Danny
started to coach volleyball at the age of 14 for his club Arsel Eagles. By the
age of 18, Danny had won four Puerto Rico national tournaments in the 14U club
division. On 3 of those seasons, his team went undefeated. Danny led his 12
Open team to an AAU National Championships. He also won the USAV Junior
Nationals for girls with his 14’s team in the open division. He also won went
on to win every national tournament that his team played in Puerto Rico,
including the championship for the 16’s age group. Danny also served as the
assistant coach for semi-pro team in his home town Toa Baja. The year that he
was assistant, the team was the national champion of the Puerto Rican league.
After only one year, he took over the team as the head coach, and the team made
it all the way to the semi-finals. Danny finished his coaching in Puerto Rico
when he went to Junior Nationals with his 15’s team and got the 3rd place in
the 15 Open division.
In 2008, Danny coached at the Orlando Volleyball
Academy where in the first year, he took his Molten team to the USAV Junior
Nationals finishing in 5th place. In 2010, he coached the OVA 14 Asics and the
team went on to finish in the top 10 for the USAV Junior Nationals. In 2011,
his 14 Asics team won the Big South Qualifier and the Show Me Qualifier and
also finished 3rd place in the Open division. In 2010, Danny was named the
Outstanding Junior’s Coach by the Florida Region. He also served as the Varsity
Head Coach at Winter Springs High School and led the team to the FHSAA State
Finals. Danny was also the head coach for Foundation Academy in Winter Garden.
The team was runner-up in 2A in the years 2012 and 2013. He moved to coach at
Dr. Phillips High School when in 2 years the team had 2 district championship
and 2 region finals appearance. In 2016 his OT 17 Asics Red took second place
at the AAU Nationals in 17 Open, and in 2018, Danny won the National
Championship 11’s Patriot division and was the runner up in 13 Club at AAU
Nationals.
Angel Ayala grew up in Puerto Rico where he was the only volleyball
player in a baseball household.
He started playing baseball when he was 5 years old but switched to volleyball at the age of 12 and continued on through high school and club.
After graduating, Angel played at Newbury College in Boston where he excelled as a middle blocker for the Nighthawks. He graduated in 2012 with a degree in Criminal Justice and a minor in Psychology .
Angel has
coached and prepared players for the next level at OTVA - one of the biggest clubs in
America - where he won numerous medals and championships in various age groups at the Open level.
I
grew up in Fullerton, California where I was a multi-sport athlete. After
graduating high school, I played volleyball at California State University,
Northridge (CSUN) and was a three-time All American under Coach Jeff Stork.
Jeff helped me to believe in myself and see the bigger picture on the
volleyball court. I fell in love with watching film and analyzing my game to
improve it. Each time I made a better read on defense, hit an open spot on the
court, or stuff blocked an opponent I knew it was because of the time my coach
spent with me teaching me to think critically about the game. More than that,
Jeff taught me what it meant to be a leader, a teammate, and how to integrate
my identity as an athlete to all other parts of my life. He taught me that my
wins and losses as a volleyball player did not dictate my worth as a
person.
While
playing at CSUN, I started my first coaching job at the volleyball club
Supernova All-Stars. There, I had an even more profound look at the importance
of coaching that goes beyond just learning the game. The club motto at
Supernova was “Building more than just a volleyball player” and that same philosophy
is why I wanted to join the coaching staff at TK. Volleyball is my favorite
sport. I love every skill from hitting, blocking, defense, serve receive—I love
scoring, and yes, I love winning. But more than that, I love overcoming
adversity, I love the camaraderie, I love celebrating the big wins and I even
love learning from the big losses. With extensive experience as a player in
both the NCAA Division 1 and the professional league in Germany, as well as 7
years coaching some of the top California teams, the lessons I learned from
volleyball have shaped my life. I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to
pass the many lessons I’ve learned on to the young women at TK volleyball.
Volleyball was allowed me to do so much in my life. I’ve been able to play at a high level and have been able to travel to amazing places. In 2007, my 17s club team won junior olympics and I was apart of the all tournament team. I was recruited to college volleyball at Cal State Northridge where we made it to the NCAA Division 1 semifinals. I was apart of the Junior National team that traveled to India. I was selected to play in Guadalajara, Mexico on the USA Pan-American team and played two years professionally in Germany.
I began coaching in 2008. Coaching has always felt natural. I enjoy coaching because I love to impart the information I’ve been taught to the next generation. It’s very rewarding to see that information translate to something that can be used to develop and better someone’s volleyball career and ultimately help them grow as a person.