a knack for teaching. I get kids. It’s heartwarming to see them enjoy what they do whenever they’re in my class,” Gragnola said. “Coaching volleyball after school is exciting too, watching my players be so passionate about a sport and continuously pushing themselves to improve every day.”
