Hall of Fame coach Chip Fenenga will be returning to the sideline as the boys volleyball coach at Santa Ynez High, school athletic director Josh McClurg announced Friday.
Fenenga founded the boys volleyball program at Santa Ynez in 1992 and led the Pirates to seven CIF-Southern Section titles and made the finals 10 times. His teams qualified for the playoffs 29 years in a row and set CIF records with 19 consecutive league championships, 208 straight league wins and four straight CIF-SS titles.
As he comes out of retirement, Fenenga will be coaching Santa Ynez in the CIF Central Section.
“I couldn’t think of a more qualified person to lead the volleyball program than Chip Fenenga,” said McClurg. “I am also happy to be working with him again. Chip became kind of a professional mentor to me when I first started teaching and coaching at SYHS. I have always respected his coaching style, his ability to connect with his players, get the most out of all of his teams, and his passion for the sport.
“If you talked to any of his ex-players they will all reiterate the exact same thing.”
Fenenga also coached girls volleyball at Santa Ynez and won a total of 30 league championships across both sports. On the boys’ side, he produced produced 18 NCAA Division 1 players, four NCAA National Players of the Year and three U.S. Olympians.
Chip was named California Coach of the Year in 1988 and was inducted into the CIF Southern Section Hall of Fame in 2020.