Ashlie began coaching with the Heat during the Fall of 2017. She played for Evans High School, graduating in 2003, playing for Cartersville High School her Junior year. Ashlie is married and has two daughters, Livi (11) and Raimee (6). Outside of volleyball, Ashlie was a springboard diver for Evans high and the Augusta Diving Team, winning third place at The Georgia Games in 1999. She is currently an indoor rower and competed in the 2016 Indoor World Rowing Championship in Boston, MA where she placed 33rd. Ashlie is also actively involved in the Crossfit community.
Manny Bersach
Manny began coaching with the Heat in the Winter of 2014 after moving to Augusta, GA from Miami, FL. He graduated from the University of Florida in 2012 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and is currently an applications engineer at GIW Industries in Grovetown, GA. He played varsity volleyball at Florida Christian School for 3 years (2005 – 2007) and received all county honors in 2007. Additionally he played co-ed intramural volleyball at UF for 5 years. Manny has assisted with National level Heat teams the past few years and is also a coach for the only sand volleyball club in Augusta.
Rich Bland
Coach Bland was a full scholarship UCLA volleyball player, and member of the 1993 Division I National Championship team. Coach Bland has 20+ years of volleyball experience and a coaching record at Augusta Prep of 173-35 (.832) in eight seasons, including 8 GISA Final Four appearances and GISA State Champions in 2006 & 2007. Rich has been named the Columbia County News Times Coach of the Year from 2004-2007, and is the 2006 & 2007 GISA State Coach of the Year. He has also been inducted into the Augusta Preparatory Day School Steve Boyd Hall of Fame as both an individual and as part of the 2007 state championship team.
Candice Carlson
Coaching with the CSRA Heat since 2014, Candice started playing volleyball in 6th grade in both the school and club settings, playing for The Laguna Beach Volleyball Club in Southern California. In high school, she played as an OH/Setter at varsity level. During high school she also played for Saddleback Valley Volleyball Club (also located in Southern California). In her senior year, she was recruited to play NCAA D2 at Mount Olive College in North Carolina. Since then, Candice has played in various adult leagues, both indoors and outdoors, in GA and NC. More recently, Candice was the Head Coach for the Home School Eagles' JV team. After getting married in May of 2017, Candice and her husband Eric enjoy playing volleyball and traveling with thier 10 year old daughter, Audrey. Candice is also active in the CrossFit and running communities.
Samantha Clayborn
Samantha is a former player with the CSRA Heat, and she has been actively involved with Summer Clinics and the Middle School League.
Brittany Egbert
Brittany began coaching with the Heat in 2017. Brittany started her coaching career the summer before her freshman year of college in 2007, coaching the incoming middle school girls during the summer. She then went on to coach four seasons of club volleyball with the Kaepa Buckeye Volleyball Club in Westerville, Ohio. During that time, her 13U and 14U teams were ranked in the top 10 of the OVR each year. Her last year of coaching, her 14 American team took first in the Ohio Valley Region overall. As a player, Brittany fell in love with volleyball around the age of 10 and hasn't stopped since! She is primarily a setter, and she was selected as a captain for her high school team her senior year where they went all the way to the regional finals (the farthest in our school's history). She continued playing with friends in Columbus, Ohio after high school while she attended Ohio State University.
Katlyn Ellis
Katlyn is originally from Atlanta and moved to Augusta in fall of 2014. She brings a love for volleyball after learning to play at the early age of 11. She played in middle school and high school and realized very early she loved coaching and decided to assist her senior year. After graduating, Katlyn coached at Chamblee middle school and Tsunami and then moved to Augusta and coached at Episcopal day school and at Columbia County parks and recreation volleyball program. This is her second year with Heat volleyball.
Haley Engel
Haley began coaching with the Heat in 2017. She has 10 years of coaching experience with middle school aged athletes between volleyball and swimming. As a player, Haley played for four years in high school and on national/traveling teams as libero and defensive specialist. She graduated from Texas Tech University in May 2016, where she studied Mechanical Engineering. Haley loves the sport of volleyball and the ability to be a coach/mentor to girls who are growing in their love for the sport.
Heather Frazier
Heather began coaching with the Heat in fall of 2016. She has 8 years playing experience and is also a certified referee for the Georgia High School Association.
Adrianna Garces
Adrianna is serving in the United States Navy and moved to Augusta in 2016. She played 4 years of varsity volleyball in Texas, and 8 years with both the Sting and Fusion Volleyball clubs also in Texas. She has played various positions, including middle hitter, right-side hitter, setter, and defensive specialist, earning 3 All-state honorable mentions and an Academic All-state ring. Having coached several middle school leagues in Texas, Adrianna is excited to be a part of the Heat coaching team.
