Coaches

Zach brings to the club a wealth of knowledge in personal training and nutrition, with certifications in Fascial Mobility, Hypertrophy Training and Healthy Eating as well experience in injury rehabilitation.  He has over 20 years of experience in volleyball, as a player and coach in both indoor and beach, spending time as an OVA official as well. He joined the club 4 years ago as a head coach for both indoor and beach and will be entering his 3rd year as Technical Director. During his time with the club, Zach has demonstrated his passion for the sport and willingness to go above and beyond expectations to support and build a club atmosphere that will help the players to improve individually and as a team.

Zach started playing volleyball at the age of 8 and played at both the collegiate and rep levels. He was a multi sport athlete throughout high school and university playing badminton, basketball and baseball in addition to volleyball. After playing on the OVA beach tour in high school he attended the University of Toronto where he played for the Scarborough campus for 5 years. While there he won 2 Tri-Campus championships, 2 MVPs and was inducted into their Volleyball Hall of Fame.  After graduating, he coached the University of Toronto Scarborough Men’s Tri-Campus team for 2 years while providing strength and conditioning training for both the men’s and women’s teams.

Stefan has had a passion for volleyball since he discovered it in Grade 8 and grew up playing in the club system in Germany. After coming to Canada he played competitively at the highschool and varsity level and in the OVA beach circuit.  Stefan has been a Guelph resident for close to 20 years and is the proud father of three daughters.  When he isn't busy parenting or coaching, he loves to find time playing tennis and singing in the local church choir. Stefan started coaching for the Junior Gryphons in 2022.  

Elaina has been involved with the Jr. Gryphons for 4 years as a coach and has been coaching the Development program the past 2 years. She has been playing volleyball for 15 years, with 6 years of rep experience, and has played intramurals for the past 6 years at the University of Guelph. She has been attending the Madawaska Overnight Volleyball Camp for 11 years, 5 years as an athlete and the last 6 as a coach. She will be starting a master’s program at the University of Guelph in September.

This will be Ben’s 10th year coaching volleyball and his 7th as a coach for the Jr. Gryphons. Ben coached and played while at GCVI here in Guelph, before heading off to Brock University in St. Catharines to acquire a degree in Sport Management. He continues to play in competitive leagues around the city and is looking forward to growing the sport of volleyball in the City of Guelph.

Alex is an ex-varsity player from Javeriana’s University in Colombia. This will be his 5th year coaching with the Jr. Gryphons and he is looking forward to expanding his coaching knowledge throughout his time here.  Alex is looking forward to getting to know each athlete individually, and helping them to achieve their goals this season.

This is Jeff’s 5rd year with the Guelph Jr. Gryphons club and 16th coaching.  He is Level 2 certified and has coached for over 12 years in the OVA across all age groups, both boys and girls.  Jeff’s goals for the team will be to have fun and to inspire passion for competitive volleyball.

Following graduation from university, Greg wanted to give back to the community and began coaching volleyball and basketball in southwestern Manitoba.  When his career path brought him to Ontario, he continued to coach volleyball at high schools in the Halton Region.  Greg has been coaching volleyball for 9 years now and is entering his 5th year with the Jr. Gryphons.  He enjoys the challenge of developing young players and is excited to work with the Jr. Gryphons coaching staff to help his players excel at and enjoy the wonderful sport of volleyball.