Meet the Coaches

Congratulations to every girl that made the team. We, as coaches, are very excited for the 2025 season.

Varsity Head Coach - Shannon Nelson - shannon.nelson@guhsdaz.org

Coach Nelson has been the  Girls JV volleyball coach for the past 23 seasons. While here, her JV teams have compiled over 250 wins. She has coached club volleyball for over 30 years at pretty much every level. She currently coaches at Arizona Sky Volleyball Academy. Shannon is a 1993 Graduate of Cactus High School where she was a member of the 1992 4A State Championship Team. She played at Arizona State University her freshman year and then transferred to play her sophomore year at Phoenix College as an outside hitter. While there, she earned NJCAA All  American and finished 2nd in the Nation in digs! She continued play at Division II Colorado Mesa University and a few honors included Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference 1st Team selection and Northwest All - Region selection. She graduated with a BA in Social Sciences. Shannon is a proud mom to three amazing daughters, Jordyn, Mykenna (both with amazing careers for Utah Tech University’s volleyball team) and Haidyn - 16 (here at Greenway). 

JV Coach  - Jordyn Pico - jordyn.pico@guhsdaz.org

Coach Jordyn brings so much experience and knowledge to our program. As a Greenway Demon, she was as a four-year varsity starter for the Demons and was a multiple time all-district and all-section honoree … helped lead GWHS to the 2015 Arizona Division III state championship and a state runner-up finish in 2016 … earned first team all-state honors in 2015 and 2016, was named Section IV Player of the Year in 2015, and was a MaxPreps medium schools second team All-America selection in 2015 … also lettered in tennis and posted a 13-1 singles record as a senior … earned the 2016-17 GHS Female Athlete of the Year and Marine Corps Distinguished Athlete awards.  She then went on to play at Dixie State University, now Utah Tech University, as a 5 year starting setter. While there she earned All-Academic 1st and 2nd teams throughout career and was voted MVP of her team her junior year. She graduated with a BS in Medical Laboratory Science. She is married to Nic Pico, and an amazing mom to her 1 ½ year old son, Wrigley, who will be in the gym throughout the season.

9/10 Coach - Grace Parrott - grace.parrott@guhsdaz.org

Coach Parrott teaches math here on campus and this will be her second year with us as the 9/10 coach. She is also a Greenway Demon with a big contribution to our Back-to-Back State Championships in 2018 and 2019. She earned Honorable Mention and 2nd Team All Region as a Demon. Grace played club volleyball for 9 years. During her junior year, her team took 1st place in the 17s Division at Nationals. She went on to play volleyball at Yavapai College, adding a Region Championship and making it into the National Tournament. She also coaches club volleyball and has experience coaching girls and boys high school volleyball. She is a great asset for our program and our amazing freshmen!

Assistant Coach - Mykenna Nelson - 

Coach Mykenna is also back to help us this season. She recently completed her last season of eligibility at Grand Canyon University. Mykenna was also a four-year varsity starter here at Greenway. She was a big part of our 2015 Arizona Division III state championship, state runner-up finish in 2016, and our second Arizona 4A state championship as a senior. A few accolades: Conference and Skyline Region Player of the Year honors … was a multiple all-state, all-region and all-district team honoree … finished with more than 1,500 career digs … GWHS played to a 140-20 overall record during her four-year playing career … was voted GWHS Female Athlete of the Year, and won the Outstanding Senior Award … also earned three varsity letters in tennis. She went on to play college at Utah Tech. While there she earned multiple All Academic teams …played in every set … ended her career third place all-time in the Utah Tech record book for digs with 1574 … senior year led the team with 457 digs, finishing 1st in the WAC with digs per set at 5.13. She also made a big impact at GCU this season, starting in every set and completing her career with over 2000 digs! Mykenna graduated with a BA in Recreation and Sports Management. 

Volunteer Assistant Coach - Sarah Peterson -

Coach Peterson has been the Girls Varsity head coach for the past 23 seasons here at Greenway High School. While here, Greenway has qualified for the state playoffs 20 of those seasons. She and her team were State Champions in 2015, 2018, and 2019, joined by a State Runner-Up in 2016. She graduated from MidAmerica Nazarene University with a Bachelor's Degree in Math Education. She was an All-American in both volleyball and softball there. After completing college, she and her husband lived in France for two years where her husband was a professional basketball player. She has coached club volleyball at all different levels and is currently coaching at Arizona Sky Volleyball Academy. Her husband, Dan, coaches basketball at Chaparral High School. Life is busy for them with their two daughters, Tatum - off to Peru College to play volleyball and Kamryn - 14 (a stud swimmer).