2024/25 Coaching Team
Leaside Volleyball Club is proud to announce our preliminary coaching line up for the 2024/25 season!
Please CLICK on the names below for a brief biography for each of our coaching team!
John Child - Technical Director
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. |
18UG Bolts18UG Infernox
Kayla Clennon – HC 18U Girls Inferno 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. x
Erica Naccarato - HC 18U Girls Inferno 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! Vertical Divider
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18UB Lobstersx
Aidan Haslett - HC 18U Boys Lobsters Aidan has been involved with Leaside Volleyball for 9 years with the House League program. He has served as an assistant coach for 5 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. x
Jake MacNeil - AC 18U 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. |
17UG Surgex
Cicero Oliveira - HC 17U Girls Surge Cicero has been coaching volleyball since 2016, focussing primarily on boys and girls in the "Train to Train" stage of Volleyball Canada's, Long Term Athlete Development plan (12U to 15U). In 2021, Cicero started getting involved with Team Ontario as a Team Ontario Academy coach and in 2022, he is now one of the coaches for Team Ontario Beach's Full-Time Training Group. His coaching philosophy is focused on a holistic approach to athlete development that not only considers sports performance, but also an athlete's personal development. In his own words: "By being part of a team, striving to improve, competing, and being in charge of their self-development, athletes will be better prepared to deal with life's challenges with confidence, a positive attitude and team spirit." 17UG Dynamitex
Jimmy Xu – HC 17U Girls Dynamite Jimmy's volleyball career started late in his university days where he would try to learn from anyone and anywhere he could because of his love for this sport. Since then, he has played in the NACIVT 9-man circuit and local leagues such as SMVA and TSVL. Prior to coaching Leaside, Jimmy has helped teach at various volleyball skill clinics where he enjoys the growth and improvement of all the individuals that he worked with. x
Fernando Pham – AC 17U Girls Dynamite This is Fernando's first year of coaching with Leaside! He has been playing volleyball for over 10 years now, and is looking forward to working with the 17UG Dynamite team and helping to maximize each player's potential and growth. Prior to coaching, Fernando started playing in high school where he grew to love the game. Today, he currently plays in the NACIVT 9-Man Circuit and local leagues such as SMVA, in addition to pursuing his studies in Civil Engineering Technologist at Humber College. Vertical Divider
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17UB Knightsx
Laura Inward - AC 17U Boys Knights There is not much Laura hasn't done in Canada volleyball! Her volleyball resume both as a player and a coach is extensive and we are thrilled that she will be joining the Leaside Knights for the coming season! Laura has coached at all levels of volleyball including National Teams, Provincial Teams, University Teams and Club teams. Volleyball Canada - Beach Volleyball • Coach of CAN1 Women’s team at U21 World Championships 2009 Blackpool, England • Coach of Women’s U21 Gold Medallists at National Championships 2009 Toronto • Coach of CAN1 Women’s Team at U19 World Championships 2008 The Hague, Netherlands • Coach Girl’s U18 Silver Medallists at National Championships 2008 Toronto • Provide personal coaching for various National Team athletes 2007 - 2015 Ontario Volleyball Association - Beach Volleyball •Head Coach Women’s Team Ontario - Canada Games Bronze medallists 2009 - PEI •Head Coach Women’s OVA Provincial Team Summer 2007, 2008, 2009 University of Toronto - Women’s Volleyball • Assistant Coach - indoor program 2008 - 2015 Personal Coach- beach program 2009-2014 • Coach of Senior Women's Gold Medalists at National Beach Volleyball Championships 2014 Toronto, Canada • Coach of CAN2 Women's team at FISU World University Games 2013 Kazan, Russia • Coach of CAN2 Women’s team at U21 World Beach Volleyball Championships 2011 Halifax, Canada • Coach of Women’s U21 Gold Medallists at National Beach Championships 2011 Toronto, Canada Awards •Ontario Volleyball - Women’s Coach of the Year •Ontario Sport Awards - finalist Coach of the Year •University of Toronto - Varsity Blues Hall of Fame - 2019. As a player, Laura is a former OUA Champion during her time with the Varsity Blues (1987-92) as well as a four-time Canadian Champion. A participant at 8 FIVB events, including two world championships (1997, 2000), Laura was a gold medalist at the 2005 and 2009 world masters championships and consistently ranked among the top 10 teams in Canada. |
16UG Sparksx
