The name Paul Souza is synonymous with two decades of volleyball and fastpitch softball coaching success in Pierce County, as well as dedication that has enriched Franklin Pierce School District athletics for more than a decade.

Paul got his coaching start in 1997 as an assistant in both sports at Franklin Pierce High School. He served as the FPHS volleyball assistant from 1997-99, and was a fastpitch assistant at the same school for the 1997 campaign.

Both assistant coaching posts at FPHS prepared him to become the head coach of the two sports at the school just a couple of miles down the road, district rival Washington High School.

Paul has been the Patriots' volleyball head coach from the 2000 season until the present, leading the program to state tournament appearances in 2009, 2012, 2013 and 2018, in addition to numerous district playoff forays and a 2A Pierce County League championship in 2013. Souza-coached Washington volleyball squads placed second in the West Central District tournament in both 2003 and 2012, the latter team winning a first round match at the 2A state tournament.

He served as Washington's softball head coach in 1998, was out of the position for a year, and then came back in 2000 and has been there since for a total of 19 seasons. In that time he has led WHS to five state fastpitch tournaments, numerous berths in the district playoffs, and to three 2A Pierce County League titles between 2002 and 2005.

In addition to coaching high school volleyball and softball, Paul has been a club head coach for both sports, since 2011 in volleyball and since 1990 for three different fastpitch clubs - Wahines Fastpitch, BAM Fastpitch and NW Sidewinders.

For the third straight year, Paul was named Head Coach for the USA All-American U-14 Girl's Fastpitch team for the Northwest Region which encompasses Washington and Oregon. At the April 2019 tryouts over 108 girls attended with the top 14 players selected to compete against teams from the other 23 regions representing all 50 states in a tournament in Oklahoma this summer. Some of these young pitchers are already throwing in the low 60s.

Paul has given generously of his time to the benefit of numerous Pierce County School District athletic teams. As a volleyball tournament director in the Puget Sound region since 2007, he has helped raise $12,000-$16,000 annually, with the proceeds from those tournaments shared with various district teams, not just his own.