Coaching Staff @ Lava VC - Los Angeles Volleyball Academy

COACHING STAFF @ LAVA VENTURA

Our staff features exceptional people: teachers, educators, mentors, positive thinkers, and experienced volleyball minds. Our coaches share a deep passion for volleyball and view athletics as a vehicle by which many of life's lessons can be learned. We encourage you to read about our people, both here at LAVA Ventura "VC" and also our LAVA staff as a whole.

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Email Brad Lyans - VC Director

BRAD LYANS
DIRECTOR - LAVA VENTURA "VC"

Brad Lyans is one of the finest volleyball coaching minds in Southern California and the Head Coach of the Ventura College Women's Volleyball Program. Brad has built an impressive professional résumé with nearly two decades of coaching volleyball at the club and college levels, much of it spent alongside the coaches and owners and athletes of LAVA.

Brad Lyans - Director, LAVA Ventura "VC"
(email) lavaventura@gmail.com
(cell) 818-571-5941

Read More About Our Director, Brad Lyans

Brad first joined LAVA Co-Founders Nabil Mardini and Trevor Julian at SMBC Girls in 2006, working closely with both men as a club and collegiate coach. He has logged successful stints with both SMBC and LAVA, coaching numerous Adidas teams to Division One Gold contention and amassing a wealth of high finishes at national tournaments, highighted by a Gold Medal at the 2012 Volleyball Festival National Championships in Phoenix, Arizona.

Brad has also found immense success at the collegiate level, first as an Assistant Coach with Nabil at Pierce College before taking the helm of his own program at Ventura College, where he remains. Brad has logged multiple seasons as Head Coach of the Ventura College Women’s Indoor Team, not to mention Head Coach of the Ventura College Women’s Sand Volleyball Team, and has his Lady Pirates poised for significant successes in this season – and seasons to come – both on the court and on the sand.

Brad took the reins of the LAVA Ventura and SMBC Ventura ("VC" for short) programs in November of 2020. His exceptional knowledge of the Ventura County volleyball community and his passion for coaching and teaching young people became immediately apparent to all VC families.

We are thrilled to have Brad in charge!

JON BALLARD

Bio coming soon.

JANEE HINES

Bio coming soon.

JACK RICHARDS

A fixture and pillar of the Ventura County volleyball community for more than three decades, Jack Richards is also one of the area's most recognizable and accomplished coaches across the high school and club levels.

Read More About Jack Richards

Jack was the Head Varsity Girls Coach at Buena High School for more than twenty years and the Head Varsity Girls Coach at St. Bonaventure for eight years before retiring from high school coaching. Jack guided his squads to multiple league championships and CIF successes, earning six Coach of the Year awards in the process. His 2004 Buena squad also finished Top 25 in the nation as he was named CIF-SS D1 Coach of the Year.

Jack has been a pioneer on the indoor and beach volleyball club circuit, first as the Owner/Director of Channel Islands VBC for 15 years, then the Owner-Director of Rincon Volleyball for several years with its own dedicated three-court facility. In recent years Jack opened a six-court oceanfront beach volleyball facility at Harbor Cove Beach at Ventura Harbor, which is also commonly called “Rincon Beach Club”.

Jack is highly decorated: he was honored by Time-Warner Television as one of the Nation's "Coaching Legends" sharing a TV episode with Legendary Mater Dei Football Coach Bruce Rollinson; he was recognized by FoxWest Sports in a TV segment aired on their Sports Channel; he was one of the Top Three national finalists for the "Phil Jackson" Positive Coaching Alliance Award (PCA) for his positive influence, treatment, and attitude with players.

Jack joined the VC team in 2017 and assisted with its transition over to LAVA VC in 2018, and returns to walk the sidelines for us again this coming season. Jack has been and continues to be a valuable mentor and member of our coaching staff here at LAVA VC.

CANDICE BIBB
YOUTH & JUNIORS COACH

Candice Bibb holds many roles here at LAVA Ventura "VC" - she is an excellent coach for LAVA VC, but also the lead coach for our Youth Lite and Non-Travel Juniors Programs as well.

