Photo Credit: Mae Linder (@weruncv on Instagram)
By Ayva Fisher ‘26
Assistant sprint coach Steve Banh will be in his new role as the new boys head track and field coach at Conestoga Valley High School beginning in the winter club season.
Previous head coach Rick Periandi announced that he would be taking a “teaching and coaching position” at Wilson High School through a Remind message to his athletes back in June of this year. He had taught at CV for 20 years and said he wrote his message with “a heavy heart.” At the end of his message, he wished luck to all of his athletes: “Best of luck in all you do, I will remember you always.”
Steve Banh has been working alongside Periandi and has seen his teaching methods throughout the years. When asked how he felt about being looked at for head coach, Banh stated that he’s “excited to be taking over a program that has had success and I am excited to carry on the tradition of Conestoga Valley Track and Field.”
Athlete Konner Fisher (11) stated that he thinks “it’s a good decision because he’s always coached us.”
Banh was also questioned as to if he would be making any drastic changes with coaching methods. He responded with, “I think every coach that comes into a program makes changes, but not major changes. I think Coach P [Periandi] already did a good job.”
One athlete, Jayden Johnson (12), when asked the same question, stated that Banh has been his “sprint coach so it’s not going to be anything new being coached by him. For me no, for other kids probably.”
Bahn is excited to be working with athletes he has worked with before. He said, “I think it’s always an advantage to know your athletes before going into it, and it makes it easier to make the transition into a head coaching position.”
Jayden Johnson, along with other athletes Nyeoni Johnson (10) and Hallie Schnapf (12), were all happy to be coached by Banh instead of someone new.
N. Johnson said, “I already know him and what he does and I’m comfortable and I feel I can be at my best with him.”
Schnapf responded by saying, “We already have a connection with each other and I know him as a coach and he knows me as an athlete.”
J. Johnson said that “it’s nice to keep all the coaches together and not bring in someone else.”
You can find the Conestoga Valley High School track and field team with Steve Banh as boys head coach and Abby Way as the girls head coach officially back in action in spring of 2025.