2023/24 Coaching Team
Leaside Volleyball Club is proud to announce our coaching line up for the 2023/24 season!
Please CLICK on the names below for a brief biography for each of our coaching team!
18UG Wildfire
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John Child - Technical Director, HC 18U Girls Wildfire John is a 3-time Olympian (Atlanta, 1996; Sydney, 2000; Athens, 2004) and Bronze Medalist (Atlanta, 1996) in Beach Volleyball. In addition to playing 15 years of professional beach volleyball, John has played many years of indoor volleyball too. John has coached for many years at various levels from aspiring Olympians to young beginners, including being the head coach of the Havergal College Volleyball program and their 5 teams. John will be the head coach of the Leaside 18U girls team this year. 
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Octavia Wong - AC 18U Girls Wildfire Octavia is an Assistant Coach with the York University Women's Volleyball team and is excited to be back with Leaside for her 9th year! This past March, Octavia and her team, Unity Alpha, won gold at VC's 2023 Senior Nationals! Octavia will also be coaching the 17UG Black team at the June Biosteel Games in Toronto. In the past, Octavia played for York University and trained with the beach national team. She was a beach national champion in 2015 and beach provincial bronze medalist in 2017. Octavia was also the recipient of the Jason Seneschal Memorial award. Octavia currently plays for Philadelphia CIA in the 9man circuit. Octavia has a BSc in psychology and an MSc in biostatistics from York University. Currently, she is still at York University working toward a PhD in biostatistics 
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Melvin Lowe - AC 18U Girls Wildfire Melvin is excited to be coaching with Leaside again this season. He started his coaching career with boys and girls volleyball at Sir Oliver Mowat Collegiate Institute, where he has developed and led the volleyball program to 7 city championships in just 5 years. In addition he has spent the last 7 years coaching at the OVA Club level. He has led these various teams to numerous medals at the Tier One level. In the past year, Melvin has worked with the ADP (Athlete Development Program) with the OVA that identifies and trains the top level athletes of their various age groups. He was an Assistant Coach with the Region 5 program when they won a Gold medal at the Ontario Summer Games held in Sudbury during the summer of 2010. 18UG Fury
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Kayla Clennon – HC 18U Girls Fury Kayla is a graduate of York University with a BA with Specialized Honours in Sociology. A five-year veteran of the York U Lions, Kayla was recognized as an aggressive right side hitter who had a dominant attack from both pins. During her Club career, Kayla also played the position of middle blocker, bringing a wealth of experience to share with her team at Leaside. With her love of volleyball, Kayla is passionate about helping youth strive to achieve their goals and help develop their skills for maximum physical and mental performance. 
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Larry Tung - AC 18U Girls Fury Larry is in his sixth year of working with Leaside Volleyball club having some 40 years of volleyball experience. He has coached various teams at both the school and club level and is enthusiastic about coaching this years Girls U18 Fury team. As a player, he was a member of University of Toronto Varsity Blues volleyball team, several Provincial teams as well as the playing many years at the club level. He's also had over a decade of beach volleyball experience and continues to play competitively today with his men's indoor team. By day, Larry is a practicing veterinarian at Laird-Eglinton Pet Hospital in...where else but Leaside. He looks forward to passing on some of the knowledge and passion he has for the game to his new team. Vertical Divider
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18UB Thor
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Eddie Coleman - HC 18U Boys Thor Eddie Coleman is a Chartered Professional Coach (ChPC) with a reputation for creating a high-performance, inclusive, and fun environment where athletes not only develop their technical and tactical skills but also their performance while learning many values applicable to all aspects of their life. Throughout his career, Eddie has led athletes to podium finishes at World Championships, National Championships, and Provincial Championships. Many of the athletes that have worked with Eddie have gone on to play in NCAA Division 1 schools, U Sports, and OCAA. In 2016, Eddie completed the NCCP Advanced Coaching Diploma program, the most extensive NCCP Multi-sport program offered to Canada's top coaches through the Canadian Sport Institute Ontario. In 2013, he was named Coach of the Year by the Ontario Volleyball Association. 
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Jasmine Safar - AC 18U Boys Thor Jasmine (Jas) is a recent graduate from the University of Arizona where she competed as an NCAA athlete on a scholarship for beach volleyball. She recorded one of the best Freshman seasons in UA history by impressively going 26-5. Jas has represented Canada at two Junior/Youth Beach Volleyball World Championships (China 2018 and Thailand 2019). Prior to university, Jas played indoor volleyball with Defensa Volleyball Club. A fierce competitor with a big heart, when not training or competing, Jas has spent the 2022 summer coaching alongside Eddie with the Team Ontario Beach program. |
17UG Bolts
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Clara Tse - AC 17U Girls Bolts Clara is looking forward to her fourth season of coaching at Leaside. She has competed in many Asian and International indoor and beach volleyball competitions such as the Asian Games and the FIVB World Championships as a member of Team Hong Kong. She also played for the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, as well as the University of Waterloo. Locally, she has played for Toronto Connex on the North American 9-man circuit since 2014. She is currently studying her Master's in Social Work at Laurier. 
