Bryan Camello, who guided Roosevelt High School's girls volleyball program back to its glory days in the past decade, has stepped down as head coach after 10 seasons at the helm.

Camello told the team of his decision in Hilo last Saturday, after the Rough Riders defeated Moanalua to take fifth place in the New City Nissan/Hawai'i High School Athletic Association State Championships.

"I need to spend more time at home and be a dad," said Camello, who is married and has an infant daughter. "We had a good run, and I told myself that if I ever got the program to where it was so successful that it almost runs itself, then it probably would be time to see if there was someone else who wants to take over."

Under Camello, Roosevelt had become one of the O'ahu Interscholastic Association's volleyball powers the past several years. The Rough Riders advanced to the state quarterfinals in 2003, took second in the OIA and reached the state semifinals in 2005 and then won their first league championship since 1979 last year.

"He got the program to where it was near the top every single year," said John Chung, Roosevelt's interim athletic director. "He took it to another level, and it's never really skipped a beat. We don't have the biggest girls or the real stud athletes like some other schools, but he did a good job utilizing the talent he had and got them to where they could play with anybody in the state."

By last year, the girls volleyball team had taken the campus by storm, and the OIA championship match at McKinley was filled with hundreds of enthusiastic red-clad fans, including some with painted faces and banging on drums.

"It wasn't just about winning; his teams generated a lot of excitement," Chung said. "The girls always performed well and they were always scrappy. They played an exciting brand of volleyball, and his coaching style meshed well with the girls."

Under Camello, who was named OIA Eastern Division Coach of the Year in 2005, the Rough Riders developed a reputation as a fundamentally sound team that kept the ball in play.

"My expectations for them were just to go out and work hard; I wanted the kids to compete," he said. "But the kids also do well academically, and they represent the school well."

Chung and Camello said they would like to look internally for a replacement.

"We're sad he's stepping down, but we're happy for him that he has a family now," Chung said. "We're losing a good one."

DOE WORKING ON COUNTY FACILITY USAGE SOLUTION

Department of Education officials are working on a plan to address a new city law placing added liability on public high schools using county parks and recreation facilities for games.

The liability issue had temporarily caused the OIA to make alternate plans just in case the fields are unavailable for league JV baseball games, which start in three weeks. Several schools use public parks as their home field.

But OIA executive director Dwight Toyama, who also oversees athletic issues for all of the state's public schools, said he is confident the issue will be resolved before then.

"Everybody just needs to be patient," Toyama said. "I'm sure we can work it out, and it should be no problem."

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com.