Tom Pestolesi began his volleyball career at Huntington Beach High School, graduating in 1978. He then attended Long Beach State, majoring in Physical Education and competing in volleyball.

He transferred to the University of Hawaii and earned his degree in Physical Education in 1983. Tom was an All-American in volleyball at Hawaii in 1982 and 1983. He earned his Masters Degree from Long Beach State in 1989.

Tom coached girls and boys volleyball for 15 years at the high school level at Estancia and then Newport Harbor with good friend Danny Glenn.

Tom started the men's volleyball program at Irvine Valley in 1991. He was hired full-time in 1998 to coach both the women's and men's volleyball teams. He has led the men's program to state titles in 1993, 2007 and 2008 and the women's team to state championship appearances five times.

The women's team finished second in the state in 2003, third in the state in 2009 and also third in the state in 2013. The 2013 team finished with a record of 24-2 overall. The team won its first 24 matches of the season. The Lasers also won their fourth Orange Empire Conference title in program history under Tom in 2013.

The 2014 women's indoor team won Irvine Valley's first-ever CCCAA State Championship. A year after finishing third, the Lasers won it all at Cabrillo College. IVC defeated defending state champion Cabrillo, the top team from Northern California, in the title match, 3-1 (25-15, 25-19, 22-25, 25-18). The win capped a perfect 27-0 season for the Lasers.

IVC also won the Orange Empire Conference title once again behind the stellar play of conference player of the year and Two-year College National Player of the Year Annie Mitchem along with all-conference players Marisa Doran, Hailey Jones, Kobi Pekich and Hannah Matt. Irvine Valley recorded three-set sweeps in 21 of its 27 matches and dropped just seven sets all season.

Tom was named the Orange Empire Conference coach of the year as well as the regional coach of the year for community colleges by the AVCA in both 2013 and 2014. And to top off the 2014 season, Pestolesi won his 250th match with the program during the year.

He is currently the Director of Volleyball at IVC and the head coach for the women's indoor team, men's indoor team and the women's beach team.

He took a sabbatical during the 2016 fall women's indoor season and returned to his alma mater of the University of Hawaii to be an assistant coach.

Many of Tom's former players have gone on to have successful volleyball careers. Some of his former players include John Wallace, Adam Lockwood, Todd and Brandi Brooks, Matt Feurbringer, Melissa Schutz, Misty May and Jennifer Carey.

Tom has also coached professionally on the four player pro beach tour and has had the good fortune to coach players such as Kim Oden, Stephanie Cox, Joy Makenzie, Antonette White, Janet Cobbs and Wendy Stammer.

He was also a resident head coach for USA women's volleyball.

Pestolesi retired as a full-time faculty member at Irvine Valley this past spring after a legendary career. He will continue on as the head coach of the women's beach volleyball team and be an assistant for new IVC women's indoor head coach Ryan Windisch.

You can read all about his legendary career in a release here