Jessica Graves
Jessica has been coaching with the CSRA Heat since the fall of 2017. Since 2014, she has been the head coach of middle school and varsity at Curtis Baptist School. Jessica has been recently voted coach of the year for their region. Jessica loves the game of volleyball, and she has a passion for teaching the sport to girls as well as investing in their lives. She has a strong desire to continue learning more and more about the game and to better herself as a coach.
Michael Johnson
Michael has been a coach with the CSRA Heat since it's founding in 1999. Before that, he was a head coach with the Augusta Juniors - the program that developed into the CSRA Heat. Michael has been a staple of the volleyball community in our area for decades, running multiple recreational volleyball leagues in addition to his travel ball coaching and area refereeing. In addition to being a NCAA trained and certified line judge, Michael has been a high school official for 15 years, and he has been in charge of high school officials for the entire CSRA for the last eight years. In 2015, Michael was honored with the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) Official of the Year Award and is a member of the GAOA Hall of Fame.
Kanesha Jones
Kanesha has been coaching with the Heat since the Fall of 2017. She attended and played for AR Johnson and returned to help coach for a year. She continued to play in her college's club volleyball program. Kanesha loves volleyball and is looking forward to coaching and developing positive, young athletes.
Emily Joye
Emily has been coaching off and on with the Heat since 2005 when she graduated high school and continued her playing career at Augusta State University (2005-2010). She is currently a radiologic technologist at University Hospital where she works mainly in the operating room.
Celina Keys
Celina started playing volleyball when she was 12 years old, playing through Middle school and playing club ball for five years. She also played on her high school's varsity team, two years of college ball, and countless years in post-collegiate clubs and organizations. As a coach, Celina coached the Junior Varsity team at The Geneva School in Orlando, Florida, and she has also been a head coach with the Columbia County Rec. Department. Celina's day job is a licensed clinical social worker, giving her a wealth of experience with girls ages 11-14.
Chade Martin
Chade played high school in the Augusta area and then was a D1 scholarship player for four years at Kennesaw State. She recently returned back to the area and this past season was the JV coach for Grovetown HS.
Brooke Mays
Brooke has been coaching with the Heat since the Summer of 2017. She is a former player for the CSRA Heat and has been playing volleyball for nearly 10 years. She played on Lakeside High School's Junior Varsity Team while she was still an 8th grader and then played for the Varsity team from 9th to 12th grade. She earned her Bachelor's in Fine Arts from Augusta University in the Spring of 2017, and she continues to study and create artwork while participating in local co-ed volleyball leagues and tournaments in the Augusta area.
Noah Nakagawa
Noah has been coaching since he began with a club in Los Alamos, New Mexico. He has also been to many camps including the University of Colorado - Colorado Springs and also the University of New Mexico volleyball camp. Noah has also been the manager for the Midland Valley Mustangs Volleyball team for the past two years.
Emily Parrish
Emily played varsity and club volleyball all through her high school career in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She walked on to Western Michigan University's volleyball team her freshman year. Emily is IMPACT certified, and she has coached girls club ball on and off since 2003 in many different areas including: Michigan, South Carolina, and Texas, coaching girls aged 12-18 years. Additionally Emily has officiated Georgia high school volleyball games as a certified ref, line judged at the local universities as a trained line judge, and continue to play indoor and outdoor volleyball recreationally in the area. She coached with the Heat in the 2014-2015 season but took a year off in the 2015-2016 season. Outside of volleyball, Emily has a degree in Biology and works in a lab.
Rafael Salazar
In 1979, Rafael was a member of the National High School Champion Costa Rican Team. He continued his volleyball career at the University of Arkansas where he helped to develop Division 1 NCAA boys' volleyball. From 2003-2005 he coached at Aiken Preparatory School and the Alleluia Community School. After following his daughter's volleyball career, he began coaching with the Heat in 2012.
Since 2014, Rafael has been involved with the USAV – High Performance. The HP Program at USA Volleyball works to advance volleyball talent and build a broader and stronger pipeline of athletes and coaches for our USA Olympic Teams. The High Performance Program bridges the gap between our USA National Teams and youth volleyball programs across the country. This is done through a system of national tryouts which then qualify athletes for training programs, camps, and Youth and Junior National Teams. The High Performance Program at USA Volleyball is the “Pipeline” for volleyball athletes who aspire to reach the elite level of their sport and is intended to grow the pool of talented young players who may someday compete for a spot on the USA National and Olympic Teams.
