Temecula Viper Volleyball Club

Temecula Volleyball Club is always seeking coaches who are passionate about the game and teaching it. The 2011-2012 season starts soon, so give us a call if you are interested in coaching. Please contact Dana Burkholder at 951-795-3466.

Club Director, Technical Director & Director of Coaches & Recruiting

Dana is a former player turned passionate coach. Her understanding of the game and how to teach it is exhibited with enthusiasm and joy. As a former NCAA Final Four participant and a 2x First Team All-American setter for the University of Arizona from 1998-2001, she understands and believes that sports can have an incredible impact on ones life. Winning is one of the greatest things about sports, but there is so much more to gain, and it is all of these things that Dana is passionate about passing on. Training, learning, teamwork, executing difficult things under pressure, making friends... this is what makes sports great and fun for kids!

Dana has been coaching since 2001 at the high school, club and collegiate level. She was the assistant volleyball coach at the University of Arizona from 2006-2007 before taking some time off and then moving to Temecula to coach at Viper. Dana began coaching at Viper in 2008 and has been Directing the club since 2010. She has coached numerous elite teams at Viper - many of them top 10 finishers in SCVA. In 2011, Dana head coached the 16-Elite team to a top 8 finish in SCVA.

A little more background on Dana's playing history... she started playing volleyball at the age of 8 when her older sisters taught her how to "pepper." She did not seriously pick up the sport until she moved to Bakersfield, a big volleyball town, and played on her first team (6th grade). She played for her Junior High and then started playing club for Kern River in 8th grade. Her first year of high school she played for the Stockdale H.S. junior varsity team and then started for the Bakersfield H.S. Varsity team for the remainder of her career. She was named Athlete of the Year in Bakersfield in 1998. Dana's club highlight was winning the Volleyball Festival as a junior in 1997, and getting to run a 6-2 her senior club season so she could hit more!

Dana's USA Volleyball experience began when she was a junior in high school (1997) and she made the Junior National Team. That summer, Dana and Logan Tom lead the team to the Norceca Gold Medal in Cuernavaca, Mexico. She played for the team again in 1999 and competed in the World Championships in Saskatoon, Canada, where the team finished 8th. After her college career and education was complete, she was a member of the National Team. Shortly after leaving the National Team she played professionally in Europe, but decided to end her playing career and dive into coaching.

Dana's passion is creating and developing a positive, effective, and reliable learning environment wherein both coaches and players can thrive. We hope you join us! 

Director of ACES Volleyball League and a Viper coach.

Kat began her playing career in the sixth grade after watching her Mom and Dad play in a rec. league. She fell in love with the sport immediately. She excelled in high school and was named team MVP as well as League MVP her senior year.

After high school Kathleen attended UC Riverside on a volleyball scholarship.  Kathleen played right side but primarily set for the highlanders. It was there that she realized her love for teaching and coaching volleyball. She earned a BA in Liberal Arts, a teaching credential and Master’s Degree from UCR. She taught sixth grade for five years and now stays home to raise her two children.  

Coaching began for Kathleen when she was just eighteen; she coached her younger sister’s club team. While attending UCR she had the opportunity to coach for numerous UCR volleyball camps along side Sue Gozansky and Monica Trainer and for the National Youth Sports Program in Riverside. She has also coached three high school seasons for Rancho Verde High School and Murrieta Valley High School. She has coached for a few different club teams in Northern and Southern California. She has been with Viper since 2006 and is currently coaching the 12-Elite team and 13-1's. Kathleen is also the director for the ACES volleyball program here at Viper. 

In her free time she enjoys running and spending time with her husband Scott and their two kids Drew-5 and Brooklyn-2.

Mary Jo Peppler is one of the most decorated players in volleyball history. Her experience is rare as it spans over a half century in the sport and she has brought quality and experience to all levels of the game. Named the third most influential person of the last century in her sport, she brings excellence to every endeavor. Peppler has trained over 50 collegiate All Americans, numerous world champions, and has worked with a variety of colleges as a consultant. Still, she is best known for her innovative coach training programs and is a popular lecturer and author.

Mary Jo Peppler's international experience includes playing on the 1964 U.S. Olympic Team, on the 1967 U.S. Gold Medal Pan American Team (named to All Tournament Team), and at the 1970 World Championships where she was named the tournament’s ‘Most Outstanding Player.’ Peppler is a four-time USVA National "Open" Tourney Most Valuable Player. She played on four USVA National Championship Teams (1966, 1972, 1973 and 1981), and earned All-American honors 11 times.

