2026-2027 Coach Reveal

Join us for a detailed look at our coaching lineup for the upcoming club season. Join Davis and Katia for an inside look at the coaches that will make next season even better than this one! 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to Above the Tape, an all-access fever podcast. My name is Davis Laudeville, and I am your favorite director at Florida Elite Volleyball Academy. But more importantly, I am the host of this podcast. Today, we are going to go off structure a little bit to bring you a very different show. Unfortunately, today that means no joke. I don't want anyone laughing so hard they can't they can't focus and pay attention. This is going to be our inaugural coach reveal episode, where we will not only let you know about some of the coaches for next season, uh, we're gonna also take talk a little bit about each coach and why we feel they're a great fit for their respective teams. Um today I am joined by the one who is ultimately responsible for the coaches and their assignment. So it's only right that I bring her on to kind of get her insight. Um she is a two-time All-American at University of Tampa, um, and she is a 30-year approximate club coach and high school coach, and possibly your second favorite director at FIVA. Please welcome Katia Savedra. Thank you, Kate. Uh, real quick, guys, just make sure you subscribe to the podcast. Wherever you listen to podcasts, we're also on YouTube. Um, you can subscribe there as well. Um, if you you are definitely gonna want to be following us on YouTube because I am working on something that is pretty epic. So just keep an eye out for that. Um, and if you're in a good mood and don't want to be a hater anymore, go ahead and give us a five-star review. And while you're there, that would make us all very, very happy. Um, so the way I'm gonna structure this show is first I'm gonna kind of go through the coaches and just kind of list off the coaches for every age group. Um, once we do that, we're gonna go uh group by group by age group and talk about each coach. Um, couple warnings. First of all, um we are not gonna go into every coach for every team. Uh there's there's a couple reasons why. Um if we did that, first of all, we'd be here for forever because you know we had 34 teams this year, and this would be a two-hour episode. We don't want that. Um, in addition, you know, we don't even have tryouts yet, so we don't know you know how many exact teams we're gonna have in each age group. Yeah, you don't know exactly.

SPEAKER_04 1:57

Yeah, and then so there are some floater coaches that will just fill in correct based on how many we have in that age group.

SPEAKER_00 2:02

Right. So you yeah, you can't really assign coaches if you don't know which how many teams you're gonna have. Yeah. Um and also, you know, of course, we are you know sitting late June now, um, practice not starting till November. So, you know, a lot can change between there. That's that's five months away, almost six months, you know, we have about five months away, so a lot can change. Um, you know, we could get new coaches, we could shift things around, but this is this is pretty solid is what we're gonna be.

SPEAKER_04 2:25

Yeah, and the the reason we switch that is usually because we don't have a team in that age group, or maybe somebody moves unexpectedly or gets pregnant, or all those things that life happen.

SPEAKER_00 2:35

Correct. So yeah, but anyway, without further ado, here we go. So I'm gonna just go down the list first. Our 11 regional coach is Michaela Carrick, our 12 national coach is Daniel Reyes, our 12 regional coach is Brianna Doherty, our 13 elite coach is Fernando Saavedra, our 13 national coach is Britney Collison. Our 14 elite coach is Katia Saavedra. Our other 14 elite coach is Courtney Bobo McKenzie. Our 14 national coach is Haley Aguilar. Our 15 elite coach, also Katia Saavedra. Our other 15 elite coach is Britney Collison. Our 15 national coach is Michael Quinn. Our other 15 national coach is Brianna Doherty, once again. Our 16 elite coach is Alice Zapata. The other 16 elite coach is Michaela Carrick. Our 16 national coach is Maddie Williams. Our 17 elite coach Fernando Saavedra. The other 17 elite coach, Frank Cassine. Is that right? I think so. We think so. We're gonna go with that. Um, 17 national coach is Savannah Ogle. 18s is still a little bit up in the air, so we're gonna hold off on that. Um, but we we think we know who it is, but we're not 100% sure. So we're just gonna wait so we don't look bad. Correct?

SPEAKER_04 3:57

Well, yeah, and and I believe, you know, um we can go ahead and say it's gonna be Allie Burke. Um, she went to Auburn University and she was a phenomenal outside hitter. She coached for us last year. Uh, we don't know if we're gonna have one or two, and so that's why we are still waiting for that other coach. Right. Um, if we need another coach.

