Coaches

"Not all clubs are created equal" : Club South's coaching staff makes the difference! No other club in the southeast has more college and professional coaches on staff! CS success in all teams proves it makes a difference!

Jimmy Peden - ( Club South Director / Coach)

Believe it or not, Jimmy does have a real Full time job. Since 1972, he has owned and operated an Independent Insurance Brokerage Agency representing over 50 companies who assist clients in finding the best buys in Life, Health, and Disability insurance policies. He also is a licensed Investment advisor, doing Financial and Estate Planning. In 1992, Jimmy directed Clemson Juniors, which grew from 2 teams to 14 teams by 1995. In 1996, Club South was formed, beginning with 6 teams. Current, Club South continues to grow each year with the fundamentals to provide quality training. Club South currently has over 600 athletes in the program with over 60 coaches on staff. Jimmy has been working primarily with the young kids from day one, working to make volleyball fun, but teaching the fundamentals of the sport.

Second in all-time wins at Wofford College and winningest coach since the school’s transition to Division I volleyball 15 years ago.
Led Wofford to winning season this year.
Every Division I individual and team record has been established under Helle’s guidance.Twelve players have traveled abroad during his tenure.
Four players have been inducted in the prestigious Phi Beta Kappa academic society.

Coached the first ever South Carolina team to go to Junior Nationals in 1995.
Has coached hundreds of club players who have gone on to enjoy college careers.
His club teams have won over 80% of their matches since he began coaching in 1991.
His 1994 Lincoln Sports Courts team from Lincoln, NE. finished 2^nd at Nationals in 1994.

A native of Princeton, Ill., Helle graduated from Nebraska in 1994 with a bachelor’s degree in history. He met his wife, the former Kim Ring, when he moved to Spartanburg and they were married in June 2002. The couple welcomed their first children, a set of twins, Lucas James and Maggie Grace, June 4, 2007. Their third child, daughter Abbey Rae, joined the family on October 3, 2008. They reside in Spartanburg.

Tiffany Ashemore's coaching career began in 2005 at the Pickens Recreation Department coaching second, third and forth graders with short courts and a large yellow ball. The following year, she became Daniel High School's Junior Varsity Coach. After two seasons at Daniel, she became the Head Coach Easley High School where she developed highly competitive teams in Region 1 AAAA

Megan Bayliff coaches volleyball and teaches at Boiling Springs Junior High. She played at Boiling Springs High school and then went on to play at North Greenville University. She graduated from Converse College with a Special Education degree and began teaching in 2008. She loves helping young girls’ develop skill and love for the game. This is her first year coaching for Club South and she is looking forward to starting the season!

Megan resides in Boiling Springs with her husband Matthew. In her spare time she enjoys photography, baking, scrap-booking, and anything outdoors.

This will be my first year coaching with club south. I had never touched a volleyball before in my life and heard about volleyball tryouts my freshman year of high school and decided I would try out. I played the next 4 years at Mauldin High School. I played for Clemson Club and Club South. I went on to play 3 years at Lander University and graduated with a BS in Business Administration. I have also helped coach some local camps.

I currently work in a doctor's office as a billing and insurance specialist, and I am a very busy mother of a two year old girl.

Dr. Joseph C. Bowman came to USCS in 1968, and over the next 30 years was instrumental in the growth and success of the Rifles athletics program and its student-athletes. Bowman served six years (1969-75) as the athletic director, and he was largely responsible for the hiring of coaches and staff members whom ultimately brought success and recognition to the University. He also oversaw the move from two-year to full NAIA status and laid the groundwork for future NCAA success.

He began his coaching career in 1969 when he took over the men's basketball program and led a group of walk-ons to nine victories and a second-place finish in the Carolina League conference tournament. Bowman coached the basketball team through 1974, and the bowling team from 1972-76. He earned All-District Coach of the Year honors in 1977 for golf, a sport which he coached for 11 years (1970-80). In 1978, he took over the volleyball program and compiled a 352-161 record in 11 seasons (1978-87, 1995).

USC Spartanburg-14 years Head Coach
Wofford College-4 years Head Coach
USC Upstate-4 years Assistant Coach
Club South-Coached 13 and under national tm
Retired Distinguished Professor Emeritus-USC Upstate

Entering her fifth season as Coach Helle’s top assistant coach at Wofford is Tara Brooks. She assists in every aspect of the program and is directly involved in the training and the development of the middle blockers.