Professionally, Peppler served as the player/coach for the El Paso Sol (1975) and Phoenix Heat (1976) of the Co-Ed International Volleyball Association as well as Major League Volleyball's New York Liberties in 1987 and 1988. She also played Professional Basketball (MLB). Mary Jo worked from 1997-2008 in junior sports management as a Club Director in San Diego, California. Playing nationally, internationally, and professionally, her playing career spanned more than a 30-year period.

Honors & Awards

Bertha Lucas—All Time Great Coach—Pioneer Division; USA Volleyball—All Time Great Coach, 2010
Junior Volleyball Directors Association, Hall of Fame, Inaugural Class 2008
Utah State University, Hall of Fame, 2007
USA Volleyball, 75th Anniversary Women’s Beach All-Era Players, 2004
USA Volleyball, All-Era Coaches (one of 17 and only one of two women), 2003
California Beach Volleyball Association, Hall of Fame, 1996
Named 3rd most influential person in the Century of Volleyball by the Volleyball Monthly, 1995
Cal-State Los Angeles, Hall of Fame, 1990
International Volleyball Hall of Fame, 1990
MLV—All-Pro Award, 1987
MLV—All-Star Honors, 1987 and 1988
Sullivan Ross State University, Hall of Honor, inaugural class 1986
Women’s Sports Hall of Fame, 1983
USVBA “All-Time Great Player”, 1982
Winner of the ABC Superstars, 1975

Karl Seiler will be in his first season as a Viper coach this year and we are really excited to have a caoch of his caliber on our staff. Karl coached for Coast Volleyball Club a few years back but has been focusing the past few years on his Palomar Junior College Coaching role. Karl has also run and or worked various volleyball camps and clinics.

With Palomar, Karl is a four-time Pacific Coast Conference Coach of the Year, being honored in 1996, when the Comets reached the Southern California Community College Regional championship match in 2002, 2003, 2008 and 2009. All five seasons, Palomar won the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference title, and the 2003 Comets recorded their first-ever unbeaten conference season.

Karl was a setter for Palomar's men's volleyball team in 1988 and 1989 and received his B.S. degree from San Diego State University and his Master's degree from Azusa Pacific University. He's a full time instructor at Palomar in the Department of Health and Physical Education. Karl lives in the French Valley area with his wife Bernie and daughters Mikayla,Kendyl.
 

Coach Costa was a full scholarship student-athlete at San Diego State and Cal Baptist University.  Originally from Brazil he spent two years on the Brazilian National Team as a libero. He also played professionally for two years at the Boa Viagem Volei Clube– Brazil. He's spent four years as a AAA Beach Volleyball athlete (CBVA). Additionally, he coached the Varsity boys volleyball team at Oceanside High School where he led them to the school's first CIFs. Currently, Costa is a Physical Education teacher at Temecula Valley Charter School and a Strength and Conditioning Trainer. He runs clinics for the city of Oceanside during the summer and he is the Head Coach of the Great Oak High School Volleyball Program.

Coach Costa is in his second year at Viper. He assistant coached the 17-1, 16-1 and 14-1 teams for the 2010-2011 season.

Tracy has been coaching in the Temecula Valley for many years. She brings a lot of knowledge and enthusiasm to the game from her coaching and playing experience.

Tracy has coached for various clubs over the past 12 years at many levels - 14, 16, 18 and Elite and Travel. She currently assists on the Varsity team at Great Oak High School.

As a player, Tracy was the starting setter for 3 years for Arizona State University and after college played profsssionally for 2 season in Innsbruck, Austria. She also competed for 1 season with Team Norelco in the Bud Light 4 Woman Tour.

Tracy was a four year starter in high school and a 3 time All League and all CIF Player. She was also a Volleyball Monthly Fab 50 player her senior year.

Tracy currently lives in Murrieta with her husband Nate and their two kids, Tucker and Cooper. She enjoys kickboxing, singing, laughing, playing volleyball and spending time with family.

Abbey will be in her first season at Viper this year! We are really excited to have her on board as she brings a lot of experience and passion. 

