AUSTIN VELOCITY CLUB COACHES
COACH DAVE
Director
2022-2023 16 National Head Coach
For the last 15 years, my main job was working in the technology industry. Thanks to the economic downturn, I am now able to devote more time on my passion–volleyball. For the last 27 years, I have been playing or coaching volleyball at several different levels.
My father was a high school volleyball coach in Washington for 27 years. Year after year he was able to take his teams to the state playoffs. I asked him his secret one day. His answer? “Oh, I just taught them how to pass and serve. We just ended up being better at those skills than most of the teams we played.” Over 500 wins in his career. I guess he knew what he was talking about.
I have coached volleyball, softball, basketball and swimming. I love coaching and I thoroughly enjoy the game of volleyball. I like being able to take a difficult task and dividing it into small parts which can be assembled into a skill. I’ve been teaching those skills for the last 10 years.
I also enjoy playing the game and have tried to stay fit enough to play in leagues and tournaments (time permitting). I am a dedicated believer in teaching a skill thru actions, not just words. Everyone learns differently, but I have found that the most retention in an athlete comes from talking about a principle, showing how to do that principle, then providing positive feedback on the athlete’s skill.
I have a family of 4 daughters and 1 son. My two older daughters both played club volleyball and I cannot express the joy I get from watching them play. We have a lot of fun as a family and a large portion of that fun comes from sports. It keeps us all healthy and happy.
Coaching Experience:
Club volleyball coach 2005-2007, 2009-Present
Recreational volleyball coach 2003-2007
Professional volleyball instructor 2006-Present
Where did I learn my methods on how to coach? Back in May of 2005, I stumbled across a website dedicated to teaching coaching.
Gold Medal Squared is comprised of the following:
Carl McGown (USA Men’s National Team and former BYU men’s volleyball coach)
Doug Beal (USA Women’s National Team coach and CEO of USA Volleyball)
Marv Dunphy (Men’s National Team and Pepperdine volleyball coach)
Jim McLaughlin (Univ of Washington women’s volleyball coach)
These coaches created a curriculum and now are the proud owners of 3 Olympic Gold Medals.
Memberships and Certifications
American Volleyball Coaches Association 2009-Present
Gold Medal Squared Coaches clinic attendee 2005-2008
USA Volleyball CAP III Candidate Jan 2011
Texas Association of Sports Officials 2009-2012
USA Volleyball Regional Official 2010-Present
USA IMPACT certified 2007-Present
COACH AMANDA
2022-2023 16 National & 13 Gold Assistant Coach
Amanda is from Round Rock, Texas. She has been playing volleyball since she was 8 years old. She played through high school as a setter. She played club volleyball for 4 years starting at the age of 12. She is currently living in Austin studying sports medicine to be a certified personal trainer. She has coached club volleyball for going on 4 years as well as summer leagues. This is her third year with Austin Velocity and she couldn’t be more excited. Her love for the game of volleyball has grown and continues to grow. She is excited to continue growing as a coach while helping other players grow themselves. She hopes to pose a positive impact on these athletes abilities both on and off the court.
Amanda is IMPACT, Safe Sport, and Gold Medal Squared certified.
COACH SARA
2022-2023 16 Travel Head Coach
Sara is from La Vernia, Texas, where she grew up playing volleyball starting at age 5 with CYO and continuing through junior high and high school. She moved to Austin in 2014 to attend and play for Concordia University Texas. After several changes of heart, Sara has set her mind on acquiring a degree in Kinesiology. With her collegiate career being cut short due to an ACL injury, she shares her passion for the game through coaching and developing young athletes.
Sara is a coach who will push you and motivate you to play and be your very best, on and off the court. She has coached for La Vernia Volleyball Club, Spike Frog, and Austin Velocity.
Sara is IMPACT, Safe Sport, and Gold Medal Squared certified.
COACH SANDRA
2022-2023 16 Travel Assistant Coach & 14 Black Head Coach
Coach Sandra was born and raised in South Carolina. In high school, she played on her varsity volleyball team for three years. After high school, she joined the Army to travel and see the world as a power generation equipment mechanic. After 10 years in the Army, she decided it was time to change careers, go back to school, and expand her family. Sandra and her husband, Tony, decided to settle in the Central Texas area to be close to Fort Hood. In 2006 she graduated from the University of Mary-Hardin Baylor with a Bachelor’s of Business Administration in Accounting. In 2007, she had another daughter and decided to go back to school after working in public accounting for several years. In 2011 she graduated with a Master’s of Accounting and Financial Management. After several years of working in public accounting and Coach, Sandra was able to take a break and focus on her family.
