RI coaching icon joins staff

Rhode Island coaching legend Luis Carvalho joins the Bryant volleyball coaching staff for 2011 season

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Bryant University volleyball head coach Theresa Garlacy is pleased to announce the addition of Luis Carvalho to the coaching staff for the 2011 season.

Carvalho, a well-known and widely-respected coach throughout Rhode Island, joins the Bulldogs after spending the last four years as the head women's volleyball coach at Rhode Island College, where he was named the 2009 Little East Conference Coach of the Year.

"I am so excited to have Lou join our staff," said Garlacy. "He is one of the most successful and knowledgeable volleyball coaches in the state. Lou understands the fundamentals of the game and has such a passion for the sport. He has been part of the rich tradition of Bryant Volleyball through the success of his daughter, Hall of Famer Jennifer Carvalho-Bailey, and now returns to the program to add yet another layer to his – and our – legacy."

Before joining the Anchorwomen, Carvalho spent 25 years as the head girls' volleyball coach at East Providence High School (1982-2006), leading the team to seven Rhode Island Division I state championships. He also spent 13 years doubling as the head boys' volleyball coach (1989-2001), where he won two more state titles, and Carvalho won back-to-back Rhode Island Division I championships as the head girls' soccer coach at Barrington High School in 1985 and 1986.

A 2007 inductee into the Rhode Island Interscholastic League Hall of Fame, Carvalho is well-decorated after years of service, earning such accolades as the 1993 RIIAA Male Coach of the Year Award, the 1994 Words Unlimited High School Girls' Coach of the Year Award, and the 2000 Alice Sullivan Award, another Girls Coach of the Year honor. He was named Coach of the Year by the Rhode Island Coaches' Association 11 times throughout his high school coaching career, and retired from East Providence High School in 2006 after 34 years of service as physical education teacher.

Before becoming a coach, Carvalho was an athlete himself, attending the University of Rhode Island, where he was a three-time All-Yankee Conference selection and leading scorer in men's soccer, leading to his 1999 induction into the URI Athletics Hall of Fame. A two-time captain and 1971 University All-Star Squad pick, he led the Rams to two league titles and a 1972 NCAA tournament berth. Carvalho graduated from URI in 1973 with a degree in Physical Education and Health.

A resident of Seekonk, Mass., Carvalho has three daughters, Melanie, Ligia and Jennifer ('98), who is a member of the Bryant Athletics Hall of Fame after playing volleyball for the Bulldogs from 1994-97. He and his wife, Maria, have six grandchildren.