Tony Engel named volleyball coach at Niwot High

Tony Engel is the new coach in charge of the Niwot High School girls volleyball program, but he is not new to the team.

Engel was introduced to parents and players by NHS athletic director Joe Brown on March 2, but many in attendance were already familiar with the former assistant coach, who moved into the head coaching position after six-year veteran Daisha Agho resigned last fall to take an administrative position at Berthoud High School. Engel noted that the program had made much progress during Agho's tenure, with over 100 girls trying out for the squad last season.

A resident of Niwot for the past 14 years, the Wisconsin native joined Agho's staff as an assistant coach in the delayed spring 2021 season after many years coaching club volleyball. Engel returned as an assistant last fall to help the Cougar squad reach the state playoffs.

His daughter Addison was a key member of that squad and is one of four returning starters. Engel said he didn't like to pump up his team too much, but admitted, "I think we'll be pretty good this year."

Assistant Coach Trisha Grafelman also attended the meeting and Engel announced that she would return next season. "We will do all the summer stuff, including open gyms," Engel said. He plans to take his team to a camp at CSU and may also attend a camp at UNC.

"It's a great game for a lot of reasons," he said. "It's the only team sport where you're not allowed to touch your opponent." Engel himself spent considerable time playing two-man sand volleyball after moving to Colorado in 1998. He also coached the Munciana club volleyball program for several years, which was ranked nationally.

In his day job, Engel is the CFO/COO of Epicurean Butter, a Thornton-based company that makes flavored butter. He mentioned that Starbucks is their largest customer.

The Wisconsin native noted, "I played volleyball in high school, because my parents wouldn't let me play football." He went on to play at Ball State University, a division I program in Indiana, where he became a left-handed setter under legendary coach Dr. Don Shondell. Engel described the impact Shondell had on him and others in the Ball State program, which Shondell coached for 34 years before retiring with 769 career wins, second-most in men's college volleyball history.

Engel's Ball State teammates included Jim Stone, who works as a consultant in Fort Collins after coaching women's volleyball for 31 years at Ohio State and Wyoming, Stone is currently a coach for youth and junior national teams for USA Volleyball. Kelly Sheffield, coach of Wisconsin's 2022 national championship women's team, is another Ball State alum from Engel's era, as are the Kentucky coach, Craig Skinner, who led his squad to the 2021 national championship and Mick Haley, who coached the U.S. national Olympic team.

Engel is married to the former Brooke Meadows, a legendary Colorado athlete in her own right. She played volleyball at Boulder High, but basketball was her best sport, where she earned all-state honors and played on a state championship team before going on to star at San Diego State. She was an assistant coach at Loyola-Marymount, Southern Cal, and Nebraska before returning to Colorado. Her father, John Meadows, was a longtime coach at Sacred Heart of Jesus in Boulder, later joining the University of Colorado athletic department, where he had played football in college.