She has a passion and love for the game of volleyball and enjoys watching and playing whenever and wherever she can. She loves to share her passion and love for the game with anyone who wants to learn. Her daughter, Alicia, followed in her mom’s footsteps and has been playing volleyball since age 11. She has coached elementary, middle, and high school volleyball teams for over five years. In her spare time, she volunteers at her daughter’s school, hunts, and enjoys the outdoors.
This is Coach Sandra’s third season with Austin Velocity and she is excited to see another season.
Sandra is IMPACT, SafeSport, and Gold Medal Squared certified.
COACH LIANNE
2022-2023 15 National Head Coach
Lianne is from Pearland, Texas. She has been playing volleyball since she was 10 years old. She played 4 years on her high school’s varsity team as a setter and right side hitter earning First Team All-District awards two years in a row. She also earned All-State Honorable Mention. She played on club teams for 7 years starting at 12 years old. She finished her club seasons playing for Texas Alliance Volleyball in Houston.
She has been living in Austin for 4 years now attending Concordia University Texas. She played as a setter on the Concordia volleyball team from 2016-2019. Her collegiate athletic awards included 2016 All-ASC West Division Second Team, 2017 Academic All-ASC, 2019 ASC West Sportsmanship Athlete of the Year, and 2019 ASC Volleyball All Championship Tournament Team. She graduated in the Spring of 2020 with a Bachelors of Science in Biology.
This will be her 4th year of coaching with the Austin Velocity and Spike Frog. She is excited to continue to learn and grow as a coach. She hopes to impact young athletes more than just on the court like her coaches did for her. She also hopes to implement habits of hard work, teamwork, and character.
Lianne will be the Graduate Assistant for the Concordia Volleyball program while pursuing a Masters of Buisness Administration for the 2020-2021 seasons.
Lianne is IMPACT, Safe Sport, and Gold Medal Squared certified.
COACH SAVANNAH
2022-2023 15 National Assistant Coach
Savannah is from Euless, Texas. She played high school volleyball at Colleyville Heritage HS where she earned All-District honorable mention, Academic All-District, Academic All-State, and the Heart and Hustle award in her 2020 season. She began playing volleyball at the age of 8 and began club volleyball at the age of 12 at Texas Image in Grand Prairie. She played on National Teams becoming an all-around player and team captain. She finished her club career at Texas Image.
This will be her second year living in Austin and she is currently playing collegiate volleyball at Concordia University Texas as an outside/defensive specialist. She is working towards getting a degree in nursing and becoming an RN.
This is Savannah’s second year coaching with Velocity, and third year coaching overall. She is super excited to leave a positive impact on the young athletes who come in to play volleyball and wishes to help them create good habits and work ethics both on and off the court. She believes that young athletes make amazing leaders in the real world and hopes to implement respect and responsibility into their lives. She is ready to grow her love for the sport and continue to learn about the game as a coach.
COACH LOC
2022-2023 14 National Head Coach
My name is Loc Do – I grew up in Vietnam and have now lived in Austin and the surrounding area for the last 32 years. I have played semiprofessional for 2 years in Vietnam in my late teens, as well as several men’s clubs in Texas as an Outside Hitter for more than 25 years. I have been coaching volleyball for kids in our community since 2013 and for several years with club. I am dedicated and passionate about developing young athletes and preparing them for the next level. I look forward to watching these young ladies grow as athletes and have no doubt Austin Velocity will have a successful upcoming season.
COACH LILLY
2022-2023 14 National Assistant Coach
I grew up in Dallas, Texas where I played volleyball since age 10. I made the Varsity team in my freshman year as a setter. I also played libero and outside hitter. Today I still play in USAV competitions. I am also a certified Volleyball Referee. I coached at GVA ( Garland Volleyball Association ) for 5 years then I start it coaching at PSA Mckinney for the 6th & 7th graders competitive level where my team took 1st place 4 seasons back to back. I have a big passion for the game and love to share that with the new generations. I am very dedicated and passionate about teaching volleyball and I truthfully enjoy coaching. I moved to Mcdade, Texas (a little town outside Austin ) 2 years ago and started looking for a club for my daughter, who I have coached since she was 5 years old. I signed her up with Austin Velocity hoping I would stay off the court but couldn’t resist!! I ended up assisting the team, and here I am again with the same desire, dedication, and commitment as I had before. I feel extremely blessed, happy, and thrilled with this opportunity, I am looking forward to a great and successful season with this Velocity team.