Abbey has coached both High School and Club in Southern California, but is new to the Temecula area. Abbey has been coaching with various clubs since 2002. She most recently coached for Top Gun out of Diamond Bar, California. She coached 14-1, 15-1 and 16-1, and in 2007 assisted a 16’s team that finished 10th overall in SCVA, placed 2nd at Colorado Crossroads, and won a Bronze Medal in the 16 American Division at JO’s.

Abbey has coached 9 high school seasons between Ayala High School and Los Osos High School. She was also hired as Head Coach at Chino Hills High School in 2008 before resigning from position to complete Biology degree at Bethel University in Tennessee

Abbey's passion for the game and coaching has taken her to all kinds of great places, including, coaching camp for 3 years and Mick Haley's USC Camp and 2 years of Cal State San Bernardino Camp.

Abbey has also coached for USA Volleyball High Performance. She has been involved since December 2007 and have assisted with numerous Holiday and Summer Camps across the country. Some highlights include assisting the 2008 Youth National Training Camp held at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, CA. In 2009 was Assistant Coach for Select A2 team and was also featured as a USA High Performance Spotlight Coach of the Month for November. Assisted the USA Junior A2 Red team to a Silver Medal at the 2010 USA High Performance Championships held in Wisconsin Dells. The team was comprised of athletes that went on to compete in the Youth Olympic Games held in Singapore the following month. Assisted the 2011 Pre-Select A1 and A2 camps and was Head Coach for the USA Select Continental White team at the 2011 USA High Performance Championships held in Tucson, AZ.

Abbey was also a student-coach for  Bethel University in McKenzie, TN for the 2010 season. She coached the team to the highest number of wins in school history, first time advancement to the finals of the TranSouth Conference Tournament, and had more players with All-Conference honors than any other season.

Abbey played for Bethel University in both 2008 & 2009 as a player-coach. She helped the team to it's first winning season and was 1st team all conference in 09. 

In High School Abbey was a 3 year varsity setter at Ayala High School and took the team to it's first League Championship. She was 1st team All-League 3 years, team captain senior year and named to All-Inland Valley Team.

Tommy has been coaching volleyball at the club level for 7 years. He has worked with players from 7-18 and really excels at teaching the fundamentals of the game at every level. Tommy not only coaches his own teams, he also helps to train multiple Viper teams. His enthusiasm and drive to help players improve their skills and understanding of the game is contagious.

For the past four years Tommy has been coaching the 12-Elite level at Viper. In 2011 he assistant coached Kat Pierce and the 12-1s to a #1 SCVA finish. He also head coached our 2nd 16 Elite team. In 2012 he will be assisting on our 14-1s and head coaching a 16s team.

Tommy coached the JV at Temescal Canyon High School in Lake Elsinore for 2 years and also coached at the Varsity level. He also gives private lessons year round.

Karen (Lewis) Dalton is returning to Viper for her 6th year of coaching club volleyball, 4th year with Viper, after a few years off due to work obligations. Karen has coached two different 14’s teams as well as 15-1’s for Viper. She also previously coached 14’s and 13-1’s for Mizuno Cincy Classics in Cincinnati, Ohio. She took the Cincy Classics 13’1’s to the top Junior Nationals tournament in 2002 and finished in 13th place. Karen has also previously coached both middle school and high school Varsity teams at Cincinnati Country Day School.

Karen graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1999 with a BSE in Mechanical Engineering and minor in Math. She played as a middle blocker for Varsity Volleyball all four years at UPenn and even walked on to the basketball team for one season. She led the Ivy League in blocks and hitting percentage multiple times throughout her career. Karen was also First Team All State in Ohio as a high school player.

For the past seven years, Karen has been a professional skydiver based out of Skydive Perris. She is also proud to say she threw club founder Ed Morel out of a plane. Karen met her husband, Kevin Dalton, while skydiving and they married in September of 2010. Karen has left full-time skydiving this year to return to her love of family, kids and teaching. Karen is excited to return to the Viper family and is looking forward to coaching with the amazing Tommy Ortiz this season.
 

Steve has been coaching for Viper volleyball club since 1998. He has an impressive record with 3-7 th place finishes, 1-5 th place finish, 1-3 rd place finish and 3-1 st place finishes at the world's largest girls volleyball tourney known as The Volleyball Festival. In 2007, Steve's 15's team, with its first time appearance at the Junior Olympics, finished 11 th place overall in the 16-club division.  This past year Temecula 16 Steve finished 14th Overall at the Volleyball Festival.  Temecula 18 Vemma where Steve was an assistant coach finished 5th in the American Division at the 2008 Junior Olympic Finals in Dallas Texas.