Katie Hutchinson - HC 16U Girls Sparks Katie is in her 17th year of coaching and her 12th(!) year as a coach for Leaside. Katie is motivated by the strength of female athletes. She seeks to create competitive environments where young female athletes can find their voice and confidence and thrive through sport. Katie works hard to create a culture of "Girls Support Girls" which provides young women the tools to lift each other up and perform at their best. In 2019, Katie was selected as the Female Development Coach of the Year by the Ontario Volleyball Association for her dedication to building strong female centric programs. In 2020 Katie was presented the recognition award from the OVA recognizing her dedication to the sport. Katie has been involved in the volleyball community in many ways. Katie was also a Team Ontario Regional program Program Coach for the summer of 2018, 2020 and is coaching at the Team Ontario Red in the summer of 2022. Additionally, Katie is currently serving a 3 year term as President of the OVA. Off the court, Katie runs a charity called VIBE Arts and seeks to support young emerging artists in Toronto. Interested in 16U at Leaside? Contact Katie at [email protected]. x
Octavia Wong - AC 16U Girls Sparks 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 x
Hannah Stienburg - AC 16U Girls Sparks Hannah grew up in Halifax, Nova Scotia and finished a commerce degree at Saint Mary's University in 2019. During her four years at SMU Hannah was a libero on the women's volleyball team while being apart of the captain group in her last two years. When apart of the Huskies, she earned the AUS Community Service Award for 2 consecutive years and finishing her fourth year as the recipient of the USport Thérèse Quigley award for outstanding achievement in volleyball, academics and community involvements. Hannah looks forward to her start in Toronto, and creating a great experience for her players that is equally enjoyable on and off the court. She values the opportunities the team will have bonding and doing good around the community! 16UG Voltagex
Ananda Singh - AC 16U Girls Voltage Ananda is going into her 6th year coaching with Leaside. She is excited to be working with young athletes and empowering them to continue their development in this sport. As an athlete, Ananda competed for Aurora Storm Volleyball Club through elementary and high school, with several gold medal finishes at Nationals between 2010-2012. She continues to play on court and on the beach in Toronto. Outside of volleyball Ananda has various interests in music, art, health and wellness, and possesses a strong passion for Public Health. She has completed a BPH in Public Health and a BASc in a Public Health and Safety with hopes for further education down the road. Ananda is looking forward to another season of hard work and fun here at Leaside! x
Valerie Bousygine - AC 16U Girls Voltage This is Valerie's third year coaching at Leaside! Valerie has recently graduated from the University of Toronto with an Honours Bachelor's of Science and is looking to get into research. She's been playing volleyball since 14U, starting off in London, ON at LVC and FCVC. During her club years, she was named a strong middle blocker and even played a bit of right side, finishing off club with a D1T1 bronze at 18U Nationals. Wanting to continue with volleyball in undergrad, she played for the Junior Varsity D-League team at UofT and won the championship last year! Valerie is very excited to start coaching the bright minds of Leaside Volleyball! Vertical Divider
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16UB Pigeons |
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14UG Dashx
Dasha Ustinova - HC 14U Girls Dash This is Dasha’s 8th year of coaching with Leaside! Coach Dasha's journey in volleyball began on our very own courts. As a former Leaside player, Dasha and her team secured a bronze medal at provincials and played with the club from 15U - 18U. Dasha's passion for the sport evolved into a coaching career with a proven track record of nurturing successful teams at the development age. Beyond her club coaching role, Dasha leads the Vaughan House League and lends her support to the operations and growth of Leaside's Beach Camps. Coach Dasha brings her vibrant personality to the court making practices fun and intentional. Her coaching philosophy centers on building strong fundamentals, cultivating resilience, and fostering an unwavering love for the game. Dasha is excited to be leading Leaside Dash this year! x
Edilson Chimilovski (Coach Eddie) - AC 14U Girls Dash Edilson is a President of a large Building Materials Company and even with his busy agenda he dedicates his free time to support develop kids in the sport he loves the most, volleyball. He has played school and competitive volleyball in Brazil for 12 years. This is his second year with Leaside and he is excited to bring the 14U girls to a different level and prepare them for their future in the sport. Coach Eddie strongly believes in developing team players and that hard work and dedication can achieve great results. He currently has Volleyball Canada Development Coach Certification. x
