The grind of leading a Fall sports program from August until the state finals in November while balancing duties as a science teacher can pose quite a challenge. For Lansdale Catholic girls’ volleyball head coach Rachael Picozzi, the Fall was a breeze compared to her frenzied summer of exciting changes.
On May 22, Rachael Picozzi married Connor Silhanek at St. Stanislaus Church in Lansdale, with members of the Lansdale Catholic girls’ volleyball team serving as flower girls.
If one life changing event wasn’t enough, Rachael embarked on a new professional journey just prior to the start of girls’ volleyball tryouts as she was named assistant principal for student services at Lansdale Catholic. The position opened when her mother, Margaret, stepped down following the conclusion of the 2025-26 school year.
“I enjoy being part of an amazing team, contributing to positive change in the school and knowing that I was still able coach alongside that just helps me to really be present with the students, present around the school, and just love adding a new challenge,” says Silhanek, who still holds a classroom role as she teaches one section of Honors Environmental Science.
“Rachael has done a terrific job leading our volleyball program for the past eight years, and she has been a well-respected classroom teacher both at Lansdale Catholic and at other local Catholic schools. I am thrilled that she has recently joined our Administrative Team at LC as Assistant Principal for Student Services,” says Lansdale Catholic President Meghan Callen.
“Rachael has already set high expectations and standards of excellence for the LC students in these opening days of school, and I look forward to her continuing to grow in the role as the year progresses.”
The Crusaders are seeking their first Philadelphia Catholic League crown since 2023 as they were edged in a thrilling five-set match to Cardinal O’Hara on Oct. 23 at Neumann University in the 2025 league finals. LC reached the Final Four of the 2024 PIAA 2A Championship and the 2025 state finals. The program assembled an arduous non-conference schedule this Fall to prepare them for the PCL season including a road contest at four-time defending state champion Pope John Paul II on Oct. 12. The Crusaders opened league play with a 3-0 win over Nazareth Academy on Sept. 15.
“The message for this year was we had a really great last year, but we are not last year’s team. This year’s team gets to start fresh and leave their own mark on whatever that may be,” says Silhanek, who has guided the Crusaders to three consecutive District XII Girls’ Volleyball Championships.
LC holds a special importance in the Picozzi family as five of Rachael’s siblings attended the school as well as her father Anthony, a 1983 graduate of Lansdale Catholic.
“You truly will never experience anything like this and just the family nature that LC has, the close-knit fit,” says Silhanek.
“You get the opportunity to know all the students. Students get to know each other’s names. They get to know all the faculty. Faculty gets to know them on a bit more personal level. Faculty comes to support the games, students travel, and the student sections get very rowdy and supportive. And I think it’s really deeply rooted in tradition.”
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This article originally appeared on the Archdiocese of Philadelphia Schools Athletics website.
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