Coaching Staff
Coach: Danielle Pulliam
Club Director. She has coached the U15 & U16
teams previously.
Certifications: IMPACT, First Aid/CPR
Bio: Danielle has played volleyball for the last 20
years. She played in high school and on scholarship
at the NAIA (now called NCAA Div. 2) collegiate
level as a setter. Her coaching strengths are serving,
setting, and offensive strategy. People describe her as:
competitive, caring, generous and intense. Danielle is known for making lineups, running the numbers, giving out prizes, and generally orchestrating team events and camaraderie. She also tends to be the OFFENSE coach.
Coach: Brian Pulliam
Experience: This is Brian's 6th year as coach.
He has coached the U15 & U16 teams previously.
Certifications: CAP Level 1, Gold Medal Squared,
IMPACT, First Aid/CPR
Bio: Brian has played volleyball for 15 years. His
main strengths are his love of teaching through
humor, speedy defense, and accurate shot placement.
Brian strengthens his long-term commitment to
coaching through continued education and work
with local university coaches. People describe him
as: FUN, knowledgeable, fast, and goofy. Brian is
known for his personal attention to improving player biomechanics, emphasizing FUN, and tends to be the DEFENSE coach.
m Philosophy & Policies
Team Philosophy & Policies
We are passionate about coaching, and focus on fun and improvement over winning. Winning is temporary, but improvement and fun can keep a player coming back year after year. We are all here to have fun improving in the sport of volleyball. We are not building a nuclear reactor here!
- We strive to create ACTIVE LEARNERS. An active learner is someone who shows up prepared and on time, willing to work hard, and asks lots of questions.
- We teach each player how best they can contribute to their team's success. Sometimes that means playing a position they are not used to, or supporting their team when they are not on the court.
Attendance: 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. Players who miss practices and tournaments will condition as make-up for that time.
- Lack of practice time will affect playing time. When you miss a practice, you are preventing your team from learning to play with you. Family and School come first, but you need to discipline yourself to be able to get everything done on time.
Focus: We expect every player to stay focused during drills, conditioning, pre-game warmup, games, and ref duties. A desire to improve must come from within yourself. We can provide a trail for you to walk on, but you are the one that needs to walk up the hill. In order to improve, you need to be focused, make your best efforts, and of course you need to be there! If you want to improve faster than practices allow you to, talk to us.
Respect: This is a core value of our team, and the YMCA.
- Respect for your parents means being ready (with all the necessary equipment) when they need to drive you to practice or a tournament, helping them understand the game, carpooling with other parents when convenient, and THANKING THEM for devoting their time, effort, and a lot of money towards your interests.
- Respect for your teammates means scheduling your time effectively, showing up on time, staying focused, and being supportive at all times.
Commitment: 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. Do your best to eat healthy, exercise year-round, and learn techniques to prevent injuries.
Playing Time: We create our lineups to balance playing time and the team's success. 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 individual performance and team chemistry. 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 or during a practice.
Positive Attitude & Teamwork: Team sports require an uncommon amount of self-sacrifice. It is critical that everyone knows how her role fits into the context of team goals. A player with poor or negative attitude will be asked to sit out certain activities or leave. Teamwork means everyone helps: set up nets, shag balls, officiate games, support each other, etc.