SC War Eagle Volleyball Coaching Staff
Coach Valerie Long-
Coach Long has been coaching the sport of volleyball for over twenty years. She has been director or co-director of Carolina and Palmetto region clubs for nine years. Her passion for the sport is evident in her enthusiasm with her teams, both at practice and during tournaments. Her vision for the War Eagles is to increase the love of volleyball throughout the York County region by introducing players to the sport and developing each player to be highly competitive locally, regionally and nationally.
Coach Chelsea Jones
Coach Chelsea played volleyball at Alleghany High School in Sparta, NC. She then played Salem College in Winston-Salem, NC where her team was the GSAC Conference Tournament Champions in 2012. During her time with Salem volleyball, they were the first sport to earn a bid to the NCAA DIII Tournament and Chelsea was the first ever Conference MVP (2012) in school history.
Coach Jones started her volleyball coaching career in 2010 at Alleghany Volleyball Club in Sparta, NC. She then worked at Fluid Volleyball Club in Winston-Salem, NC where she became a Master Coach and Assistant Club Director over a four-year span. In 2014, she went back to her Alma mater, Salem College, to be the Assistant Volleyball Coach and helped lead the team to their second GSAC Conference Tournament Championship and NCAA DIII Regional Tournament bid.
Coach Jones was then given the opportunity to start a volleyball program at Laurel University in High Point, NC in 2015. She took the John Wesley University (previously named Laurel University) volleyball team to the NCCAA South Regional Tournament in both 2016 and 2017. She is now the Director of Athletics and Head Volleyball Coach at Carolina University in Winston-Salem where she led the team to become the NCCAA South Regional Champions and National Tournament participants in 2018 and 2022. She has also had multiple athletes earn All-Region, All-Academic, and All-American honors.
Coach Amy Berlak
Coach Amy started playing volleyball for her school in the 5th grade. At 12 she began playing juniors for CJV in Charlotte, NC. She made varsity as a 13-year-old freshman at Charlotte Catholic High School, and continued to play Juniors throughout high school. Her CCHS team won the volleyball state championships her sophomore, junior, and senior years. As a college freshman, she got a scholarship to play for Florida Tech in Melbourne, FL where she set the school record for most aces in a match. She moved back to Charlotte to finish her schooling and start a family. She is excited to share her knowledge and love of the game with a new generation.
Coach Jade Young
Coach Jade has 5 years of playing high school volleyball and over 17 years of coaching experience. She is originally from Norway, SC. She moved to Rock Hill in 2000 and continued playing for Rock Hill High School and local club programs. Her coaching career began in 2005 at Rock Hill High School as a JV Assistant Coach and also includes Head Coaching positions for Dutch Fork Middle School, Magnum Volleyball Club (14 National), Rock Hill Volleyball Club (12's, 13's, 14s) and Intense (14 Elite). This is her 4th year at SC War Eagles. She is also currently the Assistant Varsity Coach at Northwestern High School. Jade has 3 daughters; Jayla, who is currently playing at Allen University, Jayden who is a Freshman, and Christian Jade a 4th grader. "They call it coaching but it is teaching. You do not just tell them... you show them the reasons." "Having the capacity to lead is not enough. The leader must be willing to use it." -Vince Lombardi
Coach Corey Long
Corey has been playing volleyball with girls and boys teams since he was 10. He has been assistant coach for the past 3 years and teaches private lessons on the side. He loves the sport and while continuing to play on the 18U National team here at War Eagles, he desires to continue coaching volleyball. He loves sharing what he has learned over the years with the players and loves to watch them grow in their fundamentals. Corey is graduating in 2023 and is searching for a college to continue his volleyball career.
Coach Jon Haese
Jon grew up on the frozen streets of eastern WI where he played football, basketball and golf in high school. He went on to play basketball at a small D3 University in WI and was part of a program that won 81 games during his four-year career. After graduating college, Jon played volleyball for 5 years competing in various leagues and tournaments throughout the state. He has experience coaching soccer, basketball and golf but has a passion for growing boys’ volleyball. Jon lives in York, SC with his three amazing children and wonderful wife.