In 2008, Brooks helped lead the Terriers to a 16-18 overall record, recording the most wins for the program since 2001. With a wealth of knowledge, both as a player and coach, Brooks was instrumental in the team’s first Southern Conference Tournament victory with an opening-round win against Elon in 2005. The Terriers also posted their first-ever sweep versus Furman that same season, her first on the bench.

Prior to coming to Wofford, she served as the head volleyball coach at Converse College, a local Division II school, in 2003 and 2004.
Brooks is a former four-year starter as a middle blocker at Seton Hall, a member of the Big East. While with the Pirates in 2000, she set the school’s kill percentage mark and paced the club in solo and assisted blocks. She also finished 10th in the league during the 2000 and 2002 campaigns for hitting percentage. Off the court, Brooks garnered Big East all-academic honors and was a member of the Dean’s List.

She has been actively coaching in the Club South Juniors program since her arrival in Spartanburg. In 2006, she coached the top 15s team to the South Carolina state championship. Her team qualified for the Junior Olympic national tournament in Minneapolis, Minn. She has led teams to the national tournament the past two years.

Brooks has also conducted and worked several college and high school camps the past several summers. A native of Fort Macleod, Alberta, she competed with Team Alberta for three years and was a member of the Lethbridge Volleyball Club.

She graduated from Seton Hall in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in social and behavioral sciences. In May 2005, she completed her master’s degree in education from Converse.

Stephanie L. Bush-Chastain is entering her second year coaching for Club South. She enjoys working with and teaching fundamentals to younger players. Stephanie is originally from Spartanburg, SC where she started playing volleyball at 13. She was an active member of the Dorman High School volleyball, basketball and soccer teams as well as Club South. She played soccer for USC Upstate and graduated with a BA in Communications. She went on to gain her Masters in the Arts of Teaching at Converse College and is now a Resource Teacher at Mabry Middle School in Spartanburg School District 1. She is the head basketball and volleyball coach for Mabry and also assistant coaches the Chapman High School girl’s varsity soccer team. She lives in Boiling Springs with her husband Eric and daughter Ramsey Larke (2).

Joe is entering his 6^th season at Club South. He has coached all levels at Club South during his tenure. From our developmental training Kidz Power, non travel teams, regional & national travel teams, and position coaching. He has also been a mentor coach training our new & upcoming coaches as a director in the Kidz Power & Non Travel programs. In the past 6 years he has also evaluated over 1000 players in Club South’s player evaluation & placement process.

Joe got his start in volleyball in 1980-1984 while a student at FSU as a club & recreational player. He began his coaching career at Greenville Middle School as the assistant head coach in 2002-2003 where the GMS racked up a 24-4 record. He was a volunteer assistant for Hillcrest High School Junior Varsity team in 2004. He was again a volunteer assistant for HHS in 2008 as JV & Varsity Assistant coach. He has also coached for 3 years at the Simpsonville Recreational volleyball program. He has stepped away from full time coaching while he chases his 4 children around in their sports programs. Besides volleyball, he has coached little league baseball (7 years), and local high school football (2 years).

He hails from Saint Cloud, Florida. He graduated from Florida State University with a BS degree in Management Information Systems. Joe and his wife Monica were married in 1985 and have 4 children. They live in Simpsonville.

I started coaching in 2006 my sophmore year in College. I have coached
all ages from 14 year olds to 18 years olds. I have been playing
volleyball since middle school where my mother made me play! I was an
outside hitter for Easley High school and continued my play for USC
Aiken. I was the top outside hitter for my conference and captain my
Senior season. I was recently named to the All Decade Team along with
6 other girls. After 4 years at USC Aiken, I transferred to USC
UPstate to finish my Degree in Pure Mathematics. I now enjoy coaching
volleyball, spending time with my family, and watching all sports
games!. I am a sister to 6, and my siblings range from 6 years of age
to 27 years old.