Read More About Candice Bibb

The standout setter, opposite, and graduate of the Santa Paula High School has deep ties to the local volleyball community and has been sharing her passion for the game to the athletes of the next generation for almost a decade.

In 2016, Candice returned to her alma mater as Head Girls Varsity Coach, a position she still holds today, and takes immense pride in helping positively and caringly guide the next crop of young women to graduate from Santa Paula.

MANNY DE LA HUERTA

Bio coming soon.

ERIKA LILLEY

Bio coming soon.

REBECCA SEXTON

Bio coming soon.

CASSIDY SIMENTAL

Bio coming soon.

STEVE "YOSH" YOSHIMOTO
FOUNDING MEMBER - RETIRED

Steve "Yosh" Yoshimoto is one of the great volleyball community figures in Ventura County, having found immense success as a high school and club indoor and beach coach over many years of excellent service. Yosh was the founder of Ventura County Volleyball Club (VCVC), and after years of quality achievements joined forces with LAVA to form LAVA VC. In fall of 2020, Yosh hung up his clipboard and retired from coaching. We wish him all the best!

Read Our Tribute to Steve "Yosh" Yoshimoto . . .

LAVA BIDS A FOND FAREWELL TO ONE OF THE GREATS, STEVE "YOSH" YOSHIMOTO!

October 2020 - It was a bittersweet moment when the Los Angeles Volleyball Academy (LAVA) was sad, but proud to announce that Steve “Yosh” Yoshimoto was retiring as Director of LAVA VC and SMBC VC, based in Ventura County (Camarillo).

Yosh put together an exceptional career and dramatically impacted the boys and girls volleyball communities of Ventura County in recent years. Spanning decades, his coaching career took him from indoor to beach and back again, with significant high school experience – stints for both Boys and Girls at Camarillo High School, Head Varsity Girls at La Reina High School, and Head Varsity Girls at Buena High School – and club coaching experience.

In 2013, Yosh founded the Ventura County Volleyball Club (VCVC), the precursor to SMBC VC and LAVA VC, with its own two-court facility -- out of which VC still practices -- and both a boys and girls program, which were both highly respected in the club community and found instant success.

All three of Yosh's sons played for him, proving the bedrock upon which the exemplary SMBC VC program now stands: Evan Yoshimoto, Berkeley graduate, SBCC Men's Volleyball Team, USA HP Beach A1 Player, AAA Beach Rated; Owen Yoshimoto, Pepperdine Men's Volleyball Team, USA HP Beach A1 Player, AAA Beach Rated; and Matt Yoshimoto, Lewis Men's Volleyball Team, USA National Team Member, International Pro (Switzerland), USA HP Beach A1 Player, AAA Beach Rated. Matt and Owen have both coached for VC with Owen still significantly involved in the program, with plans to coach this coming season, while Matt will assuredly coach whenever he is not overseas playing professionally.

In 2018, Yosh spearheaded the merger of VCVC with the Los Angeles Volleyball Academy (LAVA), coupling the VCVC girls program with LAVA and the VCVC boys program with LAVA’s flagship boys program, the nationally known and highly regarded SMBC Boys Volleyball Club.

Based in Camarillo, LAVA VC Volleyball Club for Girls and SMBC VC Volleyball Club for Boys have been growing the game of volleyball in the area and offering exceptional travel team and non-travel programs to help serve the needs of the Camarillo and greater Ventura County volleyball community. The VC program operates out of the Bowman Center, its own exclusive, spacious two-court facility in the heart of the Camarillo outlets, located at 161 Plaza La Vista, Camarillo. The program fields eight to twelve boys and girls teams annually across the range of age divisions, as well as offers exciting and expanding youth and juniors non-travel training programs.

Yosh was succeeded as Director of LAVA VC by Brad Lyans.

We want to take one more moment to thank Yosh for his exceptional service to LAVA, SMBC, and the Ventura County volleyball community as a whole. We wish him all the best in his retirement and hope he will continue to stay in touch with our coaches, our athletes, and our program.

You’re the best, Yosh!

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