MEET OUR COACHES

Ashley Walker

Club Director
[email protected]

Coach Ashley has grown up in Lakeland and attended Lake Gibson High School where she played volleyball for 4 years. She played for Polk State. She has been coaching since 1999 and has been the assistant varsity volleyball coach at Lake Gibson High School for 6 years. Ashley is married and has a daughter who currently plays volleyball in Ohio. In her spare time, she loves to spend time with her family

Jessie Hopkins

Club Director
[email protected]

Coach Jessie has grown up in Lakeland and attended Lakeland Christian High School where she played volleyball for 6 years. She played for Warner Southern, Polk State, and Florida College where her team won a National Championship in 2007. She has been coaching since she was 19 and has been the head volleyball coach at Lake Gibson High School for 6 years. She is married and has two children.

Damaris Flores

20+ Juniors Coaching USAV & AAU Experience:

2020 Lakeland High School Beach Volleyball Coach

2019 16 under Head Coach Southern Select VB Club

2018 16 under Head Coach Top Select VB Club

2018 Polk State College Assistant Coach & Strength/Conditioning Coach

2013-2017 Winter Haven High School Head Coach

2000-2007 Florida Southern College Assistant Coach

Former Puertorrican National League Professional Player

Former Puertorrican National Team Indoors & Beach Volleyball Player

Katelynn Morris

This is Katelynn's 3rd year coaching with Warrior Athletics. She is a graduate from Lake Gibson High School and has played with Warriors for 2 years. She was offered a scholarship to play in college and is now pursuing a nursing degree

Michelle McElwaney

Coach Mac grew up in Lakeview, Michigan where she played four years of varsity volleyball. She went on and played one year of college basketball and four years of college softball at Spring Arbor University. After graduating she coached freshmen volleyball for two years at her alma mater. She is a Physical Education teacher at Lake Gibson High School. She has been on the volleyball coaching staff at Lake Gibson since 2017. Coach Mac is married and has a daughter.

Emma Anderson

Emma Anderson is from Lakeland, Florida. She has played volleyball since the sixth grade. She played for Lake Gibson High School indoor and beach volleyball team throughout her four years of high school, while playing club volleyball for Lakeland Volleyball Academy and Warrior Athletics. She went on to play volleyball for Polk State College while earning her Bachelors degree in Business Administration: Supervision and Management.

Mackenzie Peterman

Mackenzie Petermann is currently a junior volleyball player at Florida Southern College. She is from Pooler, Georgia. MacKenzie is currently majoring in Sports Business Management with a minor in communication and marketing. She has also been playing volleyball for almost 10 years now and have coached for 5 years.

Rayna Durden

Rayna Durden is from Jacksonville Fl, she has 5 siblings 3 older 2 younger. She has been playing volleyball for 5 years. This will be her second year coaching for the Warriors. She is attending Polk State College majoring in criminal Justice.

KIERSTEN KRAUS

Coach Kiersten will be entering her junior year at Florida Southern College, where she is pursuing a Business Administration degree and playing volleyball. She was born and raised in Neenah Wisconsin. For many years, she has run camps and practices for all age levels. She also has 8 years of playing experience. Kiersten is excited for her first season with Warrior Athletics.

Elena Djokovic

I come from Belgrade, Serbia, and have been playing volleyball for more than 14 years. I have a younger sister who plays basketball at the University of West Alabama. I played at Stetson University for the past four years and am currently playing at Florida Southern College as a graduate student. I play as an outside hitter and I am working towards getting my MBA with a concentration in Data Analytics. I look forward to my first year at Warrior Athletics.

MAYA OMAR

Maya comes from Dallas,Texas where she’s been playing volleyball for 8 years. She is currently a freshman playing at Florida Southern College, where she is majoring in Business Administration. She can’t wait to coach at Warrior Athletics!

JADEN MAYO

My name is Jaden Mayo and I was raised in Lakeland, Florida. I've been playing volleyball since middle school and continued through college. I played beach and indoor for four years at Lake Gibson Senior High School, while playing club volleyball for Lakeland Volleyball Academy and Warrior Athletics. I continued my volleyball career at Webber International University for 2 years. I now attend University of Central Florida online to earn my Bachelors in Psychology.

Mary Kate Mulvaney

Mary Kate is currently a freshman at Florida Southern College. She is from St. Louis, Missouri. She has been playing volleyball for 9 years now and has coached at her club back home for 2 years. She is excited for her first season with Warrior Athletics!

Lashanda Burrell

Coach Shawn was born in Honolulu, HI and grew up a military brat. Even though she grew up playing basketball, she fell in love with playing volleyball during high school in College Park, MD and then Key West, FL. After graduating she then went on to play college ball for a year at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. Her coaching career consists of middle school head coach, club head coach, and high school JV head coach teams. She is an athlete at heart and enjoys training, competing and developing young players into the best athletes and individuals they can be. She is married and has 4 beautiful kids.

SADIE GRUVER - MINI CLUB

My name is Sadie. I’m a mom of 4, 3 boys and a daughter. I have been married to my husband Levi for 16 years. We moved to Florida 1 year ago and we are loving it! I started playing volleyball in middle school and fell in love with the sport. I played through high school and then played in some competitive leagues in college, and after I started having children continued to play in competitive women’s leagues. I also reffed high school and middle school volleyball for a few years. I have coached my kids in other sports, and I’m excited to coach volleyball, and help my daughter fall in love with this sport as well.

CHAD JONES - MINI CLUB

Coach Chad was born & raised in Polk, graduating from Auburndale HS & Polk Community College way back when. He's a "girl dad" with 3 daughters, Annabelle, Audrey & Ava. Chad & his wife, Ashley, attend Oasis Church in Winter Haven and they operate a local business called C-Jones Lawn & Tree. He's coached boys & girls basketball for over ten years and has coached several volleyball rec teams. Chad has immense energy & passion for youth and the sport of volleyball. His mission statement is "We work hard on the court & learn to overcome adversity, both as individuals & as a team, so that we can learn how to do the same in the real world." Coach "C-Jones" is absolutely stoked about this upcoming season!

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