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Adam Ward
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Adam is now in his 7th full year as a coach with Leaside Volleyball.  

As an athlete, Adam was a member of the University of Toronto Varsity Blues volleyball team.  

He holds both a Bachelors degree in Physical Education and a Masters degree in Human Kinetics.  

​Adam is currently finalizing his Advanced Development Coach Certification. He focuses on developing good human beings with a competitive and fun sport environment.
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Geneva Bloemen – AC 13U Girls Voltage

​Geneva will be joining Leaside for her first year as an assistant coach with the 13UG Voltage team.  Geneva graduated from Queen's University and played on the Women's Varsity Ultimate team and won bronze in her final year at the Canadian National Ultimate Championships in 2018.  Throughout university, Geneva played competitive volleyball as a libero and setter with various women's and co-ed teams in the Kingston area.  She went on to play OCAA volleyball as a Libero for Loyalist College in their 2018/19 season.

Geneva is excited to start the 21/22 season with Leaside!
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Nick Avison - AC 15U Boys Rumble

​A former Leaside Club player of 6 years, Nick is extremely excited to be rejoining the Club for the upcoming season.  Nick brings a combined 5 years experience coaching for Leaside Houseleague and beach volleyball programs, adult clinics, and was the head coach for Pegasus Volleyball's Houseleague program for 2 years.

Nick recently graduated Queen's University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology, where he served as  a student athletic therapist for the Queen's Men's volleyball team from 2018-2020.  Nick hopes to combine his experience in, and passion for,  the sport as well as his studies in youth athlete development and physical activity to foster a productive team environment for growing healthy athletes.

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Jake Gallo - HC 15U Boys Rumble
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Jake is excited to be continuing coaching at Leaside.

Jake is a Health and Physical Education teacher at Northern Secondary School, where he coaches both the Junior Boys and Senior Girls Volleyball teams.  Over the last seven years, Jake has led numerous TDSB high school volleyball programs to successful seasons, including a City Championship and OFSAA appearance in 2013 at C.W. Jeffreys C.I. 

​Jake currently coaches the University of Toronto baseball team where he pitched from 2005-2010, and also enjoys running the Multi-Sport program at True North Sport Camps in the summer.
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Ella Olsha - AC 15U Girls Strike
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After 3 years of playing with Leaside as a Libero, Ella is returning as an assistant coach of the 15UG Strike team.  She is currently a first-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!
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Stefan Ristic - HC 15UG Strike

Stefan has been a part of the Leaside House League Program for the last 5 years, and has been coaching at the Club level on and off for the last 6 years. He's been a part of Etobicoke Titans and E381 programs as a head coach at the Club level, for boys from 15u all the way through 18u. 

As a player, he played for the Toronto West Volleyball club in Ontario winning a provincial championship the very first year they were held at Rim Park. His collegiate career consisted of a 4 year stint at Ryerson University, followed by another year at the University of Toronto. Finally he completed his playing career competing professionally in the German Bundesliga.

Stefan is eager to give back to the community and provide the next generation of young athletes with an avenue to compete and develop their volleyball fundamentals!
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Rob Dyba - AC 16U Boys Thor

Returning again to coach with Leaside THOR, Rob is excited to continue his work with young athletes in volleyball. This is Rob’s 11th year working with club athletes. Prior to coaching, Rob played 5 years at York University where he won an OUA championship, was an OUA all star, rookie of the year and was nominated for the CIS Libero of the year in 2006. He completed a degree in Kinesiology and Health sciences. He also played beach and represented Canada at the U21 World beach volleyball championships in Brazil.
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After his playing career, Rob pursued a Master’s Degree in coaching at the University of Alberta where mentored under Terry Danyluk. He wrote a thesis on the playing characteristic of junior beach volleyball players. Rob is excited to be back with Leaside and continue playing a role in long term athlete development.

Rob was a member of the coaching staff at the u19 and u21 beach volleyball world championships with Canada, has an NCCP level 3 certification for beach volleyball and is working to complete his NCCP level 3 in indoor volleyball. 
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Jackie Boyle - AC 17U Girls Lightning

Jackie started her volleyball career in Grade 8 at Leaside Volleyball Club under our very own, John Child.  After playing club volleyball throughout high school, she joined the Gaels Varsity Volleyball Team at Queen's University from 2015-2019.  Jackie played both right side and left side throughout her university career and was the strength captain in her fourth year.  

Since graduating, Jackie was recruited through RBC Training ground and invited to tryout for the National Bobsleigh Team and Indoor Cycling Team. Jackie is now pursuing her Olympic dream and has joined the Next Gen Sprint Cycling team in hopes of representing Canada in 2024. 

​Jackie is very excited to not only share her knowledge of the sport but the physical and mental aspects of what it takes to be an elite athlete.
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 Tuck Yiong - HC 17U Girls Flash

The past three years, Tuck has been coaching a 14U girls team medalling in
Cups, Provincials and Nationals.

Tuck believes in the development of sound volleyball fundamentals through
drills and hard work. The rewards are the experiences gained through
competition.