SPEAKER_00 4:14

And speaking of 18s, real quick, just want to mention that um our 18s did something kind of big this year. They won the national championship. They did, they did, which is our third national championship in three years of PIBA. So our 12s won it um three years ago, then our other new 12s won it the last year, and then now this team has won it two. They fought really hard.

SPEAKER_04 4:38

They did. They did. Um, we did a great job. Uh Fernando coached that team. I coached that team last year, and this team um was coached by Fernando, and he unfortunately could not be there on the last day only because he was at JO's with his 13. 13 open, yeah. And so he was coaching over there 13 open, and so I had to coach the last day, which I got the best, you know. I so I got to coach them when they won that national championship, but definitely that you know, all all props go to uh Fernando for preparing that team and making them love that game. That was an that was an exciting game. It was wonderful.

SPEAKER_00 5:15

Very exciting game. I I I'm not gonna lie, it was a crazy game. I thought I mean crazy game smoked in the first set. Um, second set were getting smoked. I think it was like 16 to 7 or 16.

SPEAKER_04 5:26

We were down at almost 10 points in the second set.

SPEAKER_00 5:28

And we somehow came back and won that second, and the third we just blew them out. It was it was incredible. It was incredible.

SPEAKER_04 5:33

Yeah, that just shows a resilience that it volleyball does not matter. It doesn't matter what the score is. Yeah, there can be ups and downs even at the 18s level.

SPEAKER_00 5:43

Yeah, and you're watching that game, you're like, oh, they're just better than I I texted, I texted Fernando, who's watching. I think they're just better than us. I don't think we feel we should feel bad. And the next thing you know, it was we were just we were better than them. Yeah, it's just the way, you know, just kind of the way volleyball goes. But it was it was a lot of fun. Um, and then of course, congratulations to your 14s team who came in third place in Liberty and USAV nationals. Yep, they had a lot of fun. Very easily could have won a little bit, you know, lost to the team that won the whole thing and won the first set and just couldn't just couldn't pull it out. But man, they got a whole they were on fire. They were on the other team was on fire, but we were on fire too. It was it was a fantastic game. So, anyway, um starting out with our 11s, our 11 regional coach, like I said, is Michaela Karrick.

SPEAKER_04 6:25

Uh so Michaela's gonna coach two teams, and I'm gonna go ahead and just talk about Michaela with both teams. That way we we kill two birds with one stone. Um, Michaela's gonna coach our 11s and is gonna coach our other 16 elite team. So Michaela is um a very, very fundamentally sound um skills coach. She uh really has a huge attention to detail. And that's one of the things that I really love about Michaela. She pinpoints very specific skills, she tweaks whether it's your arm swing, your footwork, your steps, where you're supposed to be, why she gives you that explanation. And every team Michaela has ever coached has done extremely well. Every every team. Uh she coached the first year, she coached for us a 13s and an 18s team, a 13s team, the following year, 13s and 18s, and of course this year she did 14s and 16s. So next year she will be doing 11s and 16s. Um I love Michaela's personality. And sometimes, you know, some people don't necessarily appreciate the stoic uh part of that. Some and I say that because I wish I could be more like her. I clearly am not stoic. I am a whirlwind of emotions on the sideline, but I try and I I've told, you know, my husband Fernando, I wish I could be a little bit more like Michaela and not show my emotions on my face. But she does a really good job of keeping calm and then, you know, giving her feedback when it's needed. So I think that for the 11s, it's gonna be great because it grounds them. There is not a high and a low, and she's gonna keep them calm, keep them grounded and focusing on those basics. And um, with the 16s, she's got a lot of kids that she really um she knows through you know other coaching um opportunities, and she's known them for a long time, and they're really a great bunch of kids that they're the kids that Britney has this year, and they got a bid as well. So she's really looking forward to coaching that, and and I I I appreciate everything that Michaela does. She's one of our master coaches, she's there all the time, and she really is a wealth of knowledge. So very excited for her. Not to mention, you know, Michaela went to Columbia College, she was a setter, and to be a setter, in my opinion, you need to have a very high volleyball IQ. Right. Uh, she definitely has that in volleyball. She also coached at St. Leo for four years. So she is a college coach that has come to us, and you know, she's been with us for three years. We're gonna go into the fourth year. Um, and I'm excited. I'm excited to be.

