Coaches - Phoenix Beach Volleyball , PHOENIX BEACH COACHES

PHOENIX COACHES

Josh D’Alemberte

Club Founder

Coach Josh is a Miami native with 25+ years experience inside the classroom and on the courts/fields across Miami. He and his wife Alysia started Phoenix in 2016 with a desire to create opportunity for Miami youth and adults in the sport he loves, beach volleyball. Josh was responsible for starting the Ransom Everglades Middle/High School beach program, where we was a Social Studies teacher at the time. Besides Phoenix, Josh also shares his time as an indoor coach at Coral Gables High School (where his youngest son is a player) and runs Who Tutors, a K-12 educational organization offering tutoring, test prep and consulting services.

Frank Barrios

Upper Level Coach
Beach Volleyball Coordinator

Coach Frankie began his playing career at Coral Gables High School and made the transition shortly afterwards to beach volleyball because he wanted to get more touches on the ball. He fell in love with the sport even more. Barrios, currently trains with SoFlo’s best beach volleyball athletes and competes at the men’s open level in tournaments throughout the state. Frankie’s favorite thing about beach volleyball is that you have to ALWAYS be focused and involved. There are only two people on your side of the court, so you HAVE to contact the ball every rally. He joined the Phoenix coaching team in 2018 and shortly after joining, transitioned to head beach coordinator where he has introduced Phoenix athletes to a whole new level of training. Frankie has been the assistant varsity boys coach at Coral Gables High School since 2022. When he is not coaching or playing, you can find Coach Frankie hanging with his puppy Mila watching Lord of the Rings.

Angela Brown

Youth Coach
Program Coordinator

Coach Angie joined the Phoenix staff in February 2018 after spending four years prior running a K-12 volleyball program at Colegio el Camino, a bilingual school in Los Cabos, Mexico. Brown began her coaching career as an assistant varsity/head junior varsity coach for her alma mater high school SAHS (Stillwater, MN). She spent twelve years in that position as well as assisting the local club program, SAJO, in varying roles as board member, head 12/13/15’s coach and club director (2012-2013) as well. Additionally, she worked as a lead clinician for several youth indoor summer camps and clinics as well as three years of beach volleyball camps with All American Girls/Boys. A native of nearby Boca Raton, FL, Brown was a collegiate indoor volleyball player (setter/defensive specialist) at Elmhurst University, IL.

Olivia Meyer-Massey

Youth/Adult Coach
and Club Admin

Coach Olivia began her volleyball career at the age of12 when she tried out for her indoor volleyball team at Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart and was a natural fit for the sport. She quickly fell in love with indoor volleyball and decided to partner up with a teammate to be trained professionally in beach volleyball. Her early training days took place at Kennedy Park volleyball courts, where we now hold our Phoenix Beach practices. Shortly after beginning her volleyball career in Miami, Olivia moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina where she was awarded Most Valuable Player in her eight-grade year and went to be one of the two freshmen to make her high school Varsity team. During Olivia’s freshman year, she played as an outside hitter but later earned her spot as libero/DS. Olivia was awarded Defensive MVP her Senior year. Coach Olivia also was part of indoor volleyball club for Chapel Hill Area where she was named North Carolina Mid-State All-Conference Player and Carolina Region USA Volleyball All-Tournament Player. She also was a VH1 Carolina Region 18U/16U Beach Volleyball Champion. as a beach volleyball champion, two-time Varsity MVP and three-time All-Conference Player with eight indoor club volleyball national championships under her belt, she is natural fit for her new position as the Phoenix Volleyball Club Tournament Director and Coach. She is very excited to hold her practices on the same courts where she started her training.

Carlos Rodriguez

Youth/Adult Coach

Coach Carlos started his volleyball journey in January 2021. By diving in head first to study the game and play as often as he could, he now plays at an advanced level. No stranger to youth athletics, Carlos grew up playing various sports like basketball, baseball and flag football during elementary school through high school. So though he volleyball career is short compared, he understands the value of hard work, team work and communication on the field. As a student at Florida International University, Carlos is working towards a major in Psychology and a minor in Sociology. In his day to day, Carlos is a manager for a customer support team. His daily focus is to develop and train his team to provide excellent service through expert communication and interpersonal skills. Building a team is what he excels in. When not working or playing volleyball, Carlos’ next favorite passion is rock climbing.

Ian Villarroel

Youth/Adult Coach

Coach Ian joined the Phoenix coaching in 2021 staff after first starting as a Phoenix youth player several years before. He used to practice with his father, on the courts of Kennedy Park and is now able to share this passion with players just like him. With a step-by-step approach, he is able to increase the skill level of each athlete, group, or team he is working with, no matter the age or level. He comes into each training session with range of training techniques to engage every player. Ian competes in Co-Ed and Men’s beach tournaments throughout FL.

