NAVC Griffins 16W Coaching Staff

For anyone who knows Coach G, they would have to agree with the fact that Volleyball is not just a sport for her, but it is necessity of life. Therefore, it would not be an understatement to say that Grachella is passionate about Volleyball! 

From the early age of 10, she fell in love with the sport in her native Philippines.  Upon arriving in Canada with her family, she continued to hone her volleyball skills and has achieved great success as a player; college & university volleyball scholarships in Canada and the U.S., Captain of her teams, All-Star, MVP, Athlete of the Year Awards. Despite transitioning her playing career from the court to the beach, she has come out of retirement more recently to compete in two World Masters Games in both Australia and Italy.

It did not take long for Grachella to recognize that her enthusiasm for the sport transcended playing and thus she began to coach.  Her credentials include being an NCCP Level II coach, serving multiple years as an Assistant Coach at Cambrian College and also at the University of Guelph.  She also had a couple of stints as the Director of Gryphon Volleyball and Beach Volleyball camps in Guelph. She also coached Ontario Summer Games Teams in Beach Volleyball, where her teams earned silver and bronze medals.   In 2009, she moved west and quickly entrenched herself in the Edmonton volleyball community.  She has coached girls volleyball at the U13, U14, U15 and U17 age groups since arriving, plus spends countless hours running training sessions for Aspire Volleyball and has also dedicated her coaching talents to several athletes who play Beach Volleyball, during the summer months.  During her time her in Alberta, Grachella's teams have been on the podium more often than not.  In 2016, Grachella was awarded the Volleyball Alberta Mikasa Development Coach of the Year.

As a coach, Grachella takes an immense amount of pride in developing her athletes.  Stressing leadership, hard work, discipline and the technical fundamental skills are at the forefront of her coaching philosophy.  What sets her apart is her adaptability, her ability to teach and communicate but above all else, her affinity to build strong relationships among her coaching staff and players.

Grachella is looking forward to her fifth season with the NAVC program.

Riley is entering his sixth year of coaching, his third year coaching with NAVC. Last season, Riley was the assistant coach of the Women’s U16 NAVC Griffins Black. He has previously had the pleasure of head coaching the U13 FOG boys, head coaching zone 5 and 6 in beach volleyball at the 2016 Alberta Summer Games, co- head coaching the SCONA Junior Varsity Girls, assistant coaching with the Hunting Hills High School senior boys, and working as a coach with Aspire Volleyball.

Riley grew up playing his volleyball at Hunting Hills High School in Red Deer, as well as club volleyball in Red Deer. Following high school he decided to pursue junior hockey before returning to his true passion of volleyball and transitioning into a coaching role. He has his level one coaching certification, and plans to begin working on his level two this year.

Riley is looking forward to his third season coaching with Grachella. He and Grachella take great pride in developing their athletes on and off the court. He is looking forward to sharing his passion and knowledge for the sport with upcoming athletes.

Kaila  has over 15 years of volleyball experience and 3 years coaching experience with Durham College Volleyball Team, Thunder Volleyball Club, Northern Alberta Volleyball Club and Aspire. She played club volleyball for Durham Attack Volleyball Club out of Oshawa, Ontario before pursuing her post-secondary career at Florida Atlantic University and McMaster University. Kaila has trained in all hitting positions throughout her career but settled into right side hitter throughout university. Outside of school, Kaila has played an active role in the beach volleyball scene, winning a national championship and finishing 9th in world championships in 2007 and representing Canada on the National Beach Volleyball Team in 2008. Kaila still plays recreational Women’s and beach volleyball.