2024-2025 "projected" Coaching Staff
| 11-12s | 13-14s | 15-16s | 17-18s | |||||||||||
| Coaching Positions Set | Coaching Positions Set | Coaching Positions Set | Coaching Positions Set | |||||||||||
| 12Navy | Krista | Barr | 13Navy | Weslyn | Ahl | 15Navy | Sophie | Cox | 17Navy | Deb | Grafentin | |||
| 13Navy | Lulu | Ahl | 15Navy | Dani | Keller | 17Navy | Aimee | Noel | ||||||
| 14Navy | Kristen | Svehla | 15Red | Kaitie | Serkiz | 18Navy | Sheila | Pleskac | ||||||
| Positions still to be determined | 14Navy | Kim | Wiechman | 15Red | TBA | 18Navy | Caitlin | Torchia | ||||||
| Elisa | Booth | 14Red | Rick | Mikelsen | 15White | Alli | Devries | 18Navy | Kylee | Fischer | ||||
| Gina | Mendick | 14Red | TBA | 15White | Maddie | Price | 17/18Red | Maggie | Madej | |||||
| Alex | Kohlhaas | 14Silver | Madison | Asselin | 15Silver | Kylee | Fischer | 17/18Red | TBA | |||||
| Joe | Boyle | 14Silver | Jaxon | Kelley | 15Silver | Keiley | Hein | |||||||
| Madison | Dryden | 16Navy | Taelen | Ahl | ||||||||||
| Positions still to be determined | 16Navy | Jada | Perkins | |||||||||||
| Trish | Siedlik* | 16Red | Hannah | Smith | ||||||||||
| Addititional coaches yet to be announced | Jill | Klich* | 16Red | Alexa | Blaine | |||||||||
| Natalie | Piskorski | 16White | Kristen | Busboom | ||||||||||
| Molly | Sheppard | 16White | TBA | |||||||||||
| Kylie | Wilsey | 16Silver | Holly | Jackson | ||||||||||
| Madison | Dryden | 16Silver | TBA | |||||||||||
| Paige | Roberts | |||||||||||||
| Ainsley | Vanosdall | |||||||||||||
| Jamie | Bac | |||||||||||||
| Kaylssa | Fox | |||||||||||||
| Raevyn | Russell | |||||||||||||
| * Coaches still to be placed due a child that must be placed on a team before the coach | ||||||||||||||
Placement of Coaches
Final Placement of Coaches
Most coaches have been placed, but we will post final coaches with final teams when it is tryouts are complete. Some coaches may be moved within an age group to different teams depending on the number of individuals who tryout for that age group. We must show flexibility, as it cannot be predetermined the "exact" number of teams in an age group unless these things happen:
- We have predetermined who is on what team prior to the tryout (which we will never do at RC...see our philosophy page)
- We have predetermined our club will cap teams at an age group to a certain number based on total coaches (this is possible, if we do not have enough coaches, we must cap the number of teams)
We have a couple of parent/coaches who must be placed after their child tries out and makes a team. We do not believe it is fair to automatically put a child on a team just because their parent coaches there. That player must earn the spot on a team first, then the coach will be placed there.
For any parent/coach in our program they understand this process. They also understand the coach/player role. There will be no "special" treatment for a player who happens to have a parent as a coach. The expectations of that player are the same as all players.
Those players must also understand this role and refer to the parent coach as "coach", never mom or dad during practices or tournaments. Our parent coaches are highly qualified and have extensive years of playing at a high level along with years of coaching experience. River City is thankful we have the opportunity to utilize this excellent coaching talent, while at the same time allowing this parent to be able to "watch" their child play instead of missing most of their season because they are at a different location or coaching a team who is playing at the same time on different courts.
If anyone should ever have a question about the placement of our coaches, you should contact me directly.
2023-2024 River City Juniors Coaching Staff
| Team | Position | First | Last | Coaches Bio |
| 11Navy | Head Coach | Elisa | Booth |
Prior to joining the staff at RC, Elisa coached high school varsity volleyball. She was also an avid player throughout her youth and into her 30's.
