Since 2005, Coach Stephen Fenton has been the girls volleyball head coach at Madison High School. Fenton has been a high school varsity volleyball head coach for 44 years. Starting in 1980 at Johnathan Dayton Regional Highschool he coached the spring volleyball team while also starting to coach the Bloomfield High School fall team in 1987. Fenton has coached 55 successful seasons as a head coach and has made many accomplishments.
So far this season, his 20th year at Madison, the team has an undefeated record of 6-0. On Tuesday, they had a very impressive 2-0 win over Parsippany Hills, one of their toughest opponents. Last year Fenton led the team to win the Group ll Sectional Championship as he did in 2013, 2011 and 2010 too. At Madison, Fenton has won 367 games and on 9/18 he got his 600th overall win against St. Dominic.
Before he was a coach, he ran in high school on the cross country team and track team, since they didn’t have volleyball. In college is when he started to play recreational volleyball. Fenton says the game has changed a lot since he started playing, but he has changed with it and there’s nothing he loves more.
Coach Fenton has shared his passion for volleyball with his teams and his own family. His daughter, Jennifer, is a teacher at Chatham High School and the head of the girls volleyball team. Along with his son, Stephen Fenton Jr., who teaches at Bridgewater Raritan and has coached volleyball at various New Jersey high schools.
Fenton’s love for the game and his team is obvious as he says “Teaching the game, instilling my passion for the game, and seeing my players embrace their passion, has been truly rewarding and it has given the longevity I have had.” Coach Fenton is greatly appreciated and has even been accepted for induction into the New Jersey Coaches Association Hall of Fame.