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Ohio Xtreme Volleyball Staff

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Adam Evans

Club Director of Stark and Summit

coachevans@ohioxtreme.com

Adam Evans is entering his fifth year as Volleyball Director at Ohio Xtreme after 5 seasons directing other volleyball clubs in Ohio. He has coached at all levels of high school volleyball, from freshman level to Varsity Head Coach, including nine seasons of Varsity Volleyball at both Norton High School and Massillon Washington High School. Adam has also been active in USA Volleyball as a club coach, working with 8 clubs in various roles. He has been the head coach or assistant coach of six teams that have qualified for the USAV Girls' Junior Championships. One team qualified after the 2009, 2010, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019 seasons and two teams qualified after the 2014 season. Adam played for 17 years in Men's USAV mostly at the A and Open levels as a middle blocker. Adam is a CAP II certified volleyball coach, a USAV Regional Official and served three terms on the Ohio Valley Region Board of Directors.

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Coree Ullman

Coach and Asst. Director

coachcoree@ohioxtreme.com

Coree has been active in the volleyball community for 10 years. After playing volleyball throughout middle and high school at Barberton, sand leagues, and Junior Olympics for various clubs, she continued showing her love for the game by coaching. She will be entering her third year at Ohio Xtreme as a coach and assistant director, having coached two teams each of her two previous seasons. In the past, Coree has coached 14’s, 16’s and 17’s at Barberton Volleyball Club (BVC). Currently she’s coaching for her fourth year at Barberton Middle School, while attending The University of Akron. Coach Coree’s philosophy is to build players’ confidence by focusing on their strengths.

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Matt D'Avello

Coach and Beach Program Director

mattd1449@aol.com

Matt began playing volleyball when he was 18 years old at a recreational level on AstroTurf courts at Munroe Falls park. He absolutely fell in love with the sport. He played every sport growing up but volleyball was his favorite. He played in various sand leagues until he got good enough to attempt doubles. Matt has played in and won many Men's Open tournaments and has played in various pro tour events including AVP qualifiers, MPVA events and competed at the highest level against the best players around. Matt also played as an outside hitter for the University of Akrons men's club team and played for various USAV teams including Ohio Ice and Beach to Boards where he was also the player/coach. Matt played in the world police & fire games 2 man beach event in 2001 and took 4th out of 50 plus teams, getting edged out by Germany in the losers bracket finals. Matt is passionate about the sport and began coaching four years ago after his sophomore daughter started to show a real interest in the game. Previously, he has coached in house at Elite and last season with Ohio Xtreme. His U14 team made Gold every tournament but one and just kept improving every weekend. His goal here is to improve every child's skill level and to have them walk out at the end of the year feeling that they have improved there game.

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Lee Bragg

Lee Bragg has played volleyball for Ohio Northern University on the very successful men's club team. He's also played in various men's and coed leagues and tournaments, emerging with many victories. Lee has a desire to learn and teach his players how to compete on the floor and in life.

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Alex Cruz

Alex has been with Ohio Xtreme since the 2016 season, having coached at numerous age groups and players from ages 9 to 18.  He has also coached the Lake High School JV volleyball team to a league championship.  Alex has coached track and field at the high school level, helping several athletes to regional championships and state meet appearances.  As a player, he has played all positions at some point for top level teams.  Alex has USAV team experience and has played beach doubles with a lot of success since the 1990's.

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Kayla Jarosz

Kayla started playing volleyball in kindergarten for an intramural team at her grade school. She fell in love with the sport and has been playing ever since. She is left handed and has always been a right side hitter, but has never turned down an opportunity to play backrow. She started off her JO years at AVC located in Cleveland, Ohio in sixth grade. That same year, she started playing beach volleyball as well, which can be a whole different game but it made her a much better player for her indoor seasons. She was a three-year varsity starter at Holy Name High School, and was captain for her last two years of high school. Her senior year was her best year, her high school team won the State Championship title and she was named MVP for her team and her conference. She currently attends Malone University as a freshman starting player. This will be her first year coaching, but she has always loved to help run camps for her high school and for her university. She is very excited to be coaching and cannot wait to see what the season brings! 

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Mike Amos

I'm a teacher for Akron Public Schools where I coached varsity volleyball for 4 years at Kenmore and 2 years at East.  My coaching philosophy is built on a foundation of 5 values that include: Leadership, Improvement, Teamwork, Merit and Mental Toughness.  Along with the right attitude and strong work ethic players learn what it takes to become a high performing team.  I continually strive to be better as a coach and believe in measuring success through my players growth on and off the court.

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Michelle Luff

Michelle Luff brings a passion and love for the game of volleyball to Ohio Xtreme.  She has coached club volleyball in the past with Cannon Volleyball as well as YMCA programming.  Michelle played at Hudson High School and also in club.  Michelle's two daughters also shared Michelle's love for the game and play volleyball as well.  She is competitive and wants to teach her players how to be competitive and develop their own love for the game.

