Coaching Staff
Head Coach: Melissa Kessell
Experience: This is Melissa's 3rd year as head coach.
Trainings/Certifications: IMPACT, First Aid/CPR
Bio: Melissa has played volleyball for 9 years through
high school, club, and now at the adult A/BB level
both indoor and outdoor. As a player she has been
described as competitive, intense, and supportive.
As a coach, her players know that she is serious when
it's time to be serious, and goofy when appropriate.
She is VERY passionate about volleyball. She loves
this sport and she enjoys being able to pass the
love of the game on to her players. When you love
the game, improvement comes easily and naturally.
Assistant Coach: Ed Wood
Experience: This is Ed's 2nd year as assistant coach.
Trainings/Certifications: IMPACT, First Aid/CPR
Bio: Ed has played volleyball for 10 years throughout
his adulthood, and now plays regularly on both
indoor and outdoor surfaces at the A/BB level. He
has a passion for the game and has taken up coaching
to both give back to the sport he enjoys so much and
also to keep learning about it. As a player, Ed is
competitive and fun to play with on the court. He
focuses on hustling to every play and not giving up
until the whistle sounds. As a coach his players know
that he is approachable and can tailor his coaching style
to the needs of his players. He likes to have fun on the
court but will be serious when appropriate. He focuses on
getting the best out of his players and helping them
improve, not on wins and losses.
m Philosophy & Policies
Team Philosophy & Policies
We value attitude, effort and responsibility.
Attitude: We expect players to maintain a good attitude on the court.
Having a good attitude means accepting that everyone makes mistakes,
supporting your teammates both when they are playing well or having an
off game, and always demonstrating good sportsmanship. Good sportsmanship
is showing respect at all times to your team, your coach, referees, other teams,
and yourself. Bad attitudes bring down the team, stunt improvement and
generally take the fun out of the game. For these reasons, bad attitudes will not
be tolerated from any player.
Effort: Give your full effort regardless if its warm-up, drills, or matches.
We don't expect perfection, but we do want to see players pushing themselves
constantly to apply newly learned skills during play and striving to overcome
bad habits learned in the past. You can also demonstrate effort by paying
attention during practices and attempting to implement changes when directed.
Responsibility: This is knowing the role you play on the team and
continually fulfilling your duties to the team. On the court this means knowing
the responsibilities of your position. Off the court it means holding yourself to
the above two values, and showing up to all practices and tournaments on time
and ready to play. Choosing to play club volleyball is a commitment to yourself,
your team, your parents, your coaches, and to the sport. Do not take this
commitment lightly. Be absolutely certain that you have the extra time needed
before you commit to joining this team. After family and school this team should
be your first priority during the season. Consider all the other demands on your
time: school, other sports, socializing with friends, a job, any volunteer work,
church activities, etc. You will be expected to make the practices twice a week
and the tournaments on the weekends.
Attendance & Punctuality: PLAYERS ARE RESPONSIBLE
TO CALL, EMAIL OR OTHERWISE NOTIFY THEIR COACHES OF ABSENCES
OR LATENESS 24 HOURS AHEAD OF TIME. You are expected to be in the gym
ready to play (shoes, socks on, hair up, no jewelry) when practice starts. Come
early for extra time to get ready and catch up with friends. You are expected to
attend each practice and tournament. Family and School come first, but you need to discipline yourself to be able to get everything done on time. Lack of practice time can affect playing time. When you miss a practice, you are preventing your team from learning to play with you. You also throw away your opportunity to improve your skills. You are expected to give your coaches and your team your full attention and effort at each practice. Once you start missing practices, it is difficult to catch up. Keep these things in mind before you decide to miss practice. If you have unexcused absences or lateness, you will be asked to perform extra conditioning before being allowed to join the team for practice.
Playing Time: Our playing time policy is simple. Everyone will participate
in the pool play on tournament days if she follows coach's philosophy and adheres to team rules and policy. In the bracket play or playoffs, playing time will be decided based on coaches' assessment of a player's individual performance and the team chemistry on the floor. We are happy to discuss playing time issues with players or parents before or after practices, HOWEVER, we will not discuss them on the day of a tournament.