One of the distinct advantages of a club like NAVC is the high calibre of coaches it attracts because of it's history and reputation for developing great athletes, and great young people. We know each NAVC team will not only benefit from great coaching but will be exposed to the wealth of knowledge and experience of our Technical Advisors consisting of former CIS, National Team and many Pro volleyball players, as they help with the selection process, assist at team practices and offer positional clinics to NAVC athletes throughout the upcoming season.

Please take a minute to look over the impressive Bios of the 2022/2023 NAVC Women's Coaching Staff. We know you will be impressed!!

NAVC Griffins 18W Coaching Staff

Greg played Libero with NAIT for five years being named Captain in his last two years. Afterwards he transitioned straight into coaching. Greg was an assistant coach for Nait for 8 years and then Head Coach of the NAIT Men's Volleyball Team for one year before starting his MBA in Sports Psychology and Counselling.  He has also been a staple in the Edmonton men's/women's club scene over the last decade coaching ten different 18U men's/women's teams around Edmonton. Greg has helped over 100 athletes transition from club player to college/university athlete. On top of this Greg has worked as a regular coach with ASPIRE volleyball for the last eight years and spent a summer coaching an 18U Alberta Provincial team. Greg does not have an overall coaching philosophy as he feels each team is different and has their own unique set of challenges and opportunities. Greg is very excited to help another team of young women transition to a new chapter in their lives!

Kaitlyn is entering her fourth year of coaching with NAVC at the 18U club level and is excited to work alongside Greg Gulash.  She is currently completing her advanced developmental coaching certification and also holds a level 1 officiating certificate.

Kate is an NAVC alumni having played all of her years of club volleyball with NAVC.  She has won many MVP awards and tournaments during her club and high school years including the Metro City Championships in her grade 12 year along with a gold & silver medal at the ASAA provincial championships.  Her winning pedigree also helped win a gold medal with her 18U team in the Phoenix Fiesta Festival.

Kaitlyn attended Briercrest College for two years where her team won back to back silver medals at the ACAC championships along with a fourth place finish at the CCAA National Championships.  She then transferred back home to attend NAIT and in her first year there, helped get her team back to the ACAC Provincial Championships once again.  Kate is currently a student athlete and the captain/starting setter with the NAIT Ooks Women's Volleyball Team and playing in her fifth year of eligibility.

Bio Coming Soon!

NAVC Griffins 17W Coaching Staff

Brian is no stranger to NAVC. He has been both a player and a coach for many years. Brian has coached teams from: Johnston Heights High School in Surrey, British Columbia, Lillian Osborne High School, Edmonton Christian High School, Edmonton Christian West Junior High and Tyndale College and Seminary in Toronto, Ontario.  Brian has coached the Ross Sheppard High School Senior girls where they brought home the city championship after breaking a 50 year city championship dry spell.  A week later the team brought home Ross Shep’s first provincial 4A volleyball medal.  In the following year, Brian coached with Jace Barros at Edmonton Christian High School and led the Senior Boys to a 4A provincial bronze medal. After the school season, Brian was the assistant coach of FOG Black U18 boys where the team brought home a multiple premier championships, a silver medal at Nationals and a Gold in the Bronze division at the USA Volleyball Boys' Junior National Championships.  

Brian has a Bachelor of Human Kinetics, Masters of Divinity and an After Degree in Education with a Physical Education Major and CTS Minor.  Brian competes in the sport Dragon boating during his summers and has represented his club and country at the Commonwealth Festival in Penang, Malyasia and Club Crew World Championships in Macau, China.  Brian’s certifications are: Certified Level 1 Gymnastics, In-training Level 2 Badminton and In-training Level 3 Volleyball. 

Kaitlyn is super excited to be back for her fourth year coaching with NAVC! She finished her volleyball career receiving the Sportsmanship Award at 2A provincials in grade 10 and Athlete of The Year and Most Valuable Player in grade eleven and twelve. Kaitlyn played six years of club volleyball, with her last three years playing for NAVC. She is looking forward to help coach and develop young athletes, while sharing her passion for the game.

Kara is entering her second year of coaching with NAVC and she is super excited to be coming back alongside Brian Kim and Kaitlyn Melenka at the U17 age group. She is currently an NCCP trained developmental coach in process of completing her final certification. Despite it being only her second year with NAVC coaching Kara has coached with Aspire Volleyball Training for around 4-5 years working with athletes of all ages and skill levels. She has helped with other various teams and groups along the way as well! 

Kara is an NAVC alumni having played all years of her youth volleyball career with the club. She currently attends Concordia University of Edmonton where she has recently completed a 3-Year Bachelor of Science Degree. Currently, she is continuing on as a student athlete working on an after degree of education also from Concordia. Kara is in her 4th year as a left side for the Thunder Womens Volleyball Team at CUE. 