Josh Segura
Josh Segura grew up in Aiken, SC before attending Washington University in St. Louis to earn his B.S. in Chemical Engineering in 2012. He worked at the Savannah River Site and with Fibrant (previously DSM Chemicals) in Augusta, GA as an engineer, and continued his career with AECOM in Aiken, SC beginning in December 2016. Josh has been a lifelong enthusiast of all sports, playing baseball, basketball, soccer, tennis, volleyball and rowing crew at various points during his life. His love for volleyball started in high school, transforming him into an avid fan of his schools’ teams in high school and college. He has coached an 18U basketball team in the past in addition to a variety of other coaching and teaching experiences. Josh began coaching with the Heat in 2015, and coached the Evans High School Junior Varsity team in 2017.
Nicole Segura
Nicole was an all-state and all-region player at Augusta Prep where she co-captained two state championship teams, including the 2007 Hall of Fame squad. She has coached with Carolina Juniors Volleyball (Charlotte), the Rock Hill Volleyball Club, FH Wardlaw Academy, and Greenbrier High School . She is currently the varsity volleyball coach at Evans High School. Nicole has been coaching with the CSRA Heat since 2012, and in February of 2014 she had the special opportunity to attend the USA Volleyball High Performance Coaches' Clinic at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO. Furthermore, Nicole is an Assistant Coach with the USAV High Performance Pipeline, and she regularly helps HP tryouts in Atlanta, apprenticed at the SELECT A3 Camp in Grand Rapids, MI in July of 2017, and will assist with the SELECT A2 Camp in Colorado Springs, CO in July of 2018. Nicole's 15 National team for the 2018 season earned the first National bid in club history and attended the USAV GJNC in Detroit, Michigan in June. Nicole is IMPACT, SafeSport, and CAP I certified.
Connie Spearman
Connie has filled many roles since she began with the Heat in 2004, currently holding the positions of Assistant Director and Head Coach, in addition to being the head coach for this season's 14 National team. As the Head Coach, Connie leads the Heat's curriculum development, summer and winter clinics, coach mentoring program, and oversees specialized coaches' training and development. Beyond travel ball, Connie has also coached at both the JV and Varsity levels at both private and public schools in the CSRA. As a retired educator, Connie understands the value of building fundamentals as well as promoting life-long learning. Leading by example, Connie is an active member with professional coaching communities, such as the AOCV and USAV. Connie's Heat teams have consistently finished in the Open Gold and Silver divisions at the Palmetto Region Championships and made strong showings both at AAU Nationals in Orlando, FL and the Big South National Qualifier in Atlanta, GA. Furthermore, she is a regional referee, has attended IMPACT training, and is IMPACT certified.
Lauren Stancil
Lauren has been a player and coach with the CSRA Heat for many hears.She began playing as a 12U and has transitioned to coaching over the past year, helping with our clinics and travel teams. Lauren is currently a Sophomore at Greenbrier High School.
Teiarea Taylor
Teiarea was an all-region player at Laney High School. She was the captain of her volleyball team went to the play offs on two occasions during her high school volleyball career. She played at Brewton Parker college and is currently working on her business degree. Teiarea began coaching with the Heat in 2015.
Jillyan Thompson
Jillyan has been playing volleyball since 2000 for multiple travel teams including Aiken Club, Atomic Volleyball Club and CSRA Heat, and out-door volleyball in triples and doubles tournaments. She has played every position on the court. She played for Evans High School and was on JV one year and three years on Varsity. She was in the Athlete spotlight for the Augusta Chronicle. She is a certified Collegiate Line Judge and Scorekeeper and High School Official. She was the JV coach at Evans High for 2 years, the Aquinas JV coach, and recently the Westside JV Coach. She started coaching with Heat in 2012.
Katie Truluck
Katie has been playing volleyball for 13 years and coaching for 8 years. She played libero for the State & National Champion Bishop Moore Catholic High School women’s volleyball team and played club for the Orlando Volleyball Academy. Katie then played libero for the Berry College women’s volleyball team where she was named SAA Defensive Player of the Year, AVCA All-American, team captain, and more. She was chosen as libero for the 2016 USA DIII collegiate team to play in Brazil. She is currently pursuing her Doctor of Physical Therapy degree. Volleyball is her biggest passion. Katie teaches that the discipline, perseverance, and leadership learned on the court are essential for building strong, intelligent young women. She believes that nothing compares to a constructive athletic foundation in developing exceptional leaders on the court, in the classroom, and in the community.
Grace Welsh
Grace is a CSRA Heat alumna that currently attends Augusta University. She played for the Home School Eagles during her high school years.