COACHES

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Our coaches are experienced, certified, and background screened to assure the safety of our junior participants.

All Sandsharks coaches are members of USA Volleyball, the the National Governing Body (NGB) for the sport of volleyball in the United States and recognized as such by the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC). All Sandsharks coaches have completed training requirements mandated by USA Volleyball including:

• IMPACT (Increased Mastery and Professional Application of Coaching Theory), a 4-5 hour online coaching course.
• SafeSport, a comprehensive 90-minute overview of facts, principles, and strategies to aid coaches in providing a safe and positive sport environments.
• A USA Volleyball Background Check.

Sandshark coaches vary slightly from year to year, but are all highly experienced, motivated, and committed to our athletes and to growing the game. 

Sandsharks Founders include:

Sandsharks was founded by Jon Skolnik, a veteran CHRVA USAV indoor coach and club director, who had previously run numerous beach camps. He was joined by Irv Rodrigues, who organizes beach volleyball programs for the Chesapeake Region Volleyball Association (CHRVA), and Ernie Siegrist, Founder and former Director of the South River Volleyball Club which offered both beach and indoor volleyball training. Siegrist is also a national level USAV beach referee.

Sandsharks Administrative Staff include:

Jonathan Skolnik, Sandsharks Club Director and Senior Coach, has ten years experience running volleyball clubs. He has played volleyball, both beach and indoor, for over forty years. He brings his love for the game and his relentless positivity to Sandsharks. His coaching credentials include five years coaching Sandsharks, eleven seasons coaching USAVolleyball sanctioned indoor club teams (including 19th in the country at the 2013 Boys Junior National Championships in Reno Nevada), and eight years running a beach volleyball camp in Rehoboth. Jon also served as a court coach for a USA Volleyball Beach High Performance Tryout. Coach Jon is IMPACT, Safe Sport, and Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) certified.

Irv Rodrigues, Sandsharks Director of College and High Performance Placement Programs, also organizes beach programs for CHRVA, the regional arm of USAVolleyball. Irv pairs his numerous contacts with his knowledge of tournaments, showcases, the USAVolleyball high performance pipeline, and the college volleyball recruiting structure to maximize opportunities for our athletes.

Featured Sandshark Coaches include:

Savannah Siegrist has both coached and competed in beach volleyball at the college level. In January 2024, Savannah Siegrist assumed the role of assistant coach for the Jacksonville University Women’s Beach Volleyball program. Siegrist is also the Head Men's Beach Volleyball Coach at Weber International, where she led the team to a 3rd place finish at the AVCA Men's National Championship in 2023. Savannah played her freshman season with Jacksonville, where she led the Dolphins with the most wins as part of the #1 pairing. Siegrist then transterred to the University of Oregon, where she graduated and played for three years, totaling 29 wins. She received her Bachelor's and master's degrees in Sports Business from Oregon. While at South River High School she was honored as the Baltimore Sun All-Metro Volleyball Player of the Year and the Capital Gazette's Player of the Year. Siegrist was also involved in the first years of USAV Beach High Performance, including playing for the A2 National and the Chesapeake Region (CHRVA) team, and coaching the development team for CHRVA. Siegrist has been coaching beach volleyball since 2016 for clubs, including South River Volleyball Club, Grit Volleyball, Dynamic Volleyball Academy, Oregon Sand Volleyball, and Sandsharks Beach Volleyball where she has coached for four years.

Cam Rodrigues was a member of the USA Youth National Beach Team for four years. He has competed internationally and represented USA at U21 World Championships in Switzerland. Coach Cam started playing at 8, played in indoor nationals three times. As a current pro beach player he has competed in multiple AVP qualifiers, and has won multiple open level championships. Cam has coached for ten years. He’s currently the head beach volleyball coach at the prestigious Grit Volleyball Club in DC. Cam has coached parts of each of the past five summers with Sandsharks. 

Christina Paul is a former team captain of the University of Maryland Women's Volleyball team. After college she served as an indoor club coach at Virginia Elite Volleyball Club. Christina has one summer of Sandsharks experience.

Outer Sandshark Coaches include:

John Robino grew up playing volleyball in Bethany Beach and Ocean City. He’s coached club indoor for the past eight years for Premier Volleyball and also served as a volunteer assistant at Middletown High School. John has one summer of Sandsharks experience.

Sophia (Sophie) Basler, a former Sandshark, has played volleyball over 10 years, including beach for six years. She was a four year starter at Smyrna HS, where she was All-Conference for three years and All-State for two years, graduating in 2021. She now plays collegiately at Kutztown University, where as a starting outside hitter she was second on the team in kills her freshman year. Sophia has one summer of Sandsharks experience.

Angelica Kusen graduated from Cape Henlopen High School, where she played indoor volleyball all four years. She also played travel volleyball for the Premier Volleyball Club national team for two years and attended multiple volleyball camps. She has played multiple positions, going from right side to middle. She now plays Club Volleyball at the University of Delaware. Angelica has one summer of Sandsharks experience. 

Alex Seel played club volleyball locally in northern Delaware for six years, traveling to the Girls’ Junior National Championships three times. Continuing her volleyball career at Kennett High School, she played varsity for four years. In 2021, she coached