Buhach Colony stays local in naming new boys soccer, softball varsity coaches
Aliyah Ricks picked up her first softball bat and ball when she was 4 years old. The former Atwater High star says she hasn’t put them down since.
After playing softball at Atwater and Cal State Northridge, the natural progression for Ricks was to begin coaching. She’s spent the last three years as a varsity assistant and the last two years as the head junior varsity coach.
Ricks, 24, was recently named the new Buhach Colony head softball coach.
“My goal has always been to coach when I’m done playing,” said Ricks, who graduated from Atwater in 2013. “I knew when I was done as a player, I didn’t want it to be it. I didn’t want that to be the end of softball for me. I wasn’t satisfied. If I can’t play anymore, I want to take the knowledge I learned as a Division I player and help the younger generation.
“I want to help inspire their passion for the game.”
Buhach Colony also recently named former Golden Valley and UC Merced soccer star Cody Golbad as the new Thunder boys soccer coach.
Golbad, 26, and Ricks join Jerry Dietz (football) and Yingkong Moua as (boys basketball) new varsity coaches at Buhach Colony.
Golbad will be entering his second year as a special education teacher at Buhach Colony.
“I’m excited for the opportunity to help develop talent in the area,” Golbad said. “I was lucky to have the experience of playing for great coaches at Golden Valley and UC Merced. One of the biggest things I learned is how relevant and prevalent the culture was at both programs. You really need a team to buy into a family atmosphere. If you can create that family atmosphere you’ll be a tough team to beat.”
Buhach Colony athletic director Kevin Navarra says both Ricks and Golbad are both young coaches who grew up in the area and went on to play in college.
“Both of them are going to bring excitement and energy to their programs,” Navarra said.
Ricks hopes her experience will help guide her in developing her players.
“Playing at the college level, especially the Division I level, has taught me leadership qualities, time management and patience,” Ricks said.
Ricks has the advantage of coaching in the Thunder program the past three years, which means she’s familiar with the players and the players know what she expects as a coach.
“We saw her as the future for our program because Nancy (Williamson) and I knew your timeframe for long we would be part of program,” said Navarra, who served as an assistant softball coach. “Her first year Aliyah handled the pitching and then we felt the best way to prepare her to take over the program was to put her in charge of her own level as a JV head coach.”
Golbad has no high school coaching experience, but has helped coach travel teams. Golbad was an all-Central California Conference player at Golden Valley under former Cougars coach Lee Shaw and was an All-American at UC Merced while playing for Albert Martins before Golbad played soccer for 2 years over seas.
“I worked with Cody for 1 year as a special ed teacher,” Navarra said. “He was really a low-key type of guy. Then when he interviewed for the coaching position he had this level of confidence and energy that overwhelmed us in the interview room. With his soccer background, he knows all the travel teams, he played at GV and was an All-American at UC Merced. He’s another local kid who has played at the highest levels.”
Golbad says his focus won’t just be on the pitch.
“Soccer is a medium to make kids better human beings,” Golbad said. “That was something I picked up from coach Martins at UC Merced. We’re not only going to develop the soccer side, but stress the development on the academic side as well.”
This story was originally published July 8, 2020 at 5:32 PM.
