Headed to the Hall: Trifonov overcomes language barrier, creates MEAC power

HEAD VOLLEYBALL COACH TONY TRIFONOV

TALLAHASSEE, Florida - FAMU volleyball coach Tony Trifonov has such a passion for teaching the game that not even a language barrier could have kept him from getting his message to his protégés.

As a high school and club coach in Tampa (Florida), he used hand signals and drew plays out on a clipboard. That was a few years after he came to the United States in the early 1990s from Bulgaria, where he was one of the rising stars in the former communist country.

But by the time he took the head coaching job at FAMU, Trifonov’s English was much better and it didn’t take him long to begin what has become the MEAC’s longest conference title-winning streak in any sport. He accomplished the feat by incorporating things he learned back home with today’s techniques, he said.

“Along with the coaching experience, I was able to relate to the players and use my experience in recruiting to make those kids championship-caliber athletes,” Trifonov said. “A lot of them went on from here and have different careers. That’s what it’s all about.”

On Sept. 14, Trifonov will receive the highest honor that FAMU bestows on a coach or athlete when he is inducted in its Hall of Fame. The class also includes Chris Burls (tennis), Darrell Spence (basketball) and Burney Adams (football). Eddie Shannon, the school’s first full-time athletic trainer, will be inducted a as a supporter of athletics.

Trifonov’s induction will make him one of ...

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