UP head coach Godfrey Okumu during a game against Adamson in the UAAP Season 84 women’s volleyball tournament at Mall of Asia Arena. UAAP PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Coach Godfrey Okumu has parted ways with University of the Philippines women’s volleyball team after four years.
Okumu on Sunday announced he already stepped down as the Fighting Maroons’ head coach.
“I would like to make some clarifications on my position with UPWVT. I have since stepped down as the Head Coach of the team, and I will no longer be calling the shots,” the Kenyan coach wrote on his Facebook account.
The Fighting Maroons have yet to release a statement about the coaching changes.
The 53-year-old coached the Maroons for four years. He steered UP with two volleyball crowns from preseason tournaments, ruling the 2018 Premier Volleyball League Collegiate Conference, led by MVP Isa Molde, and winning the Philippine Superliga Collegiate Grand Slam crown with tournament MVP Tots Carlos showing the way in the same year.
However, those feats were not translated to a major title run in the UAAP, missing the Final Four in Okumu’s three full seasons.
The Fighting Maroons, who paraded young players bannered by Alyssa Bertolano, failed to sustain their 3-0 start in the UAAP Season 84, finishing sixth with a 5-9 record.
In Okumu’s first two seasons, UP finished back-to-back 6-8 records and split two matches in 2020 before the pandemic wiped out Season 82.
The outgoing coach expressed his gratitude to the UP management and wished the Maroons all the best.
“I would like to take this opportunity to appreciate the support that I received from the team for the last 4 years, the office of the Chancellor the VAAS (Varsity Athletic Admission System) office, and the UP sports fraternity as a whole,” he said. “I wish UPWVT all the best as the team starts its new Journey. MARAMING SALAMAT PO.”
UP is set to become the third team to welcome a new coach in Season 85 after Adamson hired Jerry Yee to replace Lerma Giron and Far Eastern University parted ways with George Pascua to tap Tina Salak.