Upper Merion girls’ volleyball coach Tony Funsten notched win number 600 of a stellar coaching career when the Vikings defeated Archbishop Wood on Saturday.
By Mary Jane Souder
Tony Funsten doesn’t just coach Upper Merion volleyball. He is Upper Merion volleyball.
The only coach the Vikings have ever known captured win number 600 of an unparalleled career on Saturday when Upper Merion swept Archbishop Wood 3-0 in a non-league match. When it was over, the chants began.
‘Tony Funsten. Tony Funsten. Tony Funsten.’
Yes, Tony Funsten is the heart and soul of a program that – during his 20 years at the helm - has captured 15 league titles, four district crowns and advanced to the state tournament eight times. In 2010, the Vikings advanced to the state title game. They have finished in the top 16 of the District One Tournament for 19 years. Three times they have been the district runner-up and four times they have finished third.
Small wonder volleyball is the sport of choice at Upper Merion.
“All the guys in our school – they wish they could play volleyball,” junior Ashley Shannon said. “They come to all of our games, and they wish they could play.”
Ashley and twin sister Emily Shannon – like many youngsters growing up in the district – began attending games as youngsters. Playing for the high school team was a foregone conclusion for both.
“When we’re in middle school, everyone wants to play volleyball because we know in high school we’re pretty good at it,” Emily Shannon said. “Everyone wants to play a sport that’s good.”
Funsten, according to both, does more than just teach the sport. He also makes it fun.
“He’s very relaxed,” Ashley said. “He doesn’t get upset often.
“It’s fun. I like practices a lot.
Funsten has instituted ‘Music Fridays’ and also incorporates games to teach the sport.
“He loves it,” Ashley Shannon said.
“”He loves us,” Emily Shannon added. “We make his day.”
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Funsten got his start innocently enough when he began coaching with Joe Boland at Mother of Divine Providence where his daughter Laura was a member of the CYO team. He was hooked from the outset, and in 1993, he started a club team at Upper Merion.
“I started a club here and coached MDP at the same time,” Funsten said. “That was back before you had money for everything.
“I had six used volleyballs and put UMDP on them so I could use them for both.”
Since the gym at the high school was undergoing renovations, the team practiced at the former Gulph Elementary School, traveling there every day after school for practices.
One year later, volleyball was a varsity sport at Upper Merion, and Funsten was blessed to have a pair of setters who were the foundation of the program – his daughter Laura and Maren Attanasia, both of whom went on to earn all-state honors.
“I wanted to make us competitive as quickly as I possibly could,” Funsten said. “When Laura was in ninth grade, we brought two other players from MDP that could help us right away, and Maren was already here. We very quickly assembled a pretty competitive team.”
The Vikings were 7-7 in Funsten’s first year at the helm, and the following year, they were 9-7 and advanced to the Sweet 16 of districts. The following year, they finished fifth in districts and advanced to states.
Laura (Funsten) Stiansen, now an assistant coach under her father, remembers those early years.
“We still had fun the same way they have fun now,” she said. “We worked hard the same way they work hard now, but they definitely play these days at a much higher level.”
Talk to Funsten, and it’s not his team’s accomplishments that are the greatest source of pride but rather the fans who have turned volleyball matches into events. He recounts a trip to Souderton in 1996 that saw the Vikings lose a heartbreaking best-of-three match for the league title 2-1.
“The reason the match was so remarkable was that the volleyball SuperFans were born since we had three busloads of students attend the match,” Funsten wrote in a newsletter that was distributed at Saturday’s game. “They were so rowdy that the Souderton players chose to play on the opposite side of the court they usually played on.”
A week later, the Vikings exacted a degree of revenge, defeating that same Souderton squad in districts. The following year the Vikings had their first undefeated season, winning their first of 15 American Conference titles and earning their first banner in volleyball history.
A winning tradition as well as a tradition of SuperFans was born. The formula, according to Funsten’s daughter, remains relatively simple.
“We are good at playing volleyball,” Stiansen said. “We play volleyball at practice, and when you practice authentically, it transfers smoothly and successfully into a match, which is where you are playing volleyball.
“We’ll watch teams in warm-ups, and they’re hitting the ball down hard. We haven’t always had the most athletic teams, the tallest teams, but we have the best volleyball team.”
The Vikings won’t dazzle teams with their size, their strength or their athleticism, but the regularly beat teams into submission. That’s because they force teams to try and be perfect. The results are usually not very good for their opponents.
