Brad DiRupo avoided stepping into the spotlight this season.
On Saturday, the Bogota girls volleyball coach will have one shone on him anyway.
With relatively little fanfare, DiRupo became the third member of Bergen County’s 500-win club in September. There was a tweet here and a mention there, but his aim was to keep the focus on the Bucs’ pursuit of their ninth state championship.
That goal was accomplished last weekend when Bogota bested Verona for the Group 1 crown. As a result, the Bucs will be one of five teams at the William Paterson Rec Center for the 17th annual State Tournament of Champions.
After their 2 p.m. preliminary match against NV/Demarest, DiRupo will be one of six people formally recognized by the NJSIAA Volleyball Legends Program. The semifinals follow at 3:30 and 5 p.m.
“It’s an honor to be in the same category with all of those people that have been honored in past years,” DiRupo said Friday. “I don’t really consider myself a legend.
“I just work hard and put the kids on the court and prepare them, and then they do their thing.”
The Bucs’ program is built on that nose-to-the-grindstone philosophy, which has enabled it to amass more state titles than any small school in New Jersey. And with an NJSIAA enrollment number of 258, Bogota is the smallest school with championship to its credit since state-tournament play began in 1981.
DiRupo will be honored alongside Madison coach Stephen Fenton (who also earned his 500th win this fall), former players Heather Grutta Lemelin (River Dell Class of 1999) and Morgan Halbrunner (Eastern), and officials Paul Calocino and Denise Scragg.
This marks the second-straight year the Bucs have an inductee to the Legends Program, which began in 2002. One of DiRupo’s former pupils, 2011 grad Janet Snell, earned the honor last fall. His coaching predecessor, Joanna Woodcock, was inducted in 2008.
Win No. 500 came on Sept. 21, a three-setter at the expense of West Morris – the Group 3 representative in the TOC. Bogota finally got its chance to recognize the accomplishment after its final home match on Nov. 7.
Before a capacity crowd, superintendent Damien Kennedy presented the game ball and a commemorative plaque to DiRupo, who also serves as the school’s athletic director and softball coach.
Volleyball is just one of the coach’s passions.
“This is the type of guy he is: On Saturday night [Nov. 3], I got a text that said, ‘Great day for football, cross-country and volleyball. It’s a great day to be a Buc’,” Kennedy said. “So congratulations to Mr. DiRupo.”