Stefanie Durham (2005-08) is one of just six Pacers in school history
to be a part of the 1,000-kill club as she concluded her career at USC
Aiken with 1,111 kills. Durham is also second all-time in school
history in total digs with 1,551. Her 486 digs in the 2006 season is
the fourth-most in a single season by a Pacer. Durham was a two-time
All-Peach Belt Conference selection, claiming the league plaudits in
both 2007 and 2008. She was the 2007 Peach Belt Conference Most
Valuable Player. A three-time Peach Belt Conference Player of the
Week, Durham finished the 2007 season with a school single season
third-best 0.61 service aces per game.

Allyson Elliott began coaching and teaching in 1992 after playing volleyball at both Pickens High School and Converse College. She graduated from Converse with a math degree/secondary education. She is currently teaching and coaching volleyball at Boiling Springs High School. This is her 10th season as the varsity coach. Boilings Springs HS continues to be a strong force in the upstate competing in region 2AAAA.

Allyson Elliott has been with Club South since 2005. She’s coached 15’s, 14’s, and now 3 seasons of 13’s. She likes working with young girls and helping them build confidence and consistency at this age. Many of her club players have walked on their teams as key players and several are playing JV or Varsity as 8^th graders.

On a personal note Coach Elliott is a mom to 3 kids Kaleb, Kelsey, and Kolson . She and her husband Kevin live in Boiling Springs.

Monica Fain graduated from USC Upstate with a degree in Business Administration (Accounting) after transferring from Wofford at the end of her sophomore year. She played volleyball and basketball at Wofford and volleyball, basketball and softball at Upstate.

She is currently the Assistant Athletic Director at Spartanburg Christian Academy where she coaches volleyball and softball. Her overall volleyball record at SCA is 132 - 38 in 6 years where they have won 5 Conference Championships, 3 State Championships, 2 State Runner ups and 1 Upper State Runner up.

Coach Fain is married to Max Fain and has three children: Tinsley 12, Parker 9 and Peyton 7.

LeAnne is entering her fourth year coaching for Club South. She enjoys working with and teaching fundamentals to younger players. She has coached both the 13s and 14s over the last three years. In 2008 and 2009, her teams placed in the top 10 in the state in their age groups. LeAnne is originally from Charleston, South Carolina where she started playing volleyball at 13. She was an outside hitter at James Island High School where her team won the Lower State Championship in 1992. They were Runner Ups in the 4A State Championship that same year. She played volleyball at Wofford College (1992 - 1996) where she transitioned to middle blocker and started all 4 years. LeAnne graduated with a BA in Business Economics and French. After college, she continued playing volleyball with several USAV adult teams and is currently playing in both outdoor and indoor leagues in Greenville. She currently works full time at Milliken & Company in Spartanburg as a Development Manager. She lives in Greer with her husband, Steven.

Anna Goff coaches Middle School volleyball at Spartanburg Christian Academy. She played volleyball at Boiling Springs High School & Club South, and graduated last May from North Greenville University with a degree in Mathematics, and is now a graduate student at Converse College getting her Master's of Arts in Teaching.

Jennifer Plizga graduated with honors from Pickens High School in 1988, lettering four years in varsity softball and three years in volleyball and basketball. Continuing her volleyball career at Converse College, Jennifer graduated in 1992 with a triple major in history, politics, and English. After later obtaining her M. Ed. from Converse, Gravely (she married Pickens native Eddie Gravely in June of 1996) began teaching and coaching at Berea High School.

Returning to her alma mater in 1999, Gravely coached JV volleyball until the season after the birth of daughter Emma in June 2000. Jennifer returned to coaching after the retirement of her former coach Peggy Anthony. Following an initial Final Four appearance in 2003, Pickens won back-to-back-to-back AAA State Championships in 2004, 2005, 2006. For the 2006 season, Region 1-AAA and the High School Sports Report named Gravely AAA Coach of the Year. Her 2007 team participated in the Finals. In 2008, her team won the State Championship and Jennifer was the High School Sport's Report 2008 AAA Coach of the Year.

Moreover, since 2003, Jennifer Plizga Gravely has coached five AAA Players of the Year, twelve All-Stars, and twelve All-State players. Numerous former athletes play volleyball at area colleges while others coach.

2008 marks the 20^th anniversary of Jennifer’s participation in the CAWS All-Star game as a player!