Emily Kalinowski - AC 14U Girls Dash In her Club/high school years, Emily played for Michigan Elite Volleyball Academy from U13-18, earning several bids to USAV/AAU Nationals and winning top finishes at large events such as JVA World Challenge, States, MEQs throughout that time. She played 4 years of varsity volleyball at South Lyon High School, winning Districts three out of four years. Still holds school records for single season and career assists (1,163 Single season; 2,225 career). In her College years, Emily played for five seasons with the Lake Superior State University Women's DII Varsity team in Sault Ste Marie, Michigan. For the final 2 seasons, Emily was the starting setter in all matches earning 2 consecutive All-Conference, All-Tournament, Player of the week honours along with two Conference tournament berths - the first for the team in 30+ years. Emily sits at 4th all time for single season assists (1084) and career (2468). Emily earned her B.S degree in Forensic Chemistry while garnering conference academic awards all 5 years. When home for breaks, Emily organized and lead setter camps/private lessons when available. After graduating in Fall, she joined Dynamite 17-1's Assistant coach/club wide setters coach for the 2023-2024 club season, where the team made several gold bracket finishes. Emily is super excited to continue to keep volleyball prevalent in her life as a coach and to inspire new athletes' love for the game! She is a really competitive person who expects hard work and effort from her athletes, regardless of level! She is super grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the Leaside family and to build up our athletes as strong female leaders on and off the court! 14UG Flashx
Briana Vieira - HC 14U Girls Flash Briana is very excited to continue in her fourth 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. x
Megan Kesner - AC 14U Girls Flash Megan is looking forward to her 5th year of coaching with Leaside. Megan has played volleyball since 12U and in her 18U year, as setter for Leaside's 18U Red team, Megan and her team won the 2019 National Championships! Megan is currently in her third year of Biomedical Engineering at Ryerson University. She has a passion for developing young athletes and wants to share her experience, knowledge and love of the game. Megan is looking forward to another fun and successful upcoming season with Leaside 14U! x
Jenna Child - AC 14U Girls Flash Jenna is very excited to join the Leaside coaching team for a 7th year. She is a Registered Nurse with a BSc Human Kinetics from the University of Guelph and BScN from the University of Toronto. Jenna is a Leaside Club volleyball alum, having played for Leaside from 2008-2014. Jenna fell in love with the sport at a young age through watching her Dad play. She has a warm, energetic and encouraging coaching personality and is looking forward to joining the fantastic 15U girls coaching team for the 2022-2023 season! Fun Fact: Jenna was a multi-sport athlete and along with playing many years of club volleyball she also represented Canada at the 2014 Synchronized Skating French Cup in Paris and numerous other international competitions throughout her athletic career. Vertical Divider
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14UB Lancersx
Bruce Chen - HC 14U Boys Lancers Bruce is a passionate volleyball coach with extensive experience in both British Columbia and Alberta. With a strong coaching background, he hopes to continue make contributions to athletes' development in Ontario. Bruce has coached at various levels within the club system, including Thunder VC, Focus VC, and FVVC in British Columbia. Notable achievements include a Tier 2 Gold Medal at the 2014 Provincials with Thunder and a 4th place finish at Tier 1 Nationals with Focus 15U Blur in 2015. At the BC school level, Bruce led Winston Churchill secondary to a finalist spot in the Vancouver school junior city championship in 2014. Bruce's coaching expertise extends to the Provincial team level. He served as the Team BC Program Lead Coach for the 15U BC Zone Games in 2015, securing a Gold Medal victory. |
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12UG (2 Teams)
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Caitlin Hughes -
HC 12U Girls
Originally from Vancouver BC, Coach Caitlin brings 8+ years of volleyball coaching experience to the Leaside U12G teams. She has experience coaching skills clinics (indoor and beach), Sunday league development programs, high school teams, and club volleyball teams. You may recognize Caitlin, as she was one of the lead coaches for the Leaside Sunday League program this past year.
Caitlin started her own volleyball journey playing for Thunder Volleyball Club (BC) from U12-18, and subsequently took on many coaching/lead roles at Pacific Coast Volleyball Club (BC). In her spare time, she still competes as a beach volleyball player (and plays in indoor volleyball leagues for fun too).
This will be Caitlin's first season coaching a club team for Leaside, and she couldn't be more excited to collaborate with keen athletes and a process-oriented coaching team. Caitlin has a passion for teaching fundamental volleyball skills to budding athletes and heavily focuses on creating the most psychologically safe learning space in the gym as she possibly can.
Caitlin did her undergraduate degree in Human Kinetics at UBC. Since, she has begun her Masters of Science in Occupational Therapy program at the University of Toronto. When she's not on the court, she's in the classroom or in clinical hospital placements :)
HC 12U Girls
Originally from Vancouver BC, Coach Caitlin brings 8+ years of volleyball coaching experience to the Leaside U12G teams. She has experience coaching skills clinics (indoor and beach), Sunday league development programs, high school teams, and club volleyball teams. You may recognize Caitlin, as she was one of the lead coaches for the Leaside Sunday League program this past year.