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Kevin Liu - AC 17U Girls Bolts Kevin is excited to be joining Leaside as a coach of the 17U Bolts team. An alumni of the club, Kevin spent his club playing years on Leaside Thunder, a team that achieved consistent top 5 finishes at both provincials and nationals every year. Kevin was also selected to be a part of the 2014 Ontario Winter Games championship winning team. He currently plays for Toronto Connex on the North American 9-Man volleyball circuit, where his team most recently won the championship in 2019. 17UG Inferno
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Erica Naccarato - HC 16U Girls Inferno Erica is excited to join Leaside Force for the 2022/2023 season! An OVA alumni herself, Erica spent her club career playing for Durham Attack Volleyball Club, before spending four years with Ryerson University playing on the women's varsity team. Her coaching career started as the assistant coach for the University of Waterloo varsity women's team, and then went on to head coach 17/18U girls at Durham Attack for two years. Erica holds a Master's degree in Organizational Psychology, and works professionally as a leadership and organizational development consultant. Erica is thrilled to have the opportunity to work with our future female leaders, and contribute to building a strong culture on and off the court! 
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Briana Vieira - AC 16U Girls Inferno Briana is very excited to continue in her third year of coaching at Leaside! In the past, she has coached house league programs and beach camps for a few different clubs around Toronto and is also a Local Referee for Volleyball Canada. Currenty, Briana is attending the University of Toronto and studying Industrial Engineering. Over the course of her club career, Briana was the recipient of the OVA's Award of Excellence, a beach Provincial silver medalist in 2016 and an indoor Provincial silver medalist. She continues to play indoor at University and beach during the summer months. 
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Christie Robertson - AC 16U Girls Inferno Christie Robertson is very excited to be joining the Leaside Inferno 2023/2024 as an assistant coach alongside her former volleyball teammate, Erica Naccarato! Christie played 4 years as a middle blocker for the Ryerson University Rams (now referred to as the Toronto Metropolitan University BOLD). She graduated with a bachelor of commerce and a minor in law while studying business technology management. Some of Christie's volleyball career highlights include winning the 2018 USPORTS national championship, winning the 2017 Devon Lord Brooks Athletic Award and placing 1st and 2nd in the 2018 and 2017 OUA championship, respectively. Christie has coached a variety of sports over the years including figure skating with the Saugeen Shores Figure Skating club and volleyball at the Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Launch Pad. She truly believes in the power of sport for development to help youth recognize and reach their potential and is excited to share her passion with this team! Vertical Divider
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17UB Lobsters
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Aidan Haslett - HC 17U Boys Lobsters Aidan has been involved with Leaside Volleyball for 8 years with the House League program. He has served as an assistant coach for 4 years with the University of Toronto's Men's Volleyball team and has head coached with Waves Volleyball Club for 3 years. As a player, Aidan played Club for Crush and went on to play for the University of Toronto for 5 years. Aidan graduated from the University of Toronto with a BKin degree and then attended OISE for his Master of Teaching degree. Aidan is eager to head up the Beach Volleyball program for Leaside this summer and bring the sport of beach volleyball to many young athletes that are learning the game and working on their skills. 
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Jake MacNeil - AC 17U Boys Lobsters Currently training and competing with the Senior National Beach Volleyball member since 2017. His playing highlights include proudly representing Canada in Beach Volleyball at the Youth Olympics Games in Nanjing China in 2014 as well as the U19 and U21 World Championships in 2014, 2015, 2016 and the World University FISU Games in Germany in 2018. Currently Jake competes on the Senior International FIVB tour where he has competed in over 20 international events. He is a 2x Canadian National Beach Volleyball Champion and a 3x Ontario Beach Champion. Jake is also the winner of the prestigious Jason Senechal Award. Jake played Indoor volleyball for Georgetown Impact and London Fire and attended Windsor University - winning All Star Rookie Team. Jake is the co-founder and Coach/Mentor of the Georgetown Beach Volleyball Club. Jake both has coached at York University and at the Club level. Jake is super excited to spread passion and energy and awareness to this great game. I want to inspire guys to learn and love this game, work hard and help them to achieve the next level of greatness. |
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Cicero Oliveira -
HC 16U Girls Surge |
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