I started playing volleyball when I was 13, and was a 3 year starter at Trinity Collegiate School in Darlington, South Carolina. I also played 3 years for Florence Juniors volleyball club, and last year (my senior year) we won the 17s gold division at Charlotte Regionals. I am a freshman Nursing major at the University of South Carolina- Upstate. In high school I helped run practices for the JV team, and I also ran a beginners volleyball camp every spring for 4th-6th graders.

Entering her second year at USC Upstate, Megan is playing Libero for the team. She was named All- Tournament Team, and Spartan of the week in her first college tournament.

Megan is from St. Louis, Missouri and has played club volleyball for St. Louis CYC since she was 11 years old. She has helped lead her club teams to nationals four times. She has served as an assistant coach for her club, and for her junior high. She has worked as a camp leader for her high school volleyball camp and also for her grade school.

In high school, Megan was a three year varsity Libero. She received All- District, and All-Conference Academic All Star. She also received the Rookie of the year award her first year on varsity, and the 110% award her junior and senior year.

Megan is now playing for Jennifer Calloway at USC Upstate as they enter their first year in Division I.

Megan is currently working on her undergraduate degree in communications/speech. She hopes to one day become a successful speech therapist.

Sean Fitzgerald
Sean was past assistant Coach at Wofford College. Born and raised in Miami, Fl., where he begin playing volleyball at age of 10. In 1989 moved to South Carolina and began participating in 6 man open volleyball leagues. Played in 15 outdoor tournaments in 1996, making the finals in 6 of them. Qualified in the Bud Light Pro Am Beach National Championships in Daytona Beach, Fl. finished ranked 20th in the amateur division.
Was Spartanburg High School Assistant Coach in 1995. Served as the Assistant Head Coach at Dorman High School from 1996-97. Dorman won the state championship in 1996. Served as the head coach for the Junior Varsity with a record of 11-2.
Coached at Clemson Juniors for the 1996-97 season for the 15 Black Team. In 1998, he was the head coach for the 17 Black team who won regional and attended Nationals. Fitzgerald served as the assistant coach at Wofford College in 1998 and as assistant coach at USC-S in 1999. Sean coached the 16 Elite team last year and has been with Club South from the beginning.

This is my first year coaching with Club South. I have played volleyball since I was 13 at Byrnes High School then continued to play collegiate volleyball for Coker College. I was a four year starter and captain at Coker. I also was named 2nd Team All Conference, 2005 CVAC All Tournament team, and nationally ranked in digs and aces in 2003. I graduated from Coker College in 2005 with a BS in Business Administration.

ASHLEEN HODGE

As a freshman in high school my softball coach (who also coached volleyball) asked me to try out for volleyball. I was a bit hesitant because I was already a committed tri-sport athlete. I gave it a shot and made the team. I learned a tremendous amount about volleyball during my four years of high schools. After high school I attended Winthrop University in Rock Hill SC where I majored in Physical Education, minored in Spanish, and played softball for the eagles. While at Winthrop I coached basketball and volleyball at a few schools in the area. I also coached with Rock Hill Volleyball Club for two years. After college, I took a job at Dixie High School in Due West SC where I taught Physical Education and Health while coaching volleyball and basketball for the Hornets. This will be my first year with Club South Volleyball and I am very excited about having the opportunity to work with young athletes. It is my objective to teach the fundamental skills necessary to play competitive volleyball, as well as, skills that will be continued assets in life.

Gina Milana - Fountain Inn Christian Volleyball Coach - This will be my first year coaching club south and I'm so excited to work with high caliber players who desire to take their volleyball skills to the next level!

I attended University of Detroit where I played basketball and softball and spent years playing semi-pro softball. I played 3 years of varsity volleyball in high school and many years on an adult volleyball league in Michigan. I coach volleyball, basketball and softball at Fountain Inn Christian.

I have a loving husband (Rocky) and we have four daughters, Maria (14), Gia (13), Elisa (12), and Salina (9). All of them play volleyball, basketball, and softball - besides our faith, sports are our life! I look forward to a great season and getting to know my new Club South family!

Recent graduate of Converse College, Lauren Mueller just finished her third year of coaching at Spartanburg High School. Upon taking on the program, she led the Vikings to their first three wins in three years. Each year the program has grown in strength, number of players, and ability to play with the competitive teams in their region.

Prior to coaching, Mueller played both volleyball and basketball for Converse. During her senior year she helped lead the volleyball team to a third place finish in the Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference. After finishing both seasons, Mueller was awarded the Student-Athlete of Year for her leadership and dedication to both sports in her four years at Converse.

