Coaches

Justin Bates comes from Northridge where he played for SMBC. After high school, Justin made the move to Santa Cruz where he played on the men’s DIII team for three years as a middle. During this time the team made it to the NCAA DII Playoffs. After graduating from UCSC with a degree in computer engineering and science he started coaching. 

Currently, Justin coaches for the girl’s program heads up the Santa Cruz High program and coaches the boys 13/14’s team. Justin works hard to instill strong fundamentals in his players as well as discipline and the importance of fun. 

When Justin isn’t coaching he can be found playing beach volleyball or programming.

 

Allison Ota is a Main Beach alum and graduate of Mount Madonna. During this time she won CCS, was the runner up at Nor Cals, and won a gold medal at Junior nationals in 2016. After high school, she stayed local attending UCSC and playing on the team as a libero all four years.  While at UCSC she made it to the DIII NCAA playoffs twice, the only two in the school’s history. After college Allison got her multiple subject credential from CSUMB and teaches 6th grade math and science at Cesar Chavez Middle School in Watsonville.

Allison hopes that players she coaches have a deep understanding of the foundations and strategy, but mainly a love of the game. If you love the game nothing feels like hard work. Arriving 20 minutes before practice, setting up the net, running liners, missing social events, and waking up at 5:00 to get to tournaments on weekends don’t feel like hard work if you truly love the game.

In her past time, Allison loves to play beach volleyball and other physical activities like hiking, yoga, or workouts.

As an alumnus from UCSC (2013-2018) Gino played for the D3 NCAA team as an outside hitter and earned his B.S. in Human biology. During his undergraduate years, he began to develop his career in Sports Performance. Working as a Physical Therapy Aide and Trainer for several years he had the opportunity to learn from Professional Sports Medicine Doctors, Physical Therapists, Chiropractors, Athletic Trainers, and Strength and Conditioning Professionals. He has worked with athletes of all ages, levels (amateur to professionals), and sports (volleyball, basketball, skateboarding, and soccer). He had the privilege to work with some amazing athletes training them to reach optimal performance or help with rehabilitation from injuries.

After graduating from UCSC He was recruited to play volleyball and earn his master’s at Northumbria University in Northeast England. During his time in the UK (2018-2019) he was accepted into the university’s Sports Science Internship. As a Sports Science intern, Gino was responsible for both team and individual fitness testing and training. After graduating from Northumbria with an M.S in Clinical Exercise Physiology he played professionally in Denmark’s 1st division league.

Luciano Jimenez is a proud alum of Main Beach Volleyball Club and began his love of the game at age 10. After having a successful high school career including a win at CCS he decided to continue his career at UC Merced where he played for four years and received a degree in human biology.

At the time UC Merced was a new school with an even newer men’s team. He remembers his time in college as an amazing experience where he had the honor of creating a culture that expected commitment and to be tough competitors. By his senior year, they began defeating top 10 teams in the NAIA and had set a bar for players to come.

Luciano notes that volleyball has the beautiful quality of bringing people together. Socially, it has provided a medium for him to connect with many different kinds of people, turning some of his foes into best friends. Professionally, it taught him management, grit, and that opportunities can always be made as long as you think outside the box. Currently, he is completing a post-bacc program at Cal State East Bay and will be applying to dental school next summer!

PK McDonald began coaching at Main Beach Volleyball Club in 2103. Currently coaching the 17’s, he also is the head coach of the Mount Madonna boys volleyball team. There he has won 3 SCCAL championships and 1 CCS championship with the Hawks.

PK started his love of volleyball helping out a his older brother’s Team Santa Cruz practices at the age of 7. That team went on to win USA Junior Olympic Bronze Medal. He continued growing up with the game winning 3 league championships and a CCS championship in high school, and being named all NCVA setter at 16 and 17.

In College PK worked as the student manager for the UCLA Men’s Volleyball team. There he was personal assistant to Coach Al Scates and was on the bench for their 2006 NCAA National Championship.

At the same time PK was a founding member of the UCLA Club Volleyball team and went on to be named SCCCV MVP in 2008 and 2009 and Second team All American in 2008.

Morgan Moyer comes to us from Ventura, California where she started playing the game at age 12. Over the years Morgan has been able to be a part of many great volleyball programs which is no coincidence. As an indoor player at Cabrillo she was part of a team that went undefeated in the Coast Conference League. As a beach player at Cabrillo she came in third in the state with beach partner Erin Mitchell. They are better known as Mitch and Mo. After transferring to UCSC she was a part of the first team in the school’s history to make it to the DIII NCAA playoffs.

After graduating and receiving her degree in environmental studies she became the assistant at UCSC and then later returned to Cabrillo where she assisted Gabrielle Houston through many successful seasons. Morgan has a master’s in education and is currently a 4th grade teacher at Landmark in Watsonville.

Morgan hopes that first and foremost her players become better humans. Volleyball is a unique sport where you cannot execute anything by yourself and you need to help your teammates and be helped by your teammates. That means you need to be kind, but also make your expectations known. She hopes players learn to love this game as much as she does and that they create some of the best friendships of their entire lives from the people they get to be on a team with. Lastly, she wants players to know that physical talent is important but mental strength is the edge that will push you to be the best player possible. 

Jake Lee attended PCS where he first started playing volleyball and got inspired to continue learning the game. He remembers watching his team win CCS his freshman year and by the time he was a senior, he found himself in a similar situation winning SCCAL and coming in second in NorCals.