Caitlin started her own volleyball journey playing for Thunder Volleyball Club (BC) from U12-18, and subsequently took on many coaching/lead roles at Pacific Coast Volleyball Club (BC). In her spare time, she still competes as a beach volleyball player (and plays in indoor volleyball leagues for fun too).
This will be Caitlin's first season coaching a club team for Leaside, and she couldn't be more excited to collaborate with keen athletes and a process-oriented coaching team. Caitlin has a passion for teaching fundamental volleyball skills to budding athletes and heavily focuses on creating the most psychologically safe learning space in the gym as she possibly can.
Caitlin did her undergraduate degree in Human Kinetics at UBC. Since, she has begun her Masters of Science in Occupational Therapy program at the University of Toronto. When she's not on the court, she's in the classroom or in clinical hospital placements :)
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James Munroe –
HC 12U Girls
Hailing from Kingston, Coach James Munroe brings a dynamic background to the Leaside Volleyball Club. He started his volleyball journey playing with the Pegasus Volleyball Club, where he honed his skills and fostered his passion for the game. James continued to support his local volleyball community through coaching highschool and organizing elementary school tournaments / clinics.
James pursued his education at the University of Ottawa, where he was a GeeGee playing as a libero. He continues to play in Toronto's TSVL league and was the leagues Development Coordinator for 3 years.
Entering his third year at Leaside, Coach James is thrilled to be part of the team. At the core of his coaching philosophy is his belief in instilling athletes with the tools and experiences to work hard and find their love for volleyball in the process.
HC 12U Girls
Hailing from Kingston, Coach James Munroe brings a dynamic background to the Leaside Volleyball Club. He started his volleyball journey playing with the Pegasus Volleyball Club, where he honed his skills and fostered his passion for the game. James continued to support his local volleyball community through coaching highschool and organizing elementary school tournaments / clinics.
James pursued his education at the University of Ottawa, where he was a GeeGee playing as a libero. He continues to play in Toronto's TSVL league and was the leagues Development Coordinator for 3 years.
Entering his third year at Leaside, Coach James is thrilled to be part of the team. At the core of his coaching philosophy is his belief in instilling athletes with the tools and experiences to work hard and find their love for volleyball in the process.
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Mina Shahriarpour
HC 12U Girls
Mina has a second-level volleyball coach degree from the Iran Volleyball Federation and previously worked as a trainer for children aged 7 to 14 from 2017 to 2019. She collaborated with public schools and city clubs, focusing on basic-level training encompassing fitness, individual practice, and team sessions. At the end of each season, students had the opportunity to be referred to higher-level coaches and teams.
Additionally, Mina participated in the Tehran Province league, achieving third place in 2018 and 2019.
Mina immigrated to Canada in 2020 and pursued a career in IT support, leveraging her academic background in Computer Network Engineering.
HC 12U Girls
Mina has a second-level volleyball coach degree from the Iran Volleyball Federation and previously worked as a trainer for children aged 7 to 14 from 2017 to 2019. She collaborated with public schools and city clubs, focusing on basic-level training encompassing fitness, individual practice, and team sessions. At the end of each season, students had the opportunity to be referred to higher-level coaches and teams.
Additionally, Mina participated in the Tehran Province league, achieving third place in 2018 and 2019.
Mina immigrated to Canada in 2020 and pursued a career in IT support, leveraging her academic background in Computer Network Engineering.
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Ella Olsha -
HC 12U Girls
After 3 years of playing with Leaside as a Libero, and 1 year of coaching our 15UG team, Ella is returning once again as a coach of the 12UG team.
She is currently a third-year U of T student studying business as part of the Rotman School of Commerce. Spending time both on the beach and on the court has given her the chance to play a number of roles in the game. Ella had the opportunity to travel overseas for the 2019 Junior Maccabi Game where she won a gold medal representing Team Canada. Her commitment also helped place her 16U team with a top 10 finish in OVA Provincials. She is excited to bring some energy to the youth in the volleyball community!
HC 12U Girls
After 3 years of playing with Leaside as a Libero, and 1 year of coaching our 15UG team, Ella is returning once again as a coach of the 12UG team.
She is currently a third-year U of T student studying business as part of the Rotman School of Commerce. Spending time both on the beach and on the court has given her the chance to play a number of roles in the game. Ella had the opportunity to travel overseas for the 2019 Junior Maccabi Game where she won a gold medal representing Team Canada. Her commitment also helped place her 16U team with a top 10 finish in OVA Provincials. She is excited to bring some energy to the youth in the volleyball community!