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| 11Navy | Assistant Coach | Krista | Filipi | This is Krista’s first year coaching with River City, but she has 14 years of coaching experience. For 10 years, she was the assistant varsity coach for Westside Volleyball where they appeared in the semi finals and finals of state during her last two years. Prior to high school coaching, Krista was a club coach for 10’seasons, 11’s, 12’s, and 13’s. Krista played volleyball in high school, during part of her college years at Peru State, and in countless adult leagues and tournaments. Krista is really excited to be coaching with RC this year! |
| 12Navy | Head Coach | Krista | Barr | Krista has been coaching for RC for the past 23 years. She has 2 years of collegiate coaching experience as an assistant coach before pursuing a full time career of teaching & training through The Volleyball Academy. Krista continues to play at a high competitive level in various leagues and tournaments. She is currently the Head Coach of RC's 12 Navy.
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| 12Navy | Assistant Coach | Krystal | Hynek | Krystal coached for Top Flight Volleyball Club for a year, then moved to River City Jrs last year, coaching the 12 Regional White team. This is her 2nd year at River City Jrs, and she is currently assisting the 12 National team. She has also been coaching TVA league and clinics for 2 years. Krystal played volleyball for 14 years. She was an All-State player at Bellevue West and continued her volleyball career in college at Iowa Western for 2 years and then transferred to Bellevue University and played for Coach Graf. |
| 12Red | Head Coach | Alyssa | Kirshenbaum |
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| 12Red | Assistant Coach | Izzy | Anselmo |
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| 12White | Head Coach | Gina | Mendick |
Gina has been coaching at the club level 12's for over 10 years, 5 years at RCJ. She has also coached at the elementary and middle school levels for both public and parochial schools. She also enjoys doing the scorebook for middle school and high school volleyball games.
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| 12White | Assistant Coach | Gabby | Krasso |
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| 12Silver | Assistant Coach | Anna | Faiman |
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| 13Navy | Head Coach | Kristen | Lebeda-Svehla |
Kristen has been coaching for 20 years. She has coached every age level of club. Kristen was a collegiate assistant and head coach for 7 years and high school for 9. In 2014 her high school team went 42-1 to earn state runner up. She was a 3 time All American at College of St Mary as a collegiate player and inducted into their hall of fame in 2014.
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| 13Navy | Assistant Coach | John | Svehla |
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| 13Red | Head Coach | Trish | Siedlik | Trish is in her second year at River City. Coached back in 2000. Was at Sunset for three years prior. Played at Westside HS, then was recruited to play at College of Saint Mary. Was the Head Coach for College of Saint Mary for 4 years then took the Bellevue University which was also a big time rival lead by Coach Graf. It was a pleasure to continue that success led by some amazing players that were also River City Alums. After 22 years of collegiate coaching and 18 of those at Bellevue, she is also the Assistant Athletic Director. She is currently the Head Coach for 13 Red National team.
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| 13Red | Assistant Coach | Alex | Kohlhaas |
Alex is in her third year at River City and has coached for a total of nine years. Played through high school, club and started all four years at Midland University. She also coaches youth volleyball at St. Albert Catholic Schools in Council Bluffs and is a PAL director. She is currently the assistant for our 13 Red national team.
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| 13White | Head Coach | Kim | Wiechman |
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| 13White | Assistant Coach | Paige | Roberts |
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| 13Silver | Head Coach | Maddie | Price |
Maddie is in her fourth year of coaching, three of them being with River City Juniors. Maddie played for River City throughout highschool and went on to play at the University of Northern Iowa on the women's club team. She now enjoys playing on co-ed, women's and sand teams. She values building relationships with the girls and seeing how much they can grow in such a short period of time, both as players and young women.
