Coaching Staff

Larry Smoot began his coaching career at Torrance High School with the boys' volleyball program in 1980. He added the girls' team to his coaching duties in 1984 and led them to national rankings in 1986 (No. 12) and 1987 (No. 10). His girls' program captured the Bay League Championship from 1985 through 1987.

Smoot is currently the Head Coach and Owner of the South Bay Girls' Volleyball Club and has served as head coach for the Torrance Volleyball Club (boys). His South Bay 18-and-under club team has advanced to the Kaepa Festival Tournament Final Four in four of the last 10 years and won the championship in 1993. During the summer of 2006, Smoot coached the South Bay 18-1s to a bronze medal at the American Division Junior National Championships in Atlanta.

He previously led the Torrance club to a second place finish at the USVB Junior Olympics in 1983. Smoot was honored in 1996 with the Distinguished Service Award for Junior Volleyball by the Kaepa Volleyball Festival.

A 1978 graduate of Torrance High School, Smoot was an all-conference volleyball player at El Camino Junior College before playing one season at Long Beach State in 1982. Smoot still competes in men's and co-ed division tournaments. He is a former USVBA All-American in the co-ed division and has won the USVBA co-ed division open championships as a player-coach in 1987 and 1990.

Lydia has coached for South Bay for 14 years and has served as club administrator for the past 4 years. Over the years, she has coached all levels of teams from 12s all the way through 18s. This year, she will be assisting the 18-1 team in order to give her more time to be with her new baby daughter, Summer, who was born in August.

Her greatest accomplishments in coaching have occurred recently. At the Volleyball Festival in 2006 and 2008, her teams finished in the top 16 overall. In 2007, Lydia coached her 16-1 team to the Open division of the Junior Olympics. And in 2009, her 17-1 team won the club division of the Los Angeles Junior Olympic Qualifier earning them a bid to play in the National division of the Junior Olympics in Miami, FL.

Lydia played middle blocker at LMU from 1996-1999. She is still in the record books for blocking. After graduation, she was hired in the Palos Verdes Peninsula USD as a fifth grade teacher where she taught for 7 years. Currently, Lydia is teaching part time in PVPUSD, is getting her master's degree, is serving as South Bay's administrator and 18-1 assistant coach, and is a new mom!

Daniel begins his 8th season coaching for South Bay and his 15th year coaching overall. He has coached in both the 18 and under and 16 and under divisions while at South Bay. Before coming to South Bay he was the cofounder of Big Dog Volleyball Club where he coached there for 7 years. Daniel will be assisting the 18-1 team this year.

Dave is in his 10th season coaching for South Bay and his 15th year coaching overall. This year, he will be coaching the 17-1 team. He has held coaching positions in the 18s and 16s age divisions during his time with South Bay. In 2007, he helped the 16-1 team earn their way to the Open Division of the Junior Olympics. Prior to joining South Bay, Dave held coaching positions with high school girls and boys, as well as club teams, in Canada. Dave is looking forward to a great season.

Chelsea is a returning South Bay alumni and is in her 3rd year coaching with us. She graduated from South High school in 2006 where she played volleyball for four years and coached for both Palos Verdes VBC and South High's freshman boys team. She is currently attending Biola University and continues to play on the beach and through college intramurals.

Grady started playing volleyball when he was 14 years old. He was named his high school league player of the year and team MVP in 2003. After high school, he attended college at Loyola Marymount University. There, he coached the women's club volleyball team to a top 25 national ranking. He currently plays at Loyola Marymount University where he was named first team all league in 2005. It is Grady's fourth year coaching with South Bay Volleyball Club. He is coaching the 17-Gold team.

Kurt currently coaches the 16-1 team. He has been a part of the South Bay family for more than 15 years. He has coached both of the girls and boys teams at Penninsua High School for more than a decade.

This is Hattie's second year coaching with South Bay. She graduated from South High School in 2008 where she played four years of volleyball. Previous to coaching Hattie also played at South Bay for four years. Going into her junior year this fall, Hattie will be attending and playing for Northern Michigan University.

Makalani Hovey-Vicknair previously coached for Palos Verdes Volleyball Club for two seasons (15-1's and 16-1's) and then changed to Club X Volleyball Club for 2 more seasons (13's and 14's). She coached her 13's and 14's team to the Junior Olympics both seasons where her 13's team ranked 9th in the National division in 2006 and her 14's team earned a bronze medal in the American division in 2007. Makalani has also head coached both boys and girls at some of the local high schools including North Torrance, Hawthorne, and Lawndale.

Her personal career consists of playing for Eastern Oregon University where she was voted defensive player of the year. After her eligibility was up, she transferred to Oregon State University to obtain her 2nd degree and participated in forming the OSU Volleyball Club, where she played for 2 years. Upon completing her double major, she moved to Southern California and began playing beach volleyball professionally. Though injuries have limited her participation, she continues to compete on the beach and be an active member of the volleyball community by passing on her knowledge of and passion for the sport through coaching. She has recently become a mother and now limits her coaching focus on club volleyball.