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Derek Anders

Coach and Asst. Director

coachderek@ohioxtreme.com

Coach and Assistant Director Derek Anders has been involved with volleyball for many years. For Ohio Xtreme, Derek has coached two teams for each of the two seasons he has been a part of the club. He played at Hoban High School as an outside hitter while in high school. Since then, Derek has coached at St. Augustine School as the boys' volleyball coach in 2014. He has coached for Barberton City Schools as a 7th and 8th grade coach as well as the Junior Varsity Coach in 2018. For the 2019 season, Derek will be the Varsity Assistant Coach. In club volleyball, Derek has coached at Barberton Volleyball Club (BVC) at the 13’s, 14’s, and 16’s age groups. A teacher at Barberton Middle School, Derek has a passion to see young people learn, grow and succeed in the classroom and in life.

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Jodi Evans

Jodi Evans has been coaching club volleyball teams for over twenty years, beginning in 1994. Upon graduating from Eastwood High School in 1986, Jodi accepted a volleyball scholarship to play for the University of Akron. She's still among the top ten all time in many kill and block categories for Akron U. In January of 2003, Jodi was honored with her induction to the University of Akron Athletic Hall of Fame for her accomplishments on the court. Jodi has been the Varsity Volleyball coach at three high schools; Our Lady of the Elms, Kenston and Shelby and has previously coached club Volleyball with Club NET, Richland Volleyball Club, Renaissance Cleveland and Academy for Volleyball Cleveland (AVC).

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Jenna Gissinger

Jenna has loved the sport of volleyball and has played for eight years. Jenna has been an assistant coach for CYO volleyball for 12 year olds and now has been a head coach for Ohio Xtreme for two seasons. Jenna is attending school to obtain an education for teaching Math, Science and Special Education for middle school students. She works well with students and enjoys seeing them grow to become better people. 

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Melissa Dodds

Melissa Dodds has been involved in the volleyball community her entire life. She played for a very competitive JO team for many years and as a freshman at Stow High School, she started varsity as a middle hitter who never came out of the game. She played all the way around - both front and back row. Melissa was a 3-sport athlete, was a leader on a state-qualifying team, and was selected 1st team all-state for several years. In addition, she was given numerous honorary awards along the way. Although Melissa chose not to participate in college athletics (despite being offered many full-ride scholarships), she is still active to this day. 


Melissa feels fortunate to have played for some amazing coaches at every level of the game and has stayed in contact with many of them, frequently seeking their knowledge and expertise to constantly hone her own coaching skills. Prior to having her three daughters, Melissa coached at the middle school level, where she has also taught for the past 15 years. Now that her girls are actively playing the same sports that she once enjoyed, Melissa has found that she is needed on the court instead of in the stands. It is Melissa’s goal to return players back to their community teams with improved skills, more knowledge, and better than they were in the previous season. She is looking forward to having fun, building relationships both on and off the court, and becoming a great team!  

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Gina Pillitiere-Wooden

As an athlete, whose career encompasses elementary school, high school, an athletic scholarship to a
Division I university, and a professional beach volleyball player, I have a passion for the game that is
infectious to those I teach. While developing one’s own athletic skills are part of every player’s goals,
that alone will not engender success. The ability to communicate, study, and anticipate are aptitudes
that turn a promising competitor into a treasured teammate. This is a team sport and interpersonal
communication capabilities are key to the development of a player and a citizen. In an increasingly cold, digital age, many abilities such as reading body language or engaging emotional intelligence, have been lost in technological fog. Thus, I believe that volleyball is an avenue, to prepare our future leaders for a life where these faculties will support them in their drive to excellence, outside of the white lines of the court.

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Amber Robinson

Amber Robinson started playing volleyball in middle school at Morningside Academy in Port St. Lucie, Florida. She started on her varsity team all four years as a setter and was captain for her last two years. Amber started playing club volleyball her freshman year and played as the starting setter and right side hitter for her first three years at Up On Top Volleyball Academy, National Volleyball League, and Rampage Volleyball Club. For her senior year of club volleyball she played at High Tide Volleyball Club as a setter and defensive specialist. Amber is now a freshman on the Malone University varsity volleyball team as a defensive specialist and libero. Although Amber has never been a head coach on a team, she has had experience coaching at camps and clinics. Amber is looking forward to a fun and competitive club season with her team!

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Becky Jager

Becky started playing volleyball in grade school in the CYO leagues in Akron and has been around volleyball since. She played for Hoban High School, where her team finished 2nd in the state her junior year. She was selected to the Div. 3 East All-Star Team her Senior year and she received a scholarship to Malone College for Volleyball. She began successfully coaching CYO teams as her daughter Kaitlyn (KJ) also fell in love with the sport. She wants to help the team develope the skills needed on and off the court to achieve their goals!  

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