SPEAKER_00 9:03

And I mean, and you know, the results speak for themselves. She just wins. Every year she just team, which is our second 14th team this year. I mean, they went, what, 10 and 1 in AAU? They lost, they lost one match the entire one.

SPEAKER_04 9:17

They have a phenomenal record every single year. Every year.

SPEAKER_00 9:21

She does a great job. She does. All right. Next up, 12th national coach is Daniel Reyes.

SPEAKER_04 9:27

Oh, I love Danny. So um Danny has been coaching uh for about eight, nine years. He coached at Steel, he coached at Dynamite, and he's up, he's with us now. He's got a couple of kids with us at Fiva, both very talented players. Um, his oldest daughter plays with my daughter. Amazing attitudes. He is, you know, um, he's hard on his kids, just like we are. Yeah. Uh, you know, we've got that feistiness, um, but he's done an amazing job with the 11s. And that team this year, uh, you know, their average height was about what, four foot five? You know what I mean? But they were ballers. They fought hard. They fought hard, they served, they were in position, they hit the ball, they had top spin, they knew their footwork, they had, you know, they ran their defense. And uh he'll be coaching them again next year. And I'm really looking forward to it. Danny has an incredible personality, and I think that that personality really comes out in the girls because he's he's all about you know, feistiness, energy, passion for the game. And when you're a coach that has that, you teach that, you foment that in your players. So I'm I'm really happy that he'll be coaching that 12 next year.

SPEAKER_00 10:34

Great. All right. Uh 12 regional coach is Brianna Doherty.

SPEAKER_04 10:39

Uh love Brianna. Bri Brianna is um a young coach, but she is um stern as if she was already a veteran coach. She really demands a lot from the kids, and I've loved her coaching. This year she coached 13s and 15s, and you know, every parent that comes to me, she's tough, but we love her. My kid needs that. Yes. So your kid needs to be held to higher standards. She loves the kids, the kids know she loves them, she hugs them, she tells them, Look, you're gonna get another chance, and she pulls you out. She's very direct, but you can tell that she um has a huge amount of passion for this game, and she wants to get better and better and better every single year. So she will be coaching our 12s and our 15s, which she did amazing with this year. And one of the great things about Rihanna is that she is so energetic. And you know, as we get older, we just don't have uh, you know, I sometimes just don't have the energy to to to do that, but she is all energy, and that really helps all her teens.

SPEAKER_00 11:47

Absolutely. And she's kind of like a like a mini Elise. Like she she reminds me so much of Elise in a little way. Loud voice and very electric. Definitely live, yes, yes. But she's been a lot of fun. She's she came to us this year and she immediately fit in immediately fit in.

SPEAKER_04 12:02

She coaches at Sun Lake, she's the head coach for JV at Sun Lake, and um last year uh she coached uh her 14s to a national championship. So she she's fantastic. We we're really happy to have her.

SPEAKER_00 12:16

Yeah. Um, 13 elite coach. I think you know this guy pretty well, Fernando Saavedra.

SPEAKER_04 12:20

Yes, Fernando Savedra. So um, you know, obviously uh my husband is fantastic, and I'm a little bit biased because he is fantastic. Uh, but Fernando has so much knowledge in the game. He has a very um calm demeanor, and that really grounds the kids when they play. You know, he's able to calm them down. You got you get nerves, um, you know, you you can tend to freak out when it's game point and things of that nature, but he he really does uh have that personality that keeps him focused and engaged. He played um, you know, Division I volleyball in Bolivia at Cochabamba. And he actually, when he was younger, he um in 1998, he was part of the number one beach volleyball um pair for Bolivia. And so he is he's really an amazing volleyball player. His blocking technique, his hitting technique is is wonderful, and he is just a fantastic coach. And I say that every year he gets bit. Every every year it doesn't matter, he gets bit.