Tuck is looking forward to the upcoming season, working with Leaside to
develop sound fundamentals and build strong relationships.
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Skylar Bainard - AC 14U Girls Surge

​Skylar will be starting her second year as an assistant coach.  Last year she worked with U13 players on developing strength, stamina and coordination. Skylar believes that supplementary training is key to an athlete becoming the best they can be.

Before entering the volleyball coaching world, Skylar trained professionally as a ballerina for 7 years. Ballet took her around the world travelling to cities such as, Amsterdam, Munich and New York. She also studied at Dutch National Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, Royal Winnipeg Ballet and with teachers from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy. She knows what it means to put work and dedication into whatever your passion may be. Besides dance, Skylar also trained part time in Pilates, yoga, and human anatomy. She strives to educate athletes on taking care of their health and fitness, to reduce potential injury and improve overall performance. 

Skylar grew up watching her father (Dan Bainard, currently Leaside 14U girls) coach volleyball to teams of all ages. She is excited to work along with him again and to share her knowledge with the Leaside athletes! 
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Maria Krahn - AC 16U Girls  Wildfire

Maria is going into her third year coaching at Leaside after coaching with the Jr. Wesman in 2014/15.  Maria's mission statement is to inspire the next generation of young female leaders by cultivating a positive, elite sport experience through hard-work and determination to find meaning and importance in everything you do.  To build capacity to transfer skills gained from elite sport experience to the workforce.  Born in Winnipeg, Maria competed with elite indoor club volleyball teams throughout middle school and high school, culminating in a gold medal finish at the 17U National Championships in 2006 in Abbotsford, BC.  Maria competed for the Brandon University Bobcats in the Canada-West USport Conference for one year before transferring to Western University to finish her playing career as a Mustang, winning the OUA championship in the 2011-2012 season.   Maria has played and competed in beach volleyball tournaments as a junior athlete from age 15 -18 and continues to play on a competitive indoor Sr. Women’s volleyball team in Toronto.   Maria has earned a BSc in Medical Sciences from Western University and MSc in Health Informatics from McMaster University.   Maria currently works as a Senior Program Consultant in the Digital Health Secretariat Branch of the Ministry of Health.
​Contact Maria at: mariakrahn@icloud.com
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Jen Kesner - AC 13U Girls Voltage
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Jen is currently in her second year of Seneca College's Early Childhood Education Program.  Over the years, Jen watched her sister play volleyball and develop her skills and is now passionate about working with, and developing the skills of young athletes.  

In her free time, Jen enjoys watching volleyball and basketball.  She has been snowboarding recreationally for 8 years and has been skiing since she was 6 years old.  Last year, she worked at an after school program with 11 and 12 year olds and planned daily activities and worked with children's development.

Jen is thoroughly looking forward to working with the 12UG in the upcoming season!
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Alexandra Poletto 

Alexandra played for Leaside from 2012-2014 and is now back to coach!  

Alexandra attended Colorado State University from 2014-2018 where she was the starting middle blocker, helping them win 3 conference titles and 4 NCAA tournament appearances. 

She completed her undergraduate degree in Health and Exercises Science, Sports Medicine, and then transferred to the University of Southern California to receive her Masters of Science in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. 

Alexandra played on the University of Southern California (USC) beach team for two seasons where she helped them win a Pac-12 championship and make the NCAA finals. She now plays beach volleyball for the Canadian National team and has been competing on the world tour for 2 years and coaching athletes for 7 years.
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Stephane Vlachos - 

Stephane is excited to be returning for a second season as Leaside 14U Boys Rumble’s head coach, his 7th season with Leaside overall. 

As a teacher with the Toronto District School Board, Stephane has coached a variety of different sports over the course of his career, but Volleyball has always been his main passion. Stephane has helped to coordinate the volleyball program at his school while coaching junior and senior boys, girls, and co-ed teams and competing in both regional and city championships.

For the past two years, Stephane has served as a coach for the Team Ontario Regional Program, working with some of the best High-Performance athletes from every region in Ontario. 

As a coach, Stephane focuses not only on strong technical development of the athletes but also on the development of their mental and life skills, fostering a positive team atmosphere where hard work and strong work ethic are rewarded. 

​Stephane brings a great deal of knowledge, experience, and energy, which he looks forward to sharing with the 14U Boys in another successful season of Leaside volleyball.
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​Dejana Dua – AC 14U Girls Dynamite
Dejana grew up in Europe where she played competitive high school and varsity volleyball, and continued to play throughout her undergraduate and graduate years in both Canada and the United States.  Dejana taught middle school in California, where she also coached girls volleyball through CYO Athletics.  Last year, Dejana coached a 12U girls Club team in Toronto.  Dejana is passionate about positive coaching and fostering not only the love of the game of volleyball, but also the physical and emotional strength and well-being that are often challenging for younger athletes.  Team work, respect, compassion, and sportsmanship are taught in addition to volleyball mechanics, rules, and discipline.  When she is not busy being a mom, Dejana serves as an executive board member for a United Nations backed non-profit fighting to end violence against women and human trafficking.  

Fun fact:  the "J" in Dejana is silent!