COACH SARAH
2022-2023 14 Travel Head Coach
Sarah is from Bastrop, Texas. She played on her High School varsity team where she was the Varsity MVP and MVP Outside Hitter of the District. She played club at Texas Shock Volleyball club as a six rotation outside hitter. She is currently a freshman at Concordia University and plays as an outside hitter where she earned all ASC Honors and was ASC Player of the Week in the 2019 season.
She has a passion and love for the sport and wants to share that with young athletes. She desires to motivate and inspire girls to reach their full potential on and off the court. She started by coached several summer leagues in Bastrop as well as private lessons for young girls in Bastrop. Sarah’s mom grew up playing volleyball as well so she has been exposed to the sport all her life. She loves the game and is excited to share her knowledge with the athletes. Sarah is majoring in Environmental Science and is part of the honors program at Concordia University. This will be Coach Sarah’s 4th season Head Coaching for Austin Velocity.
COACH DANI
2022-2023 14 Travel Assistant Coach
Danielle Wysocki (Dani) is from Magnolia, Texas where she played high school volleyball on the varsity team for three years as a defensive specialist. Starting at age 12, Dani played club volleyball at Willowbrook in Houston, Texas as an outside hitter. She is currently playing volleyball for Concordia University Texas while pursuing a nursing degree.
COACH KAM
2022-2023 13 Gold Head Coach
Coach Kam is heading into her 5th year with Austin Velocity. She almost feels like she grew up in a gym, gaining her love of volleyball from her father who led the women’s volleyball program at BYU-Hawaii to 10 national titles over his coaching career. Kam played volleyball through middle school and high school as a setter and DS. She played two years as a DS for BYU-Hawaii, grabbing one of those national titles in 1994.
After that, she was ready to experience life beyond the islands and transferred to BYU Provo, got married, started a family and graduated with a degree in Art Education. She has enjoyed sharing her love of the sport with each of her three daughters as they’ve become interested. However, she loves it the most when they find the thing that brings them their own joy and has learned to be a band mom, a piano mom, a swim mom, and a tennis mom as well as a volleyball mom.
As a coach, Kam strives to develop mature athletes who can balance giving their whole hearts on the court and being great teammates. She values strong fundamental techniques and aims to teach players to be smart, aggressive, and competitive.
COACH EMILY
2022-2023 13 Green Head Coach
Emily is originally from Houston, TX, and has played volleyball since 5th grade. She has played for Houston Skyline and Kaboom as Right Side Hitter, Setter, or DS/Libero. Emily finished up her volleyball playing days at Concordia University during her Sophomore year as a DS/Libero. During Emily’s Freshman year at Concordia, the team advanced to the Conference Tournament for the first time in 13 years! She received a BS in Environmental Science and Conservation in 2017.
Emily has coached Spike Frog and assisted before the pandemic hit. This is her 2nd season as a Head Coach for Velocity. She is most excited about this age group understanding more advanced volleyball and hoping to develop team players and versatile athletes.
Emily is IMPACT and SafeSport Certified and has attended Gold Medal Squared in 2018.
COACH JOHNA
2022-2023 13 Green Assistant Coach
Johna has played volleyball for a total of 6 years and is currently playing at Concordia University. She quickly developed a love for the sport when she started playing in 7th grade as a Righ Side Hitter. Johna played through her years at North Point High School in Waldorf, Maryland, where she grew up. After graduating high school in 2021, she committed to Concordia University in Austin, Texas, where she is getting her Undergraduate degree in Computer Science, hoping to become an Intellectual Property Lawyer.
Throughout her volleyball career, she has played every position except setter and libero. Johna can’t wait to get to know everyone in the Velocity family and help expand the athletes’ volleyball knowledge!
COACH MELANIE
2022-2023 12 Gold Head Coach
Melanie is from a small town in the central Texas area where she was a four-year letterman in volleyball, basketball, track, cross country and a three-year letterman in softball. After being introduced to the game of volleyball at the age of 10, it became her passion. She played outside hitter in high school and club for Mid Cities volleyball. She had to commute four hours round trip to attend club practices, but she was determined to play at the collegiate level. Her dedication led to a full four-year athletic/academic scholarship to play volleyball at St. Edward’s University in Austin, TX. As a collegiate athlete, she played as an outside hitter, right-side hitter, and middle blocker. After graduating with her Bachelors in Kinesiology, she went on to teach and coach in the Austin area while attending night classes at Texas State University to obtain her Master’s in Education Administration.