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| 13Silver | Assistant Coach | Gabby | Navratil |
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| 13Gray | Assistant Coach | Addison | Martin |
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| 13Gray | Head Coach | Taelen | Ahl |
Taelen has been coaching for six years in which he has coached at the Club, and High School level. He spent four years at Millard West where they had a State Runner-up appearance in 2021. He has been at River City Jrs for six years where he has coached many ages. Currently he is serving as the head coach of 17 Navy and 13 Gray.
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| 13Blue | Assistant Coach | Allisyn | Taylor |
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| 13Blue | Assistant Coach | Paige | Stubbe |
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| 14Navy | Head Coach | Weslyn | Ahl | Wes has been coaching for River City Jrs for 11 years and 12 years overall. She has coached grades K-12 in club, leagues, camps, and lessons. Wes played for RC for 6 years from age 13-18. She has coached many teams to top three finishes at the JVA World Challenge, JVA Midwest Challenge, and many other tournaments. Most recently Wes coached our 13 Navy team to an AAU National Championship in 2023! She values competeing, discipline, and the "Team" more than anything. Wes believes these are not only impoirtatn aspects for an athelte but a succesful person as well. |
| 14Navy | Assistant Coach | Lulu | Ahl | Lulu has been coaching for River City for 3 years and 6 years overall. She has coached all ages between K-12 while working at TVA and River City. Lulu played for RC for 10 years from ages 8-18. She played at the collegiate level for two years at Iowa Western and Kent State University. She most recently coached last year's 13 navy and 16 navy teams, helping 13 navy to an AAU National Championship. This year she is excited to be coaching 14 navy and 17 red!
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| 14Red | Head Coach | Alli | Devries | Alli has been coaching for River City for 7 years. She has also coached with TVA for 11 years. She has coached up to the high school level. Alli played for River City for 5 years, at the high school level for 4 years, and at a D3 college level for 2 years. Alli loves coaching because she loves working with athletes to develop their skills and knowledge of the game as well as their confidence, discipline, and collaboration.
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| 14Red | Assistant Coach | Natalie | Pisorski |
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| 14White | Head Coach | Rick | Mikelsen |
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| 14White | Assistant Coach | Ally | Bruner |
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| 14Silver | Head Coach | Madison | Asselin | This is Madison's first year coaching volleyball. She started playing volleyball in elementary school and played up until her senior year of high school. Madison continues to play in various legues and tournaments. She is currently the head coach of River City Jrs 14 Silver.
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| 14Silver | Assistant Coach | Jaxon | Kelley | This is Jaxon's first year coaching volleyball. He has played competitively for the past 6 years in various leagues and tournaments. He is currently the assistant coach of River City Jrs 14 Silver.
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| 14Gray | Head Coach | Hannah | Smith | Hannah has been coaching for 1 year with RC and 8 years of volleyball overall. She has coached all ages up to the HS level. Hannah played volleyball for 14 years. She played high school volleyball for 4 years and then collegiate D3 volleyball for 4 years. She asissted coaching 16R in 2023, and this is her first official year coaching at RC with 14G and 16R in 2024.
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| 14Gray | Assistant Coach | Sam | Marinus |
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| 14Blue | Head Coach | Carley | Dixson | Carley has been coaching at River City for 3 years and has coached for 4 years over all. She has coached mostly 13s and 14s but, has also coached some high school and younger kids. She has experience both coaching and playing hardcourt and sand volleyball. Carley played high school volleybal for St. Paul high school. While there her team placed third and runner-up twice at state. She enjoys coaching in hopes to bring the loves she has for volleyball to others.
