Two Las Positas coaches will not be returning for the 2019 season after years of serving as head coaches. Paul Sapsford has resigned from women’s soccer and Robert Arroyo has stepped down from men’s water polo.
Sapsford coached women’s soccer at Las Positas College for 11 years and was the head coach for six of those years before deciding not to return for the 2019 season. Sapsford decided to step down as women’s soccer head coach due to family reasons. He still continues to teach a full load of classes and is involved in other activities at Las Positas College as well.
Sapsford will also remain at LPC in his role with the college’s golf club. “Last semester we had scrimmages against UC Berkeley and UC Merced club teams. I’m looking to expand that if I can,” Sapsford said.
Some of his favorite aspects, Sapsford said, were “seeing a team come together and when people put the team first compared to individual success.”
He has a lot of great memories coaching the women’s soccer team, but his favorite was a game against Sierra College a couple of years ago. “We had to play majority of the game with 10 players due to a refereeing error. We were down 3-1 and one of our players scored three goals in the last 15 minutes to win 4-3,” Sapsford said, “That was special. There’s been a lot of special moments.”
Coaching women’s soccer at Las Positas College was one of Sapsford’s favorite things, he said. “Being a part of the group, the chemistry you are trying to foster, developing, that I’d say is what I’ll miss the most,” Sapsford said.
The women’s soccer team will now be coached by Andrew Cumbo who hopes to continue the team’s recent history of success. Cumbo is also the men’s soccer head coach at Las Positas.
LPC is also bidding farewell to former men’s water polo coach, Robert Arroyo. Arroyo created the water polo program at Las Positas College in 2015 and will not be returning for the 2019 season.
According to Amir Law, Dean of Business, Health, Athletics & Work Experience and Athletic Director, Arroyo decided to step down from coaching at LPC because it made more sense for him and his family. Arroyo is the CEO and head coach alongside his wife at the Diablo Alliance Water Polo Club. He is also a head coach at Acalanes High School and stepped down from his role at LPC as an opportunity to focus on these roles. Arroyo was unable to be reached for comment.
The men’s water polo team will now be coached by the former assistant coach Kate Faix-Bennett.