She currently teaches 9th grade math at McCracken Junior High in Spartanburg. A native of Foley, Alabama, she graduated Converse College in 2007 with two bachelor's degrees, mathematics and economics.

Regina Schantz, a North Carolina native, takes the reigns of the volleyball program as head coach of Converse College after serving as a graduate-assistant under her own former coach Heather Sulkowski. Schantz graduated from Peace College, Raleigh, North Carolina, in 2006 with degrees in Spanish and Communications. She played volleyball throughout her collegiate career holds individual records at Peace which include 7 block assists for a match and 647 career kills.

Schmitt, a 1995 graduate of Eastern Nazarene College in Quincy, MA, comes to Clemson after serving as the Head Women's Volleyball Coach and Assistant Director of Athletics at Southern Wesleyan University since 2005.

Schmitt had extensive responsibilities at Southern Wesleyan, including the coordination of all travel, maintaining academic progress, overseeing the travel budgets of 10 teams, performing sports information duties, in addition to his duties as a head volleyball coach. He has also worked with Club South Volleyball in Spartanburg, SC, since 2008, a program which turned out Clemson players two-time All-ACC selection Lia Proctor and Lisa Jedlicka.

As part of his Assistant Coach post, Schmitt will be responsible for many of the team's day-to-day operations and administration. He will also be responsible for the coordination of travel as well as assist in on-court strategy and execution.

Schmitt lives in Central, SC and has been married to Monique Schmitt for 15 years. The two have a daughter, Annika, who just turned five years old.

Schmitt, a 1995 graduate of Eastern Nazarene College, led the Warriors to the 2008 National Christian College Athletic Association National Tournament which was the program’s first appearance since the mid-1980’s. The Warriors finished the regular season in a third place tie in the SSAC with a 9-7 record.

Prior to his arrival at SWU in 2005, Schmitt coached at his alma mater, Eastern Nazarene College, in Quincy, MA. During Schmitt's tenure at Eastern Nazarene, they compiled a 51-38 record, including a 20-10 record in 2003, which was their first 20 win season since 1997. Prior to ENC, Schmitt led the University of Massachusetts Boston Women's Volleyball program for two seasons and the ENC Men's Volleyball Club for five seasons.

Schmitt graduated from Eastern Nazarene College in 1995 with a Bachelor of Arts in Youth Ministry. During his time at ENC, Schmitt played four seasons on the Men's Volleyball Club where he was named a New England Collegiate Volleyball League All-Star three consecutive seasons. In 1992, ENC achieved a third place finish at the National Men's Volleyball Division II Club Championships in Buffalo, NY. Since graduating from ENC, Schmitt has held positions as a Youth Pastor and an Assistant Vice President at JPMorgan Chase.

The 2006 season recorded a milestone for Schmitt as he picked up his 100th career win with a victory over North Greenville University on September 23, 2006. The program also showed marked improvement through the leadership of Schmitt as the squad’s 22 wins were the most since 2002 and their winning percentage of .611 was the highest since 2000.

The ENC graduate is a member of the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA). He will be entering his second season as a head coach in the Club South Volleyball juniors program.

He resides in Central, SC with his wife Monique and their daughter Annika (4). Schmitt also serves as Assistant Director of Athletics and Sports Information Director.

KATIE SMITH

Ashley Stathas is finishing her third year as an assistant coach on the USC Upstate staff and her fourth year overall as a collegiate volleyball coach. Stathas serves as both the Spartans' recruiting and travel coordinator.

Involved in all aspects of the USC Upstate volleyball program, Stathas has quickly become an important part of the USC Upstate athletics family. Besides her duties as volleyball coach, Stathas also was an advisor for the Athletics Benefit Auction the past two years.

In 2009, Stathas was instrumental in the recruitment of three freshmen that immediately moved into the starting lineup for the Spartans. In 2008, Stathas helped coach the team to their 30th straight 10-win campaign in Upstate's first season of Division I play.

A four-year volleyball letter-winner as a middle hitter at Lander University, Stathas earned three mentions on the Peach Belt Conference Presidential Honor Roll. An important presence in the Bearcat frontcourt, Stathas posted more than 200 kills in her junior and senior seasons. She also added 95 blocks as a senior for the Bearcats and led the team in hitting percentage as a junior, hitting at a .294 rate.