Once Melanie became an assistant principal, she took a break from coaching and started a family with her husband Daniel. Their oldest daughter decided to play volleyball for Junior Frog in the spring of 2019, which is when Melaniestepped back in coaching. Since then, she has coached her daughter’s league teams as well as Spike Frog clinics throughout the year. During the fall of 2020, she led her Spike Frog team to the championship game, winning the gold medal. She is excited to be coaching club again with Austin Velocity Club Lite.
COACH JENNIFER
2022-2023 12 Gold Assistant Coach
Coach Jen is a UNICORN! She is born and raised right here in Austin, TX. Jen has either played or coached volleyball for over 20 years! Jen started her coaching career right out of high school and coached for a period of time until she started a full-time career as a financial advisor. She continued to play rec leagues to feed her joy for the sport. After taking time out from coaching, she came back to coach her young athlete and is super excited to be back!
COACH AARON
2022-2023 12 Green Head Coach
Aaron grew up in Southern California and was introduced to volleyball, his sophomore year of high school, where he fell in love with the sport. He continued through high school playing both JV & varsity- middle and right side. His senior year the team made it to the state finals.
He was part of the first College of the Canyons men’s club volleyball team, playing middle and right side. Sadly the club only had a few seasons. While at BYU-Idaho he was on many rec. leagues and was on the BYU-I men’s competitive B team. Currently, he gives private lessons and plays both indoor and outdoor as much as he can.
Aaron has coached both baseball and basketball for his son’s teams. This is Aaron’s 2nd year coaching club volleyball, and is very excited to be back on the court with the young athletes. Aaron teaches the fundamentals of each skill and helps develop game IQ and strategy to help each player develop and progress toward their volleyball goals.
Aaron is IMPACT certified and SafeSport certified. He will be Gold Medal Squared certified in Dec 2022.
COACH KARSYN
2022-2023 12 Green Assistant Coach
My name is Karsyn Hamons. I am 18 years old and have been playing volleyball for about eight years. I am currently a senior at Georgetown High School and have been a part of their volleyball program for the last four years. I played club volleyball for six years and at Austin Velocity for one of those. I began coaching and assisting at camps for Spikefrog these last two years. In the future, I aspire to become a Neonatal Nurse after attending Texas Tech University.
COACH MATT
2022-2023 Boys Head Coach
Matt was fortunate to grow up in a house behind a baseball field and have a basketball goal and volleyball net in his backyard. Sports have always been a big part of his life. Or maybe his parents just wanted him outside.
In high school, he focused on basketball, playing varsity for three years, and earning all-district honors for two years.
During this time, he developed a love for sand volleyball, playing locally and in tournaments.
He started his college basketball career at Eastfield College, before transferring to play at Taylor University. While at Eastfield, Matt took the opportunity to work with the volleyball team as a practice player.
He has coached Spike Frog teams for eight seasons and focuses on three things: fun, fundamentals, and the concept that players learn by making mistakes.
He has a BA in Business Admin-Finance from Taylor University and an MBA from Texas A&M. For the past 15 years, he has worked in the high-tech industry in Sales Strategy Consulting and Corporate Sales Operations Roles.
Matt is a Gold Medal Squared certified coach.
AUSTIN VELOCITY CLUB LITE COACHES
COACH MEGAN
2023 11 Black Head Coach
Megan was born and raised in Austin, Tx. She played volleyball for 12 years competitively and throughout high school. She is currently a senior in the nursing program at Concordia University and will be graduating April of 2023. She loves to be around kids and to be able to teach kids about the game of volleyball. Megan has coached Spike Frog since she was a sophomore in High School, with this being her first year coaching an Austin Velocity team. Megan is super excited to be given the opportunity to impact more kids and to be able to show them what the game of volleyball is all about.
COACH MAKAILA
2023 12 Black & 15 Black Head Coach
Coach Makaila was born and raised in Oregon, where she grew up playing club volleyball starting at age 10 and through high school and finishing off with some college before fully focusing on her bachelor’s in Nursing at Linfield University.
Since then she has been coaching club volleyball for the last 6 years.
This is her first year with Austin Velocity and she is thrilled to be a part of such a great organization. After each year of coaching her love for the game grows. Makaila loves bringing positive energy and helping players find their self-confidence in themselves.
She is excited to see what this season brings.
Makaila is IMPACT, Safesport, and Gold Medal Square certified.
COACH SOPHIE
2023 13 Silver Head Coach
Coach Sophie is from Arlington, Texas where her sister, Rachael, taught her to play volleyball when she was 8 years old. She has more than ten years of experience playing competitively, many of which included Coach Lauren as a teammate and warm-up buddy.