She hopes to share her knowledge and volleyball experience with these athletes to ultimately be a positive influence in both their lives and volleyball careers. She can’t wait to help grow these athletes to not just be great volleyball players, but great people too! 

NAVC Griffins 16W Coaching Staff

Kimberly started her post-secondary career with the NAIT Ooks for a season and continued with MacEwan University Griffins for four more.  After graduating with her Bachelor of Commerce Degree majoring in Management, minoring in Human Resources, Kimberly started learning the coaches perspective of volleyball by staying involved with the U-Sport Griffins as an assistant coach. The last fews years, Kimberly has been a Head coach and Assistant coach of U16 and U18 NAVC teams, Millwoods Christian High School Head Coach, Aspire Indoor & Beach Coach, Co-Coach for Alberta Summer Games Zones 5, 6 & 7.  

Prioritizing self-understanding in her players is Kimberly’s focus to help the athletes grow as not only players, but also young adults. Technical skills and strategy are important, but equivalently, so is leadership, respect, and adaptability. 

Appreciation for what coaches did for her in sport is what inspires Kimberly, and she hopes to influence her athletes in the same positive way she was.

Larissa is excited to be back coaching with NAVC.  She has a wealth of experience with club volleyball, Provincial Team volleyball and also coached with MacEwan University for 6 seasons.

Larissa is a former CIS athlete having played 5 seasons for the U of A Pandas with 3 years as the MVP.  She was also a member of Canada's FISU Games team from 2003-2005 as well as a member of Team Canada women's nationals team from 2005-2009.  During her time on the National team she was voted twice the best setter at NORCECA tournaments.  Larissa was also a professional volleyball player for 5 seasons for Spain, France, Germany, Romania and Azerbaijan.  She brings with her a wealth of knowledge, skill and experience in all positions, but specializing in setting and is looking forward to sharing her passion for the sport with these growing athletes.

Bio Coming Soon!

NAVC Griffins 15W Coaching Staff

Keith hails from Manitoba and is entering his 12th year coaching Club volleyball.  NAVC is excited to have Keith join our coaching roster as the 15U women's head coach.  Keith's focus has been coaching female 13U-16U club volleyball teams which have earned a bronze medal at 14U Nationals, several top 10 finishes at Manitoba 14U provincials along with gold medals at Manitoba Premier events.

His coaching philosophy is to develop elite players with exceptional fundamentals and tactical knowledge of the game through hard work and dedication. Keith believes that it is important to build self confidence in his players through the power of positive reinforcement and respect. In addition to coaching volleyball, Keith works in finance and enjoys travelling, family time, playing hockey and golf.

Brianna is elated to be coaching the 15U women’s team with coach Keith this year! Brianna fell in love with volleyball playing right side as a teenager and continues to foster that love through coaching. She has helped out at numerous camps and clubs teams over the years, and is currently the head coach of the senior girls at Jasper Place high school. Her favourite coaching memories include winning a medal at Nationals, coaching 'mini' volleyball for 6 year olds and spending the week at Volleyball Alberta summer camps. She is excited to bring her experience to this new season with NAVC. Brianna’s coaching philosophy focuses on building capacity in young women and being competitive through discipline and teamwork.

Brianna grew up just outside of Lloydminster (Saskatchewan side!) on a canola farm. She is currently a high school math teacher who loves her two cats, soft serve ice cream and sleeping in. She is looking forward to a great season! 

Bio coming soon!

NAVC Griffins 14W Coaching Staff

Richard is excited to be back with NAVC for the 2023 season, his 21st with the club! In this time he has coached every age group picking up a Nationals Div 1 bronze, a provincial championship and two provincial silvers along the way.  Richard has also been on the Team Alberta U16 Girls coaching staff four times, collecting a gold silver and bronze at the Western Elite competition. In addition to youth volleyball, he spent time in the ACAC with the NAIT Women, assisting them during the National Championship winning 2013 season and with the MacEwan Griffins for a season in 2014.

He is a Certified Advanced Development Coach and has started his Performance Coach certification.

Outside of volleyball, Richard is a teacher who has a BSc Math, BEd and just completed his Master of Math for Teachers.

This is Bronwyn's first year coaching with NAVC and she is excited to join the club! Bronwyn played volleyball with the Mount Royal Cougars Club in Calgary in her 17U & 18U seasons, playing as an outside hitter and libero. She has a passion for defense and hopes to inspire young players by instilling a love for the game!

Bronwyn is currently pursuing her Bachelor of Education at the University of Alberta in the After  Degree Program, and hopes to one day teach in the sciences.

NAVC Griffins 13W Coaching Staff

Miles is very excited to be back again as the Head Coach of the U13 Girls team for the 2021-2022 season and has been a part of the NAVC club for 9 years. Miles started coaching in 1983 and has coached at the Junior High, High School level, club level and assisted at the provincial team level.  He has 5 years of ACAC experience, coaching 2 years at NAIT and 3 years at RDC.

Bio coming soon!