When Rich McKeon took over as Athletic Director at Palisades High in May, he knew one of his top priorities was to replace several coaching positions for the upcoming school year. He can now cross that item off his “to do” list. Last week, Mike Voelkel was hired as both a P.E. teacher and head varsity baseball coach and McKeon announced the addition of cross country coaches Kevin Castille and Todd Vollstedt on Monday. “We’ve added some really capable and qualified people,” McKeon said. “I think they’ll be great assets to our coaching staff. Mike comes very highly recommended and what’s even better is that he’ll be a teacher on campus.” Voelkel, 45, taught P.E. and was varsity baseball coach at Aberdeen, Montesano and Hoquiam High Schools in Washington. He was also a member of the faculty at Washington State, where he taught advanced Physical Education and Weight Training. A graduate of Central Washington University, Voelkel was a pitching coach in the Independent League with Feather River, Reno and Grays Harbor. He was drafted in the ninth round as a pitcher out of Centralia Community College in 1982. “It sort of happened by accident,” said Voelkel, who moved to Woodland Hills in July. “I actually applied for the teaching position when Rich [McKeon] told me he was looking for a baseball coach too.” Voelkel has already met many of his returning players and is looking forward to continuing the program’s recent success. “My philosophy is to play confidently, aggressively and fundamentally,” he said. Castille was previously the head track/cross country coach at Our Lady of Fatima Lafayette in Louisiana and a member of the Team Eugene Elite Track Club in Oregon. Vollstedt was a high school math teacher and track/cross country coach in Minnesota and Iowa before relocating to Southern California. Social Studies teacher Sean Passan is the new assistant girls tennis coach and will assist Head Coach Bud Kling with on-court tryouts next week.
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