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| 14Blue | Assistant Coach | Averie | Carollo | |
| 15Navy | Head Coach | Sophie | Cox | Sophie has been coaching club at River City for the past seven years, though she helped out with leagues and Lil' Diggers before officially starting to coach club. She has coached ages 12-15 but enjoys the combination of skill and strategy that the 15's age group has to offer. Sophie is a 7th grade Reading teacher in Elkhorn and also coaches her 7th grade middle school team in the fall. Sophie played at River City from age 10-18 before playing at Morningside in Sioux City and often calls River City her "home away from home". In line with club philosophy, Sophie is dedicated to developing the whole player, not just the athlete, and hopes to encourage young players to grow in their confidence, discipline, and overall potential. |
| 15Navy | Assistant Coach | Dani | Coyne | Dani has five years of coaching experience and is in her first official year of coaching at River City. She previously coached 12-13's. Dani played at River City ages 12-18 and helped out with Little Diggers while playing. After high school, she played volleyball at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, IA. Dani fell in love with the sport of volleyball and learned a lot about herself while playing at River City. Now being back to coach at River City, she hopes she can bring the same great experiences and love for the sport while developing players to be the best version of themselves. |
| 15Red | Head Coach | Kaitie | Serkiz |
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| 15Red | Assistant Coach | Alela | Heim |
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| 15White | Head Coach | Kalie | Thurston |
Kalie is in her second year coaching at River City and fourth year coaching overall. She is also an assistant coach for Omaha North High School. Kalie played four years at Doane University before continuing on to coaching in 2020.
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| 15White | Assistant Coach | Taylor | Prinz |
Taylor is in her second year of coaching 15s at River City. She played high school volleyball for 4 years at Westside and 6 years of club volleyball at River CIty. She is currently the assitant coach for 15 White
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| 15Silver | Head Coach | Kylee | Fischer | Kylee has been coaching for 1 year with RC, but has 3 years overall. She has coached 13's previously, and is now currently working with 15's. She played high school volleyball for 4 years and is currently going into her senior season at the collegiate level. She played her last 2 seasons of club volleyball with River City. She is studying to be an elementary teacher, while also getting a degree in coaching.
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| 15Silver | Assistant Coach | Keiley | Hein | Keiley has been coaching for a total of 4 years, and this is her first season coaching at River City. She coached the 13s age division for the past 3 years, but has since moved up to 15s. Keiley has played volleyball for a total of 14 years. She played volleyball all 4 years of high school along with playing club volleyball as well. She continued to pursue her volleyball career and went on to play in college, and just completed her final season as a senior at Peru State College this past season.
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| 16Navy | Head Coach | Deb | Grafentin | Deb has been coaching 46 years of volleyball and 52 overall. She formed RC Jrs in 1987. She has coached all levels of club. She has also coached 7 years at the collegiate level (Creighton University as an assistant for 1 year and Bellevue Universoty as the head coach for 6 years) and 17 years in HS. In 1995 her 18u team won the club National championship and were Natl runner-up is 2004 and 2015. She has been selected as one of the top 75 National Double -Goal Coaches in the country for youth sports...twice!
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| 16Navy | Assistant Coach | Aimee | Noel |
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| 16Red | Head Coach | Hannah | Smith | Hannah has been coaching for 1 year with RC and 8 years of volleyball overall. She has coached all ages up to the HS level. Hannah played volleyball for 14 years. She played high school volleyball for 4 years and then collegiate D3 volleyball for 4 years. She asissted coaching 16R in 2023, and this is her first official year coaching at RC with 14G and 16R in 2024.
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| 16Red | Assistant Coach | Alexa | Blaine |
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| 16White | Head Coach | Kristen | Busboom | Kristen has been coaching for 2 years at RC and 7 years overall with 6 of them being at the high school level. Both years at RC, she has been coaching 16 white. Kristen played volleyball through high school and has played competetive and semi competitive sand and court volleyball leagues since.
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| 16White | Assistant Coach | Cheyanne | Rhode |
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| 16Silver | Head Coach | Holly | Jackson | Holly has been coaching at River City for 3 years now. She started coaching at a small Lutheran School in Colorado. She moved to Nebraska and has coached local rec teams along with small club teams ran out of school. She played in high school for all 3 years and played club at a smaller club out of Great Bend KS. She found the love for the game very early in life when her cousin lived with them and played at CSU. She loves to instill that love of the game to anyone she coaches.
