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Now in his 19th season on The Farm, Al Roderigues brings a wealth of experience and ability to the Stanford coaching staff. Though his health prevents him from being part of the day-to-day workings of the program, Roderigues remains the heart and soul of the program.
Roderigues, , who spent the past 18 years as an assistant coach, has played an integral part in the Cardinal's three MPSF titles (1993, 1994, 1997) and its 1997 NCAA championship, but that hardly illustrates his impact on the Bay Area volleyball scene.
A former college baseball player, Roderigues began coaching volleyball at James Logan High School in Union City in 1978 without knowing anything about the game. However, a keen eye for detail and a burgeoning passion for the sport made him a pioneering figure in the Bay Area as one of the first to create and develop a boys' high school team.
His girls' teams at Logan went on to win four North Coast Section titles and 12 Mission Valley Athletic League crowns during a 13-year stretch. Roderigues would coach and teach in Union City for 38 years before retiring and James Logan's original gym was renamed Alfonso Roderigues Jr. Gymnasium in his honor.
Roderigues was brought to the Stanford men's staff by head coach Ruben Nieves, Roderigues' former Logan assistant, in 1992.
Roderigues took a leave of absence from teaching to assist Doug Dannevik with the U.S. men's national team in 1991 and has served as an assistant for women's teams at Cal State East Bay and UC San Diego.