SPEAKER_00 13:24

Yeah, and doesn't matter the team that you give him. Right, it's okay. It's not always like he's got the biggest stud team ever. He just figures it out. I mean, I figures it out. My daughter played for him for two years, and one thing that I always noticed was his, and I think this is not, he doesn't get enough credit for this, his in-game management, just the way he makes little adjustments. I remember, you know, I would say, like, you know, the first set, you know, my daughter's a libera was getting beat, getting beat, getting beat. All of a sudden, second set, she's picking it up, and I was like, What happened? My daughter's like, Well, he just he told me he told me to look at this and just slide a football. Oh, he tweaks the block or tweaks. Yeah, it tweaks this, and it was just like everything, it just clicked. And he and he does that all the time. He makes so many adjustments that are just might seem like little minor adjustments, but it's a difference between winning and losing. And that's what he did with his team.

SPEAKER_04 14:08

He really focuses on ball control for his team. He he really wants to teach the skills so the kids can then learn the game. And and that's one of the things that he's so good at because he coaches the 13s and then he hands them to me at 14s, and that's been a huge benefit for me because they're um they're coming in knowing all that, and right now, of course, they're still gonna have to learn it at 14s, but he does such a wonderful job of of teaching that at that early age.

SPEAKER_00 14:34

Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_04 14:34

And he, of course, is gonna coach the 17s as well. And I love that he does the 13s to get them ready for competition as in ball control, you know, base of defense, all those skills that they need and and the basics, all that technique. But then he's a he's a great strategic coach, and he sees the game, and so now he has uh two completely different ends, you know, a 17 and a 13 one, they're just different games, but he he's gonna enjoy it.

SPEAKER_00 15:06

Yeah, a totally different game for sure. But yeah. Um 13 national coach is our other director, uh is Britney Collison.

SPEAKER_04 15:14

So Brittany, um she is uh she's really a a a gem that we found. Um Brittany has had two teams since she's been with us and she's coaching the 13s and uh 15s. Her 13s were one game away from getting a bid. Uh and and honestly, you know, we didn't realize how great they were, yeah, but really she made them that way. Yeah, she she turns teams into amazing teams and and they thrive. Yeah, and there isn't a player that does not love her. That's what I was gonna say.

SPEAKER_00 15:53

I said, you know, I think I think almost every coach, and this includes you, almost every coach has one or two people that just that's not my style. Britney seems to do it. She seems to like, I mean, I don't recall ever having anybody not like Britney.

SPEAKER_04 16:08

I mean, how I mean no, Britt Brittany is is loved by her players, she's an extremely respectful, has a perfect demeanor for coaching, yeah. Um, very specific, gives the feedback that needed, makes those tweaks that is needed, and then gives you that energy, you know, uh on the sidelines when you you do um need a little bit of a pep talk as well as something stern. But like I said, she's very even keel and her knowledge is really huge. Uh you can tell because with 13s and 15s, she does such an amazing job. She was a libero for Eastern Florida College, and she's been coaching for 11 years. Yeah, she coaches at Wesley Chapel. They've been to the uh final four. Yeah, and they were and they've gone to regional.

SPEAKER_00 16:49

When she took over, they were. I mean, before she took over, they were dreadful. She has built that program. She has built that program.

SPEAKER_04 16:55

She absolutely has created that program and and she's fantastic.

SPEAKER_00 16:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 16:58

And then so yeah, and so she um she's also one of you know our um she's our assistant director, and we snagged her right away just because she's just unique. She's she's just a wonderful coach and a wonderful pl person and extremely organized, determined, and she's just great to have a fee.

SPEAKER_00 17:16

Yeah, she's helped she's kind of helped all of us to kind of take some of the take some of the take some of the workload off and all that. So yeah, she's got she also played college soccer as well. Just remember we've been here watching the the soccer bowl, I mean the World Cup, and it kind of reminded me that. But yeah, she played college.

SPEAKER_04 17:31

She's kind of one of those people who says she she's tiny. She is tiny. You know, she's what's tiny, what five, five.

SPEAKER_00 17:36

She's gonna tell you, she's gonna tell you 5'10, but I think that's with with high heels on.

SPEAKER_04 17:40

Okay. So, but you know, it just shows you that it doesn't matter what size you are, you can definitely um, you know, succeed in in in the sport.

SPEAKER_00 17:48

Yeah. All right. 14 elite coach is yours truly, Katia Saavedra.