In high school, Sophie was a three-year letterman in volleyball, where her team made it to the 6A UIL state tournament and finished 9th overall her senior year. She also played four seasons of club volleyball, two at Texas Advantage Volleyball and two at Texas Image Volleyball. During her final club season, her team won the Windy City Qualifier in Chicago, IL, securing them a bid to Nationals in New Orleans in 2014. Sophie primarily played right side, but she has experience as an outside hitter and a middle blocker, too.
This is Sophie’s first year coaching a club team, and she’s very excited to watch the players grow and support them throughout the season. Outside of volleyball, she lives and works in Austin where she loves watching movies, going on long walks, and seeing live comedy shows in her free time.
COACH KERRI
2023 13 Black Assistant Coach
COACH LAUREN
2023 14 Silver Head Coach
Coach Lauren is from Arlington, Texas where she grew up playing volleyball on both school and club teams. Her volleyball career began in elementary school, where Coach Sophie’s dad coached both her and Sophie on a YMCA team. She continued to play volleyball with Coach Sophie all the way through their senior year of high school.
At Lamar High School in Arlington, Lauren played on her school’s varsity volleyball team where her senior year, they made it to the 4th round of 6A state playoffs in Texas. During middle/high school, Lauren played 3 years of the club at Texas Image Volleyball and 1 year at DFW Performance Volleyball. She played primarily as a right-side hitter. Also in high school, Lauren volunteered at Elzie Odum Recreation Center where she coached elementary school kids in volleyball clinics after school; she is excited to get to coach again!
Lauren attended the University of Arkansas where she majored in Mathematics and minored in Computer Science. She now lives in Austin where she spends her free time walking her dog, reading books, and hanging out with friends.
COACH CAT
2023 14 Purple Head Coach
My name is Catrina Garrisi but everyone calls me Cat. I grew up in League City, Texas where I learned to play volleyball when I was 13. I fell in love with the sport and later played varsity volleyball for 3 years in high school as well as club volleyball during the off-season. After high school, I moved to college station to get my degree in Landscape Architecture at Texas A&M University (Gig’em). My husband and I then moved to Austin with our newborn and have been living here for over 12 years now. When my oldest, Capri, was about 8 years old, she started playing volleyball for Spike frog and has been playing every season since. During those years, I’ve had the privilege of coaching her volleyball teams and playing volleyball in adult social leagues. I am very excited to be a head coach for velocity lite and look forward to this season!
COACH ABI
My name is Abi Hilpert and I am a freshman at Concordia University Texas. This is my first year playing college volleyball, but I have been playing competitive volleyball for 7 years. I was voted team captain my sophomore, junior, and senior year of high school and won MVP my junior year. I grew up in Hawaii, but I currently live in Maryland. I am studying religious education, which means I plan on going into church work and working with children. In my free time, I work at Texas Roadhouse and have previously worked at my churche’s pre-school and neighborhood elementary school. I have two brothers, one older who goes to California Baptist University and one younger who goes to Chesapeake High School. I also love to travel with my family to different countries and states, like Australia, Japan, Thailand, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic. My passion is working with children in any way possible, whether it’s in a church setting or on the court. I can’t wait to get to know my 11s team and have a great season!
COACH WAYNE
My name is Wayne Lauritzen and I have been an athletic trainer for 25 years with 7 at the Division 1 level and the last 16 years at Leander High School. I have either played or worked in the athletic setting since age 9 and have developed a true passion for sports. In High School I was a three sport athlete in baseball, cross country and tennis. I also played soccer outside of school and continued in college as a four year starter for Southwest Texas State University’s Men’s Club Soccer program. Currently I am avid triathlete and train when not working or coaching.
I have coached at the youth level with 4 years at a swim program in Corpus Christi and the last 5 years for the Spike Frog league. I am taking the plunge into the club level with this being my first year with Austin Velocity’s 12U Club Lite Black squad. I have a strong philosophy that fundamentals are essential to developing successful volleyball players and have emphasized that with my youth teams over the last 5 years. I will continue the developmental plan for our 12U squad and hope to build all-around skilled volleyball players.
I have two daughters that both play volleyball with my oldest a freshman at Rouse High School on the JV Flex team who has competed at the club level for the last 3 years. My youngest daughter is currently involved with the Austin Velocity Club Lite program after playing in the Spike Frog leagues for 5 years. It is because of their love and passion that I too have taken a vested interest in the game.