A hard-worker as a student-athlete, Stathas improved throughout her time at Lander, going from appearing in 58 games as a sophomore to all 116 as a senior. She also was the team captain as a junior.

After she finished her playing career, Stathas stayed at the Greenwood, S.C., campus for one more season as an assistant coach in 2005.

She has continued to stay active in coaching at the club level, as she has been a coach for Club South Volleyball for the past seven years. She is the club director for the Greenwood-based club and is an active member of the Palmetto Region Club Volleyball Board for USA Volleyball.

A native of Ft. Myers, Fla., Stathas is a 2006 graduate of Lander University with Bachelor of Science degrees in physical education and exercise science.

2008: Appeared in all 34 matches and 124 sets as a true freshman ... Started 31 times ... Led the team in blocks with 89 (0.72 per set) and finished fourth in kills with 223 ... Had seven double-digit kill efforts and five five-block matches ... Posted four kills, four aces, eight digs and four blocks in sweep of Hampton (9/5) ... Added 10 kills, two aces and three blocks against Wofford (9/5) ... Posted seven kills, five blocks and three digs at ETSU (9/9) ... Had four digs and four blocks against North Florida (9/19) ... Posted 11 kills, two aces and a block in five-set win over Presbyterian (9/23) ... Notched nine kills and four digs in sweep of Stetson (9/27) ... Added 10 kills and four blocks against Mercer (10/5) ... Notched four kills and six blocks (three solo) at Campbell (10/9) ... Had eight kills and four blocks against Stetson (10/24) ... Tied season-high with six blocks, adding six kills, against FGCU (10/25) ... Had 10 kills, six digs and four rejections at North Florida (11/1) ... Notched 12 kills against ETSU (11/11) and then added 11 kills in regular-season finale against Campbell to go with six digs and three blocks (11/15) ... Earned Provisional Invitational All-Tournament honors after hitting .352, averaging 2.71 kills and 1.06 blocks per set in the five-match tournament ... Had four blocks against Central Arkansas (11/21) and N.C. Central (11/22) ... Added five blocks and five kills against Presbyterian (11/22) ... Notched 19 kills and three blocks in third-place match against North Florida, leading Upstate to the 3-1 win (11/22).

High School: Earned three letters at South Florida power St. Thomas Aquinas ... A member of Florida 5A state semifinalist St. Thomas Aquinas team as a senior ... A Miami Herald All-Broward County First Team selection as a senior, posting 179 kills and 125 blocks while helping lead St. Thomas Aquinas to a 27-5 overall record and a perfect 10-0 district mark ... Also an honorable mention All-State and Sun-Sentinel All-County Second Team selection ... Was an honorable mention Miami Herald and Sun-Sentinel All-Broward County selection as a junior while helping the Raiders to a district title ... A member of the Boomers Volleyball Club for five years ... Was active in the Student Government ... Awarded the Principal Service Hour Recognition Award and the Jeanie Donovan Award for her volunteer work. Coached high school summer camps

Personal: Daughter of Jay and Ann Thomas ... Has an older sister, Barbara ... Major is communication-speech ... Father, Jay, earned a letter as a goalkeeper with the Clemson men's soccer team in 1981 ... Father was also a fencer ... Mother, Ann, was a four-year volleyball letter winner at Clemson from 1978-81 ... Sister, Barbara, earned two letters with North Carolina's Women's Swim Team ... Enjoys the beach and spending time with friends and family ... Favorite sports figure is pro volleyball star Gabrielle Reece

A native of Spartanburg, South Carolina. Amy Kate played under Coach Paula Kirkland at Dorman High School for four years and graduated from Dorman in 2007. She continued her volleyball career at Wofford College, playing under Coach Corey Helle her freshman year. Amy Kate is now glad to be back in volleyball, coaching both at Club South and SCA.

Paige Weiland has just completed her second year of college volleyball at the University of South Carolina Upstate. As a freshman she was a starting outside hitter and gained valuable knowledge from playing division one volleyball.