SPEAKER_04 17:53

Yeah, so I I end up taking and I've coached from 12s to 18s at our club. Um, but I definitely am enjoying the 14s and 15s um age. I'm very um do it right kind of person. And if we don't do it right, we're gonna do it over and over and over and over again until we we kind of figure that out. So uh, you know, and and sometimes I get kids, I know, but uh you always tell me that, yes. And I'm gonna continue to always tell you that because that's my job. My job is to give you feedback and correct those mistakes that you're making and why you're making those mistakes. And I really enjoyed the 14s and 15s because you get to mold them. And then really by the time I hand them off to the 16s coach, they know the the base. You know what I mean? Now you're gonna you're gonna adjust to the team that you have or the strategy of the other team and so forth and so on. I also coach the ones teams because I am a tough coach and I do require them to work. And if you're on a ones team, you're coming in with that expectation. And so we know that you know players play club for a lot of different reasons. But you're on a ones team because you want to work, you want to learn, you want to get to the next level. So um I I I will be the 14s and 15s, so I have them for two years and then they move on, and um I shed a couple of tears with my 15s this year because I've had them for two years and you know, I don't get to have them anymore. Yeah. Um, and so it was kind of sad.

SPEAKER_00 19:28

Yeah. And you know, I'll speak for you on this. I mean, I know a lot of people have a a reputation that that follows Katia's. Oh, she's so mean and blah, blah. I I will tell you again, she coached my daughter, not true at all. If you do what you're supposed to do, or you work hard. You work hard. You're not always gonna do what you're supposed to do. I should say, I should say you work hard. I should say you're in the right, you listen and follow directions. You know, if if you're if you tell someone to do something and they do it, you're not gonna have you, and you shank a ball, you're not gonna have a problem. If you're not in the right spot because you're not listening, you're gonna keep on.

SPEAKER_04 20:01

And I will say, you know, my my kids come back, they learn, and we we typically have good seasons. Um, I don't really remember poor seasons, you know. We've we've always had successful seasons, and that's because they're there to to compete, they're there to work hard and and and they appreciate it. I I think the athlete that thrives on learning and thrives on improving needs a coach that is, you know, requiring them to perform at all times and to work hard.

SPEAKER_00 20:30

And I think parents appreciate it too. They're I know when I when I used to watch, I would just be like, yeah, this is great. Like she's I mean, she's never late. She's early, she's trying to start practice early, she's trying to run practice late. She is, you know, a work, she's truly a workaholic, and I think the parents and the kids appreciate it. It's tough, you know, it's it's like taking an AP class. It's hard, but it's rewarding in the end.

SPEAKER_04 20:50

Exactly. You know, and if you don't want it to be tough, there's definitely other options for that. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 20:55

Yeah. All right. Um, the other 14 elite coach we have is Courtney Bobo Mackenzie.

SPEAKER_04 21:00

So Courtney is God, I love Courtney. You know, she she has had some good teams, and then she's had some difficult teams. And I don't want to say they're they were not great teams physically, just difficult. As we all know as coaches, you know, sometimes you get teams that are easy, and then sometimes you get teams that are difficult.

SPEAKER_00 21:20

Every team kind of takes on its own personality. It does. Absolutely. There is no team the same team. And it and it's weird because even if a team is almost the exact same from year to year, it can change. Like one little thing can change the whole dynamic of a team.

SPEAKER_04 21:32

You're right. So uh Courtney's always coached the 17s. And co Courtney was the head coach at Sumner. Uh she c also uh was a coach at Florida State College, and she is a high level coach. She knows the game. She has I I've sat by Courtney and just watched her. She can tell you about where a kid's going to go and where they should shift. And even with she had injuries this year, she still had a successful season. She overcame more obstacles this year than any other coach we have had at FIVA.

SPEAKER_00 22:07

I want to say they had six season ending injuries on the team.

SPEAKER_04 22:12

That is ridiculously amazing. She is. And so um I think with older kids, bigger problems. With younger kids, bigger problems are just easier. So um we she's always coached 17s. We're giving her a 14s, and I did this because I watched a coach last year at our 14s, and I want to say it was a 14 regional team.

SPEAKER_00 22:34

Yeah, she was like 14 or 14. 14 4s.

SPEAKER_04 22:38

I left with my mouth open of how good of a job she did. These kids left loving the game.

SPEAKER_02 22:46

Right.