Nathan Jones is a Social Studies teacher at Torrance High School and is also the boy's and girl's Head Coach. His boy's team reached its' first ever CIF Final in 2009 and Nathan was named the CIF DIV. IV Coach of the Year and the Daily Breeze Boy's Volleyball Coach of the Year. He was also the 2008 Daily Breeze Boy's Volleyball Coach of the Year after guiding his team to their first league title in twenty years.

Nathan coached at South Bay from 1994 to 1997. He moved back to the South Bay in the fall of 1999 and began coaching at Loyola Marymount alongside South Bay Head Coach Larry Smoot. Both coaches coached current South Bay Director Lydia Kniffin. In two seasons spent as the volunteer assistant the Lions went to the NCAA Playoffs both years. Nathan also took on the Director's duties of South Bay. In four years as Director more than twenty young women continued their volleyball careers at the collegiate level. He served as the 16-1 coach for five seasons, guiding his 2003 team to fourteenth in the nation and his 2004 & 2005 teams finished in the Top 16 at the Volleyball Festival.

Michael Marconi has been coaching volleyball for over 20 years at the junior level. He has been part of the South Bay Volleyball Club family for over 10 years. In his free time he enjoys reading, running, snowboarding, riding his motorcycle and spending time with his family and friends.

Keleise is entering her 7th season with South Bay Volleyball club and is coaching the 14-1 team. In 2009, her 14-1 team finished 4th at the Volleyball Festival. As a player, Keleise was a 1st team all-conference outside hitter at Humboldt State University where she is currently listed in the record books in career kills, attempts, and digs. Four years ago, Kelesie played professionally in Samoa. She enjoyed her experience and hopes to go back one day.

This is Shanna's first year coaching, and we are excited to have her. She played at South High School from 2004-2008 and graduated in 2009. Shanna played at South Bay her freshman through senior years, attending Junior Nationals twice. She is currently attending El Camino College. She will be assisting for our 14-1's team this year.

Lindsey played for San Ramon Valley High School in Northern California where she was 1st Team All League two years in a row. She helped her team to back to back undefeated seasons in the East Bay Athletic League. After high school, Lindsey played volleyball for Arizona State University, graduating in 2007 with a BA in Communication.

Since graduation, Lindsey has coached at Nor Cal Volleyball Club and San Ramon Valley High School as Assistant Coach to the Women's Varsity team for the past two years. Currently, Lindsey still plays competitive indoor and beach volleyball. She coaches for Sinjin Smith & Randy Stokolos Beach Volleyball Camps, Volleypop, and of course South Bay Volleyball Club.

Jennifer Haney is in her 16th year of coaching at South Bay Volleyball Club. She is the divisional coach for the 14 and under and 12 and under programs. Currently, she is coaching the 13-1's, but has also served as 14-1 and 12-1 coach in years past. Jennifer is also an alumnus of South Bay playing for the club during her four years of high school.

Jennifer played volleyball for Bishop Montgomery High School and Saint Mary's College in the bay area. She received a BA in mathematics and later a teaching credential and Masters of Education from Chapman University. She currently works at West High in Torrance teaching math and coaching the girls' varsity volleyball team. Her 2009 team won 3rd in the tough Bay League and made it to the second round of CIF. Finishing with a 19-10 record, she was awarded with Daily Breeze coach of the year

This is Sione's second year coaching with South Bay. He is currently an assistant coach with the 14s and 13s teams. He has been an assistant coach for the West High varsity team for past six years. Sione also has taught Algebra and Pre-Algebra at Jefferson Middle School in Torrance for the past nine years. Currently, Sione and his wife have five kids, a basketball team, and need one more to complete their volleyball team.

A former All-American at UC Santa Barbara, Collins has fifteen years of Division I collegiate coaching experience. She was an assistant coach for her alma mater UC Santa Barbara for two years and for Loyola Marymount University for thirteen.

A four-year letterwinner at UCSB, Collins was a two-time All-Big West first-team member following her junior and senior seasons. She earned third-team All-America honors from Volleyball Magazine as a junior, and honorable mention accolades following her senior campaign. She ranks among school leaders in career digs (1,556 - third) and kills (1,329 - fifth) and holds the school mark for service aces (157). As a player, she led the Gauchos to a four-year record of 101-29, including four appearances in the NCAA Postseason Tournament. In 1993, UCSB posted a 28-4 mark and finished with a No. 4 national ranking.

Collins attended Poway High School where she led her team to three CIF 3-A championships. She was a two-time All-CIF first-team performer and won Player of the Year honors following her senior season. A five-year player for the San Diego Volleyball Club, she led the 18-elite team to the Nike Davis Volleyball Festival Championship in 1991.

Collins is a two-year veteran of the professional volleyball ranks. She played in the National Volleyball Association (NVA) 4-man sand and 4-man grass league in 1996, and played for the Utah Golden Spikers of the NVA in 1997.

Heather is available for private lessons!