randy isbelle, lewiston tribune, idaho
·4 min read
Aug. 10—MOSCOW — When Romana Redondo Krišková joined the Idaho volleyball coaching staff last season, there was no chance she had any clue what she was walking into.
The new interim head coach for the Vandals had to endure the wildest first year on a job anyone could imagine in 2023.
Redondo Krišková was an assistant to Chris Gonzalez, who was put on administrative leave on March 27 before stepping down on May 31 after allegations of mental, physical and verbal abuse to current and former members of the team. The Orange County Register published a story in late December in which six players on the 2023 Idaho roster, along with other former players, spoke out about the abuse.
"It's been a ... it's been a time. I mean, obviously, I'm a young coach, so I have lots to learn, but I feel like over the past year I learned experience that some coaches don't get over 20 years," said Redondo Krišková, who hails from Liptovský Mikuláš, Slovakia. "So, I mean, it's a great learning experience, it's been a challenge, but, you know, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, so I feel like everybody got stronger out of the past year."
Redondo Krišková served as a volunteer assistant for ASPTT, a pro club in France, in 2022 after playing professionally from 2017-22. She has a bachelor's degree in sociology and a master's degree in educational leadership and policy analysis from the University of Wisconsin.
It took the Idaho administration over two months to appoint Redondo Krišková to the interim position, which is more than twice as long as she now has to prepare for the Vandals' season opener against Alabama A&M on Aug. 30.
While it was no surprise that several players left the university and the team after the 2023 season, 10 returned to play under the new coach and according to Redondo Krišková they were eager to get back to work. Idaho also welcomed in two freshmen along with four transfers to the program during the unsettled offseason.
"I'm excited," Redondo Krišková said. "Everybody's here, a majority of the team was here a month ago, working on their own, getting stronger, getting better, getting to know each other. And I think that's a great step for the season."
The new coach said that the fact she had been able to build relationships with the players that were on the team last year helped her be a supporting presence during the tumultuous time.
"I think building those relationships really helped us in this transition," Redondo Krišková said. "I feel like I was able to be kind of like a shoulder for them and help them navigate through the situation as much as I could."
The situation off the court is not the only thing the interim coach has to mend. During the two seasons under Gonzalez, the Vandals went a combined 5-51. In 2023, Idaho was only able to muster a single victory in 28 tries. It was a win over UC Riverside at the end of the Vandal Volleyball Invitational that improved Idaho's record to 1-2. The Vandals would go on to lose their next 25 matches.
Gonzalez went 1-31 against Big Sky opponents in his tenure.
Redondo Krišková said that every team has to go through some sort adversity. Maybe not as difficult as what the Vandals had to endure, but she said she felt like the team was hungry to get back to winning.
"I mean, considering that the majority of the team was here a month prior to the start of the season, it tells you a lot of how much they are committed to having a better season, to winning more games than we did in past years," Redondo Krišková said.
Idaho announced Ben Kasun as an assistant coach on Wednesday, and for now it seems like that will be it for the coaching staff this season. Redondo Krišková knows that they are understaffed and working from behind due to the late news of her interim title, but she was ready to put in the work with her team.
As far as expectations go, how could there be any for a team that won one match last season while dealing with everything that happened under Gonzalez?
"It's hard to put any expectations, overcoming what we are overcoming right now," Redondo Krišková said. "The expectations are that we will have a team, that we will have players that are going to trust each other, they are going to play for each other, they are going to cheer each other on and, you know, the hard work that we do on the courts, in the gym — that will pay off."
Isbelle can be reached at 208-848-2268, risbelle@lmtribune.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyIsbelle.