SPEAKER_04 22:46

They all came back, they loved every bit of it after a not very successful season. And she really turned it around for them. She just has that gift. And she has a gift of turning problems into success. And I'll tell you, that's really, really difficult to do. Very difficult to do. So I I'm excited for her to thrive with the four teens this year.

SPEAKER_00 23:11

Yeah, that was a um, like you said, that was a team that was had a had a tough year. Um, most of them were all brand new to the sport. And I can see her, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 23:20

I can see her winning lots of uh lots of championships and hopefully getting that you know, that bit at A6 as well.

SPEAKER_00 23:26

Yeah, so she she just had lots of fun. They had lots of fun, and that was it's always good to see the kids having fun, especially you know, when they're they're new to the sport. Because you want them to fall in love with the sport you know first and foremost. She definitely does that too. Yeah, um, 14 national coach is a new coach for us, Haley Aguilar.

SPEAKER_04 23:41

Yeah, so Haley um coached for Tampa North for uh seven years, and she's come over this way. Uh she is uh was actually an amazing player in college. She was a libero and she went to East Tennessee State University. Um, she also participated on the USA team for UAT and they won a gold medal for the under UAT for the team USA. So she is uh an extremely um uh skilled and and high level libero. She's gonna help us out a lot with a lot of our defensive uh footwork, dives, rolls, moves, and so forth. We're gonna have lots of that implemented into the um the practices when we do our positionals. Um so we're gonna have her. There are a lot of practices, maybe when she doesn't even have her team at the beginning when we separate them. And I'm really excited to have Haley. She has uh she's shown great knowledge, and uh I'm excited to see what she does with her team. And she likes those, the the the 14-15 age group, so she can teach them. They're sponges at that time. Yeah, so we're excited. Um, I I've liked everything that I see from Haley, so we'll see. You know, this is the first year. Um, we'll see what happens with that. And um, I just I I have high hopes for that.

SPEAKER_00 24:58

Yeah, really excited, really excited to have her join us. Um 15 elite coach, um, once again, yourself, Goddess of Ajays, we'll skip that. The other 15 Elite coach, Brittany Collison, skip that again. Once again, she did earn a bid this year coaching the 15-2s. I think she's got a great shot to do it every time she coaches and I think it's difficult, you know.

SPEAKER_04 25:18

Um there's not many clubs that can get I mean, a lot of clubs get bids, but they don't get them in depth. You know, their ones teams usually go. So the fact that Brittany was able to pull that off really shows her her ability to to be an amazing coach. And um, our 14-2s was great this year. And you know, if they all come back, they they would be an amazing team. They'll be even better. They'll be even better for next year.

SPEAKER_00 25:43

And they're and they will absolutely elaborate.

SPEAKER_04 25:44

And yeah, they'll have a phenomenal coach. Uh they'll be training with the older kids, obviously, because our 15, our high school teams practice at night. So they'll be training with a lot more of the older kids. And you know, sh she'll do wonders with them. So we're we're hoping she has a repeat for next year, um, assuming you know the majority of those kids come back.

SPEAKER_00 26:07

Um our 15th national coach is Michael Quinn. Before we get into my before we get there, um, you know, Michael Quinn is currently about to do his crossover to hopefully get into gold at AAU Nationals. He is undefeated at this tournament. So that is our he is our current 15 national coach. So Michael Quinn.

SPEAKER_04 26:26

So Michael, I've never met anyone that doesn't love Michael. He he's just he and he's not a salesperson, he's just a wonderful person. Yeah, and every team that's ever had him as a coach loves Michael. And you made a comment, you know, you're in the gym and people are talking to you, and you know, excited to be happy to say.

SPEAKER_00 26:51

And then he walks into the pushing me to the side to get to Michael. And it's like a little little hurtful, but you know, he's even my child, my own child.

SPEAKER_04 26:59

Coach Michael's here, you know. They they love Coach Michael, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 27:02

And like I said, he's not trying. No, it's just the way it's just his personality.

SPEAKER_04 27:06

Yeah, and and really, you know, I they love him, and he's done wonders with that team. So we're gonna give it to him again. You know, he he coaches a top national team, and I think that he's done an amazing job, and I hope that he continues to do that and stays, you know, FIVA forever till we're 70 years old and hobbing along with our, you know, with our walker. So he he's he's fantastic. I'm really excited. He he coached actually in D3, he coached college. So he went to University of Mount St. Vincent and he stayed there and coached a couple of years. He's been coaching for over 10 years, so he's wonderful.

