skip navigation

NAVC Griffins 13M Coaching Staff

Head Coach - Alex Melnyk

Alex Melnyk is returning to NAVC for his third year. In his last two seasons with NAVC, he coached the Men’s U14 Gold Bears in 2013 and Men’s U15 Gold Bears in 2014. He is excited to be back with the club to work with the Men’s U13 Griffins. Alex played volleyball through high school with Harry Ainlay, and in 2009 they won the Provincial Championship. Outside of volleyball, Alex is a 3rd year student at the University of Alberta working towards his Bachelor of Education. Alex looks forward to another year coaching and is working towards his level 1 coaching certification.

Associate Head Coach - Brendan Poon

Although this will be Brendan’s first year of coaching with NAVC, volleyball has been a part of his life for several years having played competitively for Vernon Barford Junior High School, Harry Ainlay Senior High School, and NAVC. Brendan was fortunate enough to have had excellent coaches and teammates along the way and is excited to take the knowledge and passion that he has gained over the years and pass it on to upcoming athletes. Off the court, Brendan graduated from the University of Alberta with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and currently works as a building design engineer.

Assistant Coach - Geoff Casey

Geoff is very excited to be returning to club volleyball with NAVC this season. Geoff has played competitive volleyball for more than 14 years; as a coach, he strives to re-create the constructive, competitive, and fun atmosphere that he enjoyed as a young player. Many of Geoff’s closest friends are former teammates, and his main goal is to give another generation of players the same positive experience. Outside of volleyball, Geoff is working towards completion of his after-degree in genetics, and travels every chance that he can.

Assistant Coach - Ben Holgate

This is Bennett's 5th time returning as a coach for NAVC. Bennett has coached levels u14 to u16 previously. Prior to that he played for the Harry Ainlay Titans from 2007-2009, and then spent half a season playing with the MacEwan Griffin's as a setter

Assistant Coach - Nakul Shadagopal

This will be Nakul’s first season coaching NAVC. Growing up he played volleyball at a high level. He played 3 years at Harry Ainlay High School as an outside hitter and captain where he won numerous individual, city, and provincial medals. Nakul also played 5 years with NAVC, winning 4 provincial gold medals as well as many other premier medals.

As a coach, Nakul coached the D.S. Mackenzie Trojans for 2 years leading them to a city championship. He recently graduated from the University of Alberta where he took a few volleyball specific coaching courses. Nakul is very excited to begin this season with NAVC and pass on his knowledge and love for the sport!

Recent NAVC 13M Griffins Cohort News

No news currently found.