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| 16Silver | Assistant Coach | Karli | Keller |
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| 17Navy | Head Coach | Taelen | Ahl | Taelen has been coaching for six years in which he has coached at the Club, and High School level. He spent four years at Millard West where they had a State Runner-up appearance in 2021. He has been at River City Jrs for six years where he has coached many ages. Currently he is serving as the head coach of 17 Navy.
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| 17Navy | Assistant Coach | Jada | Perkins |
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| 17Red | Head Coach | Allyssa | Schimmoeller | Allyssa is in her first season of coaching at River City. She is originally from Lima, Ohio and has previously coached ages 10-18 for Bean City Volleyball Club. Allyssa played two years of collegiate volleyball as a DS/Libero at Urbana University and Wright State University. Additionally, she was the JV head coach at Lima Senior HS while assisting with Varsity in 2015. She has since coached adult men and women throughout her Air Force career and various Air Force bases from 2015-2023.
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| 17Red | Assistant Coach | Lulu | Ahl | Lulu has been coaching for River City for 3 years and 6 years overall. She has coached all ages between K-12 while working at TVA and River City. Lulu played for RC for 10 years from ages 8-18. She played at the collegiate level for two years at Iowa Western and Kent State University. She most recently coached last year's 13 navy and 16 navy teams, helping 13 navy to an AAU National Championship. This year she is excited to be coaching 14 navy and 17 red!
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| 17White | Head Coach | Kaitie | Serkiz |
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| 17White | Assistant Coach | Abby | Plihal |
Abby is in her first year of coaching at River City. She has 3 year experience coaching a range of youth ages, 2 years as a middle school head coach and 1 year as head high school coach. She will be coaching 17 Whites for the 2024 season.
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| 18Navy | Head Coach | Sheila | Thomas |
Sheila has been coaching with River City for 23 years. She has coached many age groups, mainly 17s and 18s the last few years. Sheila also coaches for Gross High School. She played college volleyball at Bellevue University.
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| 18Navy | Assistant Coach | Sydney | McLaren | Sydney has been coaching club volleyball at RC for 2 years but has coached leagues/camps for 7 years. She has coached all ages up through seniors in high school but has coached 18 Navy both years at RC. Sydney played volleyball for 12 years, 3 of which were at RC. Sydney played 4 years of high school volleyball in Iowa, and 4 years at the collegiate level earning all-conference honors all four years. Sydney is passionate about developing players' mental game, confidence, grit, and competitiveness. |
| Boys14u | Head Coach | Brandon | Ray |
Brandon has been coaching volleyball for River City for 4years and is in his 2nd year as the 14 Boys coach. Brandon has coached all levels of volleyball from Pre-K to the collegiate level. Brandon has been apart of the coaching world for 17years and is also apart of the officiating world as well.
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| Boys14u | Assistant Coach | Ricky | Webster |
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| Boys16u | Head Coach | Seth | Richardson |
Seth is in his third year with the River City Boys program and has coached 14s, 16s and 18s.
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| Boys16u | Assistant Coach | Mason | Bell | The 2024 season is Mason's first with the River City Boys program and his first year coaching volleyball. Mason started his club volleyball career in highschool where he played 1 year with River City. Now, he is on his second year of College club volleyball at Creighton University as club vice president and starting libero. During his first year of college club, the Creighton team finished as the third best college club team for division 2 in the United States.
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| Boys18u | Head Coach | Liam | Lutz | This is Liam's first year coaching club volleyball. He has 6 years of experience playing club and 1 year of experience playing for Iowa High Performance. Liam and his team won the Boy's Junior National Championship in 2022 in the 18 USA division. He was named to the 2022 BJNC All-Tournament Team.
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| Boys18u | Assistant Coach | Will | Lewis | The 2024 season is Will's first with the River City Boys program and the Boys 18's team, and his second year coaching volleyball. Will started his career with volleyball helping to found and compete with the UNO Men's Volleyball Club for 4 years where he helped to bring the club to the NCVF National Tournament during his senior year. Will has also assisted for a handful of club and high school programs as well as spent time as a practice player and team assistant for the Omaha Maverick's Women's Volleyball program.
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