Angel Correa

Youth/Adult Coach

Coach Angel started playing Beach volleyball at age of nine years old. He learned and developed a love for the game of volleyball from his father and other players who frequent the beach courts of Coral Reef Park. Angel joined the Phoenix coaching team to inspire the New Generation of Players. He is currently studying at Miami Dade College to become a Radiologist but can’t focus on his goal cause he’s always playing, coaching and training. Coach Angel loves the game so much, he built a beach court WITH LIGHTS at his home in Palmetto Bay.

Bianka Solorzano

Youth Coach

Coach Bianka has been playing volleyball for the past 12 years, , recently finishing her indoor collegiate career at Shorter University as a Libero/DS. She has 6 years of coaching experience at MVA club team (Head Coach for the 14’s in 2017), True North Beach Volleyball in 2021 and now Phoenix. Bianka continues to train hard and competes in local tournaments as a beach volleyball player and is currently studying towards a career in medicine.

Mariano Beytia

Junior Coach

Coach Mariano is a Phoenix beach volleyball player that competes in junior boys and men’s tournaments throughout South Florida. He is also a member of the Coral Gables High School boys team were he plays libero. Mariano began coaching with Phoenix in the fall of 2022 and serves as a great role model to our elementary and middle school players who love the sport of volleyball.

Mauricio Quesada

Junior Coach

Coach Mauricio is a junior in high school at Coral Gables High were he plays middle for the boys indoor team. He also competes competitively in beach volleyball in junior boys and men’s tournaments throughout South Florida. Mauricio began coaching with Phoenix in the fall of 2022 but has worked youth in both swimming and martial arts and as a “manny” in the summer. He is a great communicator and focuses his efforts to encourage dedication from all types of athletes, both on the court and in life. When he’s not coaching or playing volleyball, he’s hitting the books (Chemistry is is fav subject) or playing the guitar (Worlds Apart-Journey is one of his fav’s).

Yileen Ng

Youth/Adult Coach

Yileen Ng was born in Panama, Central America where she spent most of her life. She is a recent addition to the Phoenix coaching team, joining in the spring of 2022. She was a collegiate indoor volleyball player (NJCAA and NCAA Division II) at Barry University where she finished her last year of eligibility as a Middle Blocker. Yileen recently finished her masters degree in Business Administration, also at Barry University and is now working full time in her field. Although her background is indoor volleyball, she fell in love with beach volleyball since coming to Miami and plays often when she is not studying or coaching. Her five years as an international student in the United States has been an experience of a lifetime, with so many adventures which have helped her grow mentally, physically and emotionally. She believes that every struggle she has encountered along the way, was put there to teach her some of life’s many lessons.

Gerry Gonzalez

Youth Coach

Coach Gerry is a junior at Florida State University studying commercial entrepreneurship and is the Vice President of the FSU Beach Volleyball Club. He attended Southwest Miami High and played RH for the indoor volleyball team his senior year where they placed 2nd in the state. Gerry joined our team in spring of 2022 bringing the goal of sharing the same passion he has for volleyball to our young athletes. Gerry competes at the Men’s AAA/Open level in tournaments throughout Florida.

JD Karanik

Indoor Coach (Defense Specialist)

Coach JD is a native of Phoenix, AZ and moved to Florida to attend the University of Miami where he is currently a student studying aerospace engineering. He has been playing indoor volleyball for ten years, specializing in defense and passing. Throughout the years, he has played at the highest club level competing in multiple boys Junior National Championships in the open division. He is currently the President of the UM Men’s Club Volleyball Team where he plays libero. JD reminds us often to bring our teams’ focus back to the fundamentals when it comes to the first touch and is responsible for keeping our defensive game running efficiently….most days 🙂

Candace Garcia

Youth/Adult Coach

Coach Candace joined the Phoenix team as a youth and adult coach in 2021. She has an extensive background as an indoor player and been a positive force with our youth training groups since she began. Candace specializes in positional training (for hybrid athletes) and skill development as athletes transition from indoor to beach and vice versa. She is a FIU college student studying political science with plans to attend NY Law School upon graduation. She has holds a full time position at a local Coral Gables law firm. Candace continues to work hard as beach player and competes in Co-Ed tournaments and at the women’s A/AA/AAA level.

Niko Lugo

Junior Coach

Coach Niko is sophomore at Palmetto Senior High were he plays libero for the boys indoor volleyball team. He began his beach career as a freshman, taking private lessons and playing on his own. He joined our coaching team as a junior coach in 2022 and works with our elementary and middle school players at Coral Reef Park. He is a great example to our youth players as he always puts forth maximum effort towards achieving his goals, one of which is to play college volleyball when he graduates in 2025.