Coach Kailee Long
Kailee began playing volleyball when she was 8. Through the years she has played at CJV and War Eagles as a starting setter and captain. She played all the way from middle school to high school. Throughout her volleyball career she has received all region, MVP, Offensive MVP, and All- Tournament MVP. She has been coaching for the past 3 years. She coached academy at War Eagles and the gold programs at CJV. In past years she was the head coach of the 12 Developmental team, 14U National team and currently 15U National Team at War Eagles. She is currently working full time as a dental assistant while studying at York Tech to become a Dental Hygienist.
Coach Mae McKinney
Mae started playing for War Eagles the very first season the club opened, and played with them for 5 years on club and national teams. She also played for Clover High School and PRV. Mae coached Academy, 12U, 13U and currently has a 14U team here at War Eagles. Mae has coached private lessons and is the coach for 8th grade volleyball at Oakridge Middle School 2021 & 2022 season. She is starting at Winthrop to obtain her degree in education.
Coach Martha Ann Robinson
Martha Ann has been playing volleyball for 9 years, she started playing for War Eagles the very first season. She played with war eagles for 6 years on club and national teams. She also played for Clover High School and CJV. This is MA’s 2nd year coaching for War Eagles, she coached a 13u team this past season. She is currently transferring to St. Andrews University from York Tech, majoring in Equine Business. She is on their equestrian team and St. Andrews volleyball team for the 2022 season. She is away at school but helps out when she is home anytime she can.
Coach Laurie Parker
My name is Laurie Parker. I was born and raised in a small town in Indiana then moved to Columbia, South Carolina after I got married in 2004. We moved to Lake Wylie in 2019 and have enjoyed the lake life, great schools, and the city of Charlotte. I grew up playing volleyball all through high school and college (and club ball), mostly as a setter, but also with some back row experience. I coached 15U team on 2022 and currently have two teams, 13U and 16U with the War Eagles. I am looking forward to coaching the girls and watching them improve their volleyball skills, knowledge, and technique. But most of all, I am excited for the girls to work together as a team, be competitive, and develop a love for the game.
Bio Coming Soon
Coach Taylor Stewart
My name is Taylor Stewart, and this is my first year with War Eagles Volleyball. I am born and raised here in Clover, SC and am a recent graduate of Winthrop University. Currently, I am a Liberty University Graduate student receiving a Master of Science in Sport Management: Sport Administration Thesis. I also work at Clover High School with Special Education! Currently, I am the assistant coach for the boys’ volleyball team at Clover High School, and a former softball coach as well. Growing up, I played volleyball and softball for Clover High and participated in club volleyball for SOAR. I was also very dedicated in travel softball as well. I am very excited for this season and am looking forward to grow with the team!
My name is Alexis Reyes. I have played volleyball for 8-9 years and I’ve been given the opportunity to play and coach for SCWE. I’ve played for many clubs, but War Eagles is by far the best environment I’ve been in. I am also a student-athlete at York Comprehensive high school. I have experienced all types of coaches and I’ve been a part of a variety of programs. I hope to use those experiences to help create a healthy, positive environment for both players and parents. --
Coach Jim Seidel - 17 Boys Coach, Director of Recruiting, Boys Teams
Coach Jim is an 18 year beach player and indoor coach for 8 years. Coaching everything from beach, to middle school, high school to national indoor club teams at Carolina Union Volleyball Club, placing over 20 players to play in college as their 2nd winningest club coach from 2019-2022. Jim has coached in 3 NC state volleyball championships, (Gaston Day School and Mountain Island Charter School), he also took Fort Mill to their best season in 10 years in just his first season. Coach Jim was also selected as a 2020/20221 North Carolina Volleyball Coaches Association, Coach of the Year. Jim is married with two daughters who also play volleyball.
Coach Marcio De Sa
I grew up in Brazil, where volleyball is the second most popular sport in the country. I started playing volleyball at a very young age. I fell in love with it watching Brazil’s men team compete on the 1984 Olympics. When I was in 5th grade I joined our school’s team and continued playing through my high school years where I played as Outside Hitter and Libero. I rekindled my passion for volleyball once I joined the War Eagles boys team as assistant coach back in 2018. The experience with WE opened other coaching opportunities, which led me to assist with the Lake Pointe Academy first men’s volleyball team in the spring of 2019.
I currently have a full-time job, am a father of three amazing and busy young men and have been married to my wife Julie for over 20 years. My love for the game of volleyball and teaching its many life lessons is one of my true passions in life.