Jake currently attends Cabrillo College where he is majoring in criminal justice. In his free time, he can be found playing some basketball or rock climbing, but volleyball is his main pastime. What Jake hopes to instill in his players is love of the game, hunger to get better, and most importantly to not be afraid to make mistakes while doing so.

Alex started playing volleyball in the 7th grade. He began playing with Main Beach in the summer of 2010 and continued until 2013 when he was on the 18s team. He went to Sonoma State where he got a degree in History with a minor in Anthropology. While there he played for the SSU Men’s Club Volleyball team finishing in the top 10 in the nation every year with a NCVF silver medal in 2015. While at Sonoma, he also played hockey. He coaches the Harbor JV Girls.

Bio coming soon.

2018 is Phil’s first year of coaching for Main Beach. He spent four years playing for the club, one playing for Mountain View Volleyball club, as well as six years of playing for Pacific Collegiate School. He’s now a freshman playing for UCSC men’s volleyball, and studying Robotics Engineering. His favorite color is yellow, and his favorite hobby is playing beach volleyball.

2018 was Kendelle’s first year coaching at Main Beach. She is currently a fourth year MCD biology student at UCSC. She was raised in Ventura where she played club throughout her high school years, while also dabbling in beach. This chiquitita loves spaghetti and people watching.

This will be Paul’s fifth year with Main Beach and sixth year coaching at the club level. As a player, Paul won the bronze medal at the 2006 Junior Nationals Open with OCVC 16-1 and won another bronze medal in 2008 with Balboa Bay 18-2. Paul coached Balboa Bay 18’s while enrolled and competing for the Pirates at Orange Coast College in southern California. His team made it to the state finals in 2010 and he was named second team All-state CCC and male student-athlete of the year. While attending OCC, Paul pursued his studies in Marine Biology and eventually transferred to UC Santa Cruz to graduate class of 2013 with a Bachelor of Science.

As a Banana Slug, Paul was voted team captain by his peers and led the Slugs to a CVC championship and an impressive 17-7 season. He finished his career reaching the semi-finals of the university’s first NCAA appearance and was honored as second team All-American, first team CVC and MVP of his squad.

After graduating and staying involved in the field of marine sciences, Paul stayed as a volunteer assistant coach for UCSC in 2013-2014 and returned in 2015 as the team’s assistant coach. Today, Paul is the head coach of the men’s volleyball program at UC Santa Cruz and is looking to continue his successes with this Main Beach team!

 

Scott has jumped into the coaching world even before he finished his playing years. He has coached at Harbor High School as the 2014 JV Girls Assistant & 2015-2016 Girls Freshmen Head Coach. He will continue to be the head coach of Harbor’s freshman team. In addition, Scott was the Head Coach of the PCS Boys Varsity Volleyball team the past two years, who were the 2017 league champs, CCS champions and NorCal runner-ups.

As an athlete he played four years at Harbor High School with his senior year earning him the team captain title as well as being named “Athlete of the Year” in 2015. Furthermore he played for Main Beach for three years and has a younger brother playing in the program. He is in his second year at Cabrillo College pursuing a business degree & ready to make a difference in local volleyball community.

Bio coming soon.

Kael is one of the original club members. He played on our first 14’s team and is now a talented coach using the years of experience in the Main Beach system to help junior athletes improve their skills. Furthermore, he is also the JV coach for Aptos High girls and boys programs. As well as an assistant in our sand program. He has two talented brothers in the program following in his footsteps.

As a player, Kael was a dime libero and over achieving outside hitter through many club and Aptos high school seasons. He is now focused on improving his beach game as he attends school at San Jose State.

Chicory returns for his seventh season with the Main Beach boys. He has coached numerous Main Beach teams in past years, most recently serving as the 16 assistant coach last season. He is currently the head varsity coach for the Harbor High boys and assists with the girls program. Chic is also working with the Main Beach sand program coaching young people on the beach. As a player, Chicory is an accomplished beach player who is often playing on court 1 on Main Beach. This past summer he managed to earn himself a AAA rating with the CBVA. He helped lead Harbor High to a SCCAL league title his senior year and is always looking for places to play and youth to inspire. His infectious attitude makes him a great guy to play for.

Kyle is from Pleasant Hill, CA. He graduated from College Park High School in 2009 where they were North Coast Section Champions in 2008 and he was MVP in 2009. He played club for 3 years at Diablo Valley VBC in the East Bay and was on the All Norcal Team in 2009. Kyle played at UCSC from 2011-12 when they were 3rd in the NCAA’s. He graduated from Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, CA in 2016. He’s coached club volleyball for almost 10 years but the 2018 season is his first with Main Beach. His favorite color is blue. When not playing and coaching volleyball, he works as a Hydroponic Farm Manager and Volunteer Coordinator at Costanoa Commons in Santa Cruz.

This is Kacey’s first year coaching for Main Beach. He started playing volleyball when he was 4 years old. He played club volleyball for Main Beach from when he was nine until he was eighteen. He played 4 years of varsity volleyball at Aptos High earning 3 league titles and one MVP. He is currently training as a professional beach volleyball player. He also loves to bodysurf!

Jake started coaching at Main Beach in 2012. He’s lived in Santa Cruz since 2010, attended UCSC, and graduated in 2015 with a BS in Marine Biology. He played on the Men’s Volleyball team at UCSC for 4 years. He was voted Captain twice, a First Team All-American, and made it to the NCAA tournament twice. Jake grew up in Long Beach, California, where he played 9 years of indoor club volleyball with clubs like Highline and SCVC. He grew up playing beach volleyball around that area and continues to compete in professional beach volleyball tournaments. His favorite color is blue and his special hobby is womping (body surfing).