During Saturday’s win over Archbishop Wood, a Wood fan – after watching the host Vikings dig up a sure kill – asked no one in particular, “How did they get that?’
Well, the truth of the matter is the Vikings have been ‘getting’ just about every hit opponents have thrown their way since Funsten took over the helm, and the results speak for themselves.
Stiansen admits that the team’s accomplishments exceeded her wildest dreams back in those year years.
“I certainly could not have envisioned that the program would evolve into the success story it is today and dominate the Suburban One,” she said. “Back then, we were thinking about winning matches.
“We weren’t thinking about winning the league, we weren’t thinking about being undefeated, we weren’t thinking about winning a district title. We weren’t thinking about being one of the dominant teams.”
“A couple of years ago at states, I heard someone say, ‘How does Upper Merion keep winning? They’re not even that good.’ That just epitomizes who we are. You look at us, and we’re not intimidating, but there’s some ‘X’ factor year after year even if it’s with different players, and I know what that ‘X’ factor is. I think that people who really understand the sport understand what that ‘X’ factor is.”
That ‘X’ factor is Tony Funsten, a coach who is synonymous with the SOL’s most successful program.
EXTRA POINTS: In Saturday’s sweep of Wood (25-16, 25-12, 25-13), Melanie Ingram led the way with 14 kills and 12 digs. Eryn Brady added six kills and four blocks, and Ashley Shannon had six kills, 23 digs and 22 assists. Emily Shannon had five kills and 21 digs, and Kailyn McNamee had 13 digs. Niki Carpenter added three kills.
They said…
“He knows the girls so well because he’s a teacher here, and I think coaches who teach at the school where they coach have a distinct advantage. When you know your players well, you know how to get the best out of them, and that’s what he’s able to do. He makes a point to meet the kids’ needs whatever they may be. We talk about that a lot when we discuss how to handle situations – we try to give the kids what they need. He gives the kids what they need in an individualized way. He knows how to bring out the best in each player because he knows them so well. They trust him, and that relationship they have helps him bring out the best in them.”
Laura (Funsten) Stiansen, Class of 1998
“I met Coach Funsten in the spring of eighth grade. He was looking for any upcoming freshmen interested in playing volleyball. From that day on, I felt like a part of not only his family, but a part of the Upper Merion volleyball community. He taught me the fundamentals of the bump pass, block, spike and serve. That year, the team went on to win the district title.
“Coach Funsten loved the game and all of the kids he coached. All of the players on my team felt like family members because of our coach and our role model! Speaking for all of my teammates, we couldn’t be happier for Coach Funsten on his 600th win! It comes as no surprise that he has an amazing record of wins because he was an outstanding coach and now family friend.”
--Sarah Lilly Allander, Class of 2000
“I had the privilege of playing for Mr. Funsten all four years of my high school volleyball career. He has been around the game for a while, so he is extremely knowledgeable about volleyball. Funsten is very good at scouting teams before we would play them. He would pick up on any tendencies teams had and inform us of them the practice before the match, and we would use that practice time to go over what is needed in order to be successful.
“Even when we went to states my senior year we never felt unprepared for the teams we were playing (even though we were seeing most of them for the first time) because in our down time at the tournament, Mr. Funsten would watch other teams and try to soak up all the information he could about them to pass onto us. That resulted in us being the state runner-up for the first time in UMVB history, and we have Mr. Funsten to thank for that.
“The Upper Merion volleyball program is so successful because of all the time and effort he invests in it. He goes above and beyond what most coaches do to ensure his teams are prepared for matches. He is smart in all aspects of the game, whether it be passing, blocking, setting, etc. It's good to be coached by someone who is well rounded to ensure the whole team is getting the specific coaching and training they need for their position. He taught me how to play middle, which is something I never imagined myself doing, but with his help I was able to be successful in games even though I was playing a new position. I am honored to say that I was coached under Mr. Tony Funsten and played for the Upper Merion Lady Vikings volleyball team.”
--Devyn Ingram, Class of 2011
“Upper Merion is known for volleyball. Coach Funsten does incredible things for this team. He puts the team together every year and helps girls get their talents up and learn new things. He encourages us. He doesn’t put pressure on us. Funsten just goes with it. We just play, and we just do what we do best, and that’s win. It’s a lot of fun. I love playing for the Vikings, and I love playing for him. He’s influenced me a lot. We got blessed with volleyball.”
--Melanie Ingram, Class of 2014
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