SPEAKER_00 27:40

Yeah, and they won, I mean, they've had eight tournaments this year, they won four gold medals. Yeah, not bad. Yeah, not bad, yeah. Yeah, not bad at all. Um, other 15 national coaches, again, Brianna Doherty. So we've been over her. Um, 16 elite coach is my normal co-host of Elise Zapata.

SPEAKER_04 27:56

So Elise is um so unique in so many ways. She's she's feisty, she's got so much personality, she motivates the girls, yeah, she's on the girls, and she's an extremely strategic coach. So um a lot of times I'll be like, hey, why did you not say that? Well, because this middle blocker was doing this, or the outside hitter was doing this, or this is her strength, this is her weakness. She's able to see what is happening on the court and make those adjustments very quickly within. And um, you know, like I said, at least uh coaches it sound like she's the head coach there. And I want to say she has made uh six appearances to regionals.

SPEAKER_00 28:36

Yeah, I think she's made two final fours in the last two years.

SPEAKER_04 28:38

You know, and again, she's another person that has grown that program.

SPEAKER_00 28:41

Yeah, another program that wasn't really that special until she until she got there.

SPEAKER_04 28:45

Yeah, so um, you know, I I know that my daughter Mia, who uh she coached her when she was uh 18. And not fair because Fernando and I have always been her coach, so but she was the favorite coach. So it was Mia's favorite coach, uh um probably when she she didn't have us, but she she's done, and so she'll be the the 16 elite coach again this year.

SPEAKER_00 29:06

Well, and I think it does say a lot that you know Elise has coached both of your daughters. So that's not that's not something you just pass off to anybody. So she's obviously I definitely pretty good. I'm not gonna tell her to her face because I'm not gonna be able to do it. Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_04 29:18

I I trust Elise completely, yes. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:21

All right. Um, other 16 coach is Michaela Carrick, which we've gone over her. Um, our 16 national coach is everybody's favorite, Maddie Williams.

SPEAKER_04 29:30

So so Maddie is wonderful. Like I g uh again, it takes a certain demeanor to be a great coach. And uh and Maddie loves the kids, she's nice and calm. She played for um uh University of Wisconsin uh in Milwaukee, and she was a middle hitter and a right side. So and she's a phenomenal blocker. We play beach volleyball with her, and she's just a great hitter and great blocker. She helps out with my middle hitting clinics, uh working on slides and all kinds of footwork. And I I really think she knows the game. Um I'm looking forward to it. This year she took a lower level team because her uh schedule just did not uh was didn't afford her to be at some of the tournaments for her older uh for a higher level team. And her 15th team uh loves her. So she's done a really great job. And and we love Maddie. We're we're so happy to have her. Um she's been with us. This is gonna be her third year. Third year? Or fourth year. No, this is gonna be her fourth. I think it's her fourth. It's going to be her fourth. Well, she I think she came in halfway through one year. She had a 17th team, yeah. So she she likes coaching the older kids because she gets to coach a little bit higher level. Yeah. And and it's nice, you know, it depends on what you want to do. Do you want to stick to the basics or do you want to coach more strategy? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 30:49

So and like you said, she had our sixth 15s team this year, and they actually won a tournament, which is absolutely incredible. That was you know one of my favorite moments.

SPEAKER_04 30:58

So you have a regional team that wins a tournament that just shows you guys.

SPEAKER_00 31:02

You know what you're doing. Um, 17 elite coach, of course, is Fernando Savedra. Our other 17 elite coach is another new coach. Um, and I'm gonna I'm sorry about the last name, but I did not get the pronunciation. Hasane Frank. Yeah, Frank.

