New Grafton volleyball coach has a plan

Grafton High School has its fourth volleyball coach in as many years, and this one hopes to stick.

Chad Tuszkiewicz said he wants to bring some stability to the program.

He brings six years of experience and expertise to the Black Hawks.

Tuszkiewicz coached Brookfield Academy for the last three seasons and said he wanted to lead a larger program.

Developing game plans and executing them are his favorite elements of the sport.

“The strategizing and the scheming — that’s the best part of the game,” he said.

Tuszkiewicz calls himself an “athlete-centered coach” who said his satisfaction comes in his players’ exuberance when they succeed.

“Analyze something, scheme it and have it executed. It’s better to see the girls’ reaction than my reaction,” he said.

Tuszkiewicz coached the 414 Milwaukee Elite 17-year-old club volleyball team to a third-place finish in a national tournament in June. He scouted every opponent and implemented game plans accordingly.

“It’s the culmination of what you do in practice — strategizing and scheming — and watching those girls do it. They did all the work, really,” he said.

Tuszkiewicz coached fifth-grade volleyball for one season, was an assistant varsity coach for Dominican High School for two seasons and was a club coach for a few seasons.

Tuszkiewicz is also a Provisional Plus referee, certified through USA Volleyball and is a college recruiting scout for ScoutU.

He said he isn’t sure what strategy he plans to use at Grafton since he hasn’t seen the full team yet, but he has had contact days and open gyms. His initial thought is to run a 6-2 offense “just because I have two decent setters and one can swing really well from that opposite side,” he said.

Tuszkiewic grew up in the old North Shore Conference, attending Germantown High School.

He knows success won’t come overnight for a team that finished 3-7 in the NSC last season, seventh place of 10 teams. The Hawks were bounced out of the playoffs at home in the first round of regional play by rival Port Washington, which finished 1-8 in the NSC.

“Grafton will probably finish in the middle of the pack like we have the last couple of years,” Tuszkiewicz said. “It’s going to be a building process for this program.”

He has a couple of strong foundations on which to build. Outside hitter Abby Proefrock returns for her senior season after making the NSC first team last year, and senior setter Katie Stockhausen is back after earning honorable mention recognition.

Tuszkiewicz lives in Menomonee Falls and works as public safety supervisor at Sheboygan Memorial Hospital.

The commute from work to Grafton, he said, is easy since it is halfway to his home. “No extra miles to drive,” he said.

Tuszkiewicz spent about 20 years in law enforcement, six as a public safety officer and investigator for Marquette University and 13 as a Menomonee Falls police officer, most recently as a patrol sergeant.

He has a bachelor’s degree in sociology and criminal justice from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, police academy certification from Waukesha County Technical College and is working on a master’s degree in sports management and sport coaching from the United States Sports Academy.
He played sand volleyball and one year of club volleyball at UW-Whitewater.
Tuszkiewicz has been married for 22 years and has two daughters, a high school junior and a seventh-grader, in the Hamilton School District. Both play volleyball.
Grafton’s volleyball team begins practice on Monday.