Paige is originally from Atlanta, Georgia and has played volleyball for nine years. She played high school ball for Marist School where she was a three year starter for the varsity squad helping them win region every year and garner a state championship her sophomore year and a state runner up her senior year. She received all state recognition, was a Senior All Star, and an all area player. Paige played club for A5 Volleyball Club for five years. She won the Northeast National Qualifier her fifteens season and won the USAV 16 American National Championship. Her team qualified for the USAV National Championship every summer.

Paige is now playing for USC Upstate under head coach Jennifer Calloway. She has gained valuable coaching experience with Atlanta volleyball under Volleyperformance coach Bob Westbrook, who was her club coach her eighteens club season.

Paige coached numerous camps this summer with her high school and Volley performance.

Mike Whitten started coaching volleyball in the Simpsonville Recreation volleyball program in the Spring of 2005. He since has coached 10 different teams, with most finishing first or second place in the league. He began coaching at Club South in 2009 in the Kidz Power and Non Travel programs. In the Fall of 2009, he was the assistant coach for Bryson Middle School, and helped lead the school to it’s first Greenville County Middle School Volleyball Championship. Mike graduated from Winthrop College with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. He has two daughters, Kayla and Allison, who both are going into their 4^th season playing at Club South. He also enjoys playing golf, photography, and watching his daughters play volleyball. He and his wife, Toni, live in Simpsonville.

Susie Williams, “Coach Q” as her athletes call her, begins her first year as Head Volleyball Coach and Sports Information Director at SMC in the 2009 season.

Williams’ coaching experience includes six months as the Assistant 18’s National Coach at the Cape Fear Volleyball Club in Wilmington, NC. She served as head coach of the Ravenna Power Aces Club’s Lady Jays for their 2008 season; and as the head freshman volleyball coach and assistant Junior Varsity/Varsity coach at Ravenna High School for its 2007 season.

She has also interned with the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators since July 2008.

She previously served as Assistant of Compliance at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. Williams earned a Masters of Arts in Education/General Physical Education, with an emphasis in Sports Administration, in 2008.

Originally from Illinois, she earned an Associate in Liberal Studies from Elgin Community College, in Elgin, IL, and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, with a concentration in Marketing, from California University of Pennsylvania.

As a student athlete, she led California University to a 2005 conference championship. While at California University, she received AVCA Atlantic All-Region honors in 2005 and was named to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference’s All Conference First Team in 2005.In 2003, while at Elgin Community College, she served as team captain and was named it MVP, received NJCAA All-Region District A honors, and was named to the NJCAA All-Conference Second Team.

In her spare time, she enjoys participating in various volunteer programs in the community. She has worked the Special Olympics as a volunteer and with various high school summer volleyball camps, as well as with the Bowling for Wishes program and the Humane Society.

Megan Woods will be entering her first year as a Club South coach this season. She just finished her second season as a head coach at Dorman High School, where she also teaches English. Over her two years there, she has a compiled record of 31-1.

A native of Charleston, SC, Woods played volleyball at Pinewood Preparatory School and Fort Dorchester High School. She also competed with the Charleston Juniors for four years. After high school, she went on to attend Limestone College where she continued her volleyball career. She graduated in 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts in English Education.

I have just completed my 27^th year of coaching! I am the Head Coach at Gable Middle School, where I have just finished my 14^th year. In that time, our record is 162 Wins and 54 Losses.

I received a B.S. degree in Physical Education from USC Upstate and I currently teach K-5 Physical Education at Pauline-Glenn Springs Elementary in Spartanburg School District Six.

I have coached with Club South for the past 8 years. I enjoy working with the younger players. In previous years, I have coached the 10 and 11 National Teams. Today I primarily work with the Kids Power and Non-Travel programs. I occasionally fill in as a sub coach as well. I am very fortunate that I have coached many players from all over the Upstate. I have also been able to see many of my middle school players do well at Dorman High School.

On a personal note, I am married to Jerry Wyatt, who is the Principal of Dorman High School. We have a daughter Emily, who attends Dorman and a son Walker, who attends Newberry College.

Cassie Jackson Yarborough - Started coaching Boiling Springs JV in 2000. Moved to District 5 Schools and began coaching at Florence Chapel Middle School in 2008. Started coaching with Club South in 2003. Has always coached 13s or 14s because enjoys teaching fundamentals to younger athletes. Graduated from Presbyterian College with a major in Chemistry and currently teaches at Byrnes High School.