SPEAKER_04 31:14

So Frank, uh Coach Frank is um he has been coaching for 37 years. He is the most experienced coach we have on staff. Um, as a matter of fact, I've been picking his brain and and you know, he's got some great great ideas to help us uh just continue to get better. If you think about it, from year one 16 teams to year five, thirty-four teams, year one, one bid, year five, seven bids, we're doing something right. You know, uh so that will never change in the fact that we have to continue to grow, learn, modify, and make our training better and better every single year. Um he's he opened a club in Savannah um years ago. He's been coaching for 37 years. He was a middle blocker at Le Moine College. He has extensive volleyball knowledge, and we just we just want to make sure that you know we absorb everything that we possibly can. So he's gonna coach the 17, the other 17's elite team. Um he's a stern, tough uh coach. The girls respect him and they love him. The parents have loved him since he he took over for our coach Alexis this year because she's moved to Pennsylvania. Oh no, South Carolina, South Carolina, South Carolina. And um you know, they ended well and then they really enjoyed having him as a coach. And uh I'm glad to have another older person.

SPEAKER_00 32:40

Yeah, and I'm I'm I'm glad because I was I was currently the oldest male working at I'm currently the oldest female, still the oldest female, but it's just nice to get you know uh older coaches, and again, we're not old, we're just older, but at the end uh the reality is the older you get, the more experience you get, the more knowledge you acquire.

SPEAKER_04 33:02

You can be an amazing coach, and we do have amazing young coaches, but they will be so much better as they grow with that experience, and that's what Frank brings us to.

SPEAKER_00 33:15

And Frank has extensive experience with the master coaching system as well, which is great. Yes. Um, all right, and our 17 national coach is Savannah Ogle.

SPEAKER_04 33:25

Yeah, so Savannah is um actually I just want to do a shout-out for Savannah. She got engaged. That's right. And she is currently pregnant, she's going to be having her first child. Um so uh we do look forward to that. Um Savannah uh played D1 College. Um as a matter of fact, I I forgot where she played D1 College.

SPEAKER_00 33:51

Georgia Tech, right? I think it was Georgia College.

SPEAKER_04 33:54

So she played D1 College at Georgia Tech, um, massive blocker, massive hitter. And you know, we started Savannah when she first joined us with the younger kids. But Savannah's vision when she coaches is just a higher level. And so, you know, uh we moved her up a couple and she's really thrived with the seventeens. And we we love her on the seventeens. She's she's been great for us. Um she works really hard, she comes to all the practices, and again, she does have that calm yet, icy demeanor when needed, you know, and that's I think that's the difference between a good coach and a new coach. Are you able to control your emotions and use those emotions to motivate your team at the right spot? And she does a really good job of that. So we are really happy that she'll continue with the 17s uh national team. And that's basically our lineup to start off.

SPEAKER_00 34:52

Yeah, and like I said, again, it it there will there are more coaches, there are gonna be more teams, we just don't quite know where they're gonna fit. Um reminder for everybody make sure you um sign up for tryouts. Um the earlier you register, the easier it is for us to make sure we have enough staff and you know get all that kind of stuff ready. So you can go to our website, fevolleyball.com slash tryouts, um, and you can do that. Uh lots of gonna be a gonna be a crazy, crazy time. This is my least favorite time of year, but it's exciting at the same point. It's a little bit of everything.

SPEAKER_04 35:24

It is exciting and and it is stressful, and I look forward to it every year. Um, I look forward to seeing all the new faces.

SPEAKER_05 35:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 35:31

Um, and I and I love seeing all, you know, our our own kids coming back and making those teams. And when we get all these new kids, those teams get better and better. So we hope to see a lot of those faces coming back and love to have those conversations with parents. You know, I've already had dozens of parents reach out and say, Katia, where do you see my kid? And and I said, Well, you know, she's improved drastically, but let's see what tryouts come or what division do you want her to try out for, whether it's a lead or national or regional. So looking forward to it, but not looking forward to it. My my favorite time of the year is the beginning of the year in November. When we start coaching, when we, you know, when club starts, because you're hungry for it. You know, I'm ready for it when when November comes around. Right.

SPEAKER_00 36:14

So yeah, it's gonna, it's gonna be it's gonna be a lot of stress, but I I am excited as well. Um so anyway, so that is our coaching lineup for 2026-2027. Thank you guys again for joining us. Uh, we will get back to a regular podcast sometime shortly, kind of a little bit of a dead period right now. I am not gonna attempt to do this podcast during. I am not gonna do this podcast during tryout. It is way too much, but uh once we once the dust settles a little bit, we'll get back, we'll get back at it. So, anyway, thank you, Toddia, for joining us. And we'll see you guys soon. See you soon. Bye.