As an athlete, Steve's team finished 5 th place in the boys Junior Olympics in 1976 18s division. He was named to the 1 st team all league as an OH and setter while at Golden West Junior College in 1977-78 and 1978-79. He made to AVP appearances in 1983 and 1984 at the Cuervo Gold Boulder Open.

Donna is in her 2nd year as a 12s coach for Viper. She is a very passionate coach who has coached in the Murrieta Valley for many years. Her and her husband Paul coach the girls and boys volleyball teams at Calvary Murrieta.

In 2011, Donna lead our 12-2 team to their highest finish in club history. They finished #1 in the Silver bracket at regionals (33rd) and 3rd place overall in the Anaheim Soiree.

This is Mark's first year coaching at Viper and he is excited to be working with so many passionate players and coaches.  He's been coaching for 21 short years both in the Chicagoland and Southern California regions.  Coaching both boys and girls from sixth grade thru varsity has given him so much valuable experience and memories that he keep asking for more.  He must humbly admit that he has learned a great deal from his brother, an incredible volleyball coach and person at Middle Tennessee University.  

This is Mark's second year with Viper. In 2011 he coached 1 15s and 14s National team to great success. Both teams moved up over 60 places! Before Viper, Mark had the privilege of coaching a team to Junior Nationals with Chicago Bounce Volleyball. Before Chicago, Mark enjoyed coaching at Palm Springs High School, where he was mentored on Cali volleyball for four years. Mark is currently coaching at Great Oaks High School as the Junior Varsity cand Freshman coach.

Allissa will be in her second season with Viper this year. She joined us last year mid-season and made a big impact and helped her 16s team to improve tremendously. In addition Allissa has been coaching the Aces program for a year and a half, working with all age groups from 7 up to 16 years old. In the fall of 2011, Allissa was the assistant Varsity Coach at Temecula Valley High School.

Allissa grew up in Davis, CA and played elite volleyball at the high school and club level in Davis. She also coached 14's and 15's with Davis volleyball club. She attended Arizona State University and recently moved to California from Arizona with her husband. Before viper she ran the USYVL league in Lake Elsinore for a few seasons. She currently lives in Corona with her husband and has a baby girl on the way.

Pat has been affiliated with Viper Volleyball since 1998. He’s been a Head coach, Assistant Coach, and Parent having had two daughters play for the club. He has been involved with 12’s, 14’s, 15’s, and 16’s, as well as being the Head coach of the 15-2s the last two years. He also has had the great pleasure and experience of being able to coach with his daughter Alli since she became a Viper coach a few years back.  

Pat started playing volleyball in Spokane WA, playing in men’s and co-ed leagues. He was able to play all over the Pacific Northwest taking part in many USVBA tournaments, doubles and six man, indoor and grass. In 1979, his last year in Spokane, he was part of the winning doubles team in the Annual Mission Park Open grass tournament.

With family, Pat enjoys camping, river and desert trips, and of course anything to do with volleyball. Pat has been married to his High School sweetheart Connie for 34 years. He is also blessed with two beautiful daughters Breanna and Allison. He can’t forget the other babies Diesel and Xenna, their two Chihuahua’s.

Aaron started playing in high school, graduated in 1986 and continued his playing career into college. 

Aaron has coached 3 years for Viper Volleyball.  Recently he was named the Assistant Coach for Temecula Valley High School Varsity where he served as the JV coach in 2007.  He has junior college coaching experience as well.  In 2008 he coached a 14s local team as well as assisted with the 14-2 Elite team.  In 2009, he will coach the 14-Travel team and assist with an older team as well. 

He has two daughters Kymberly and Hayley both players for Viper Volleyball Club.

His favorite thing to do is watch the San Diego Chargers.  He also enjoys peppering with his kids and playing golf

Coming Soon!

Dana is a first year coach for Viper this season. She is currently the freshman coach at Murrieta Mesa High School. She credits her understandings of volleyball and competitive greatness to her experiences as a collegiate student-athlete at UC Irvine. Under the direction of Coach Charlie Brande and alongside a very special team, Coach Dana had the privilege of contributing to the foundation of what is now a highly-competitive, NCAA Division I volleyball program.

Dana is from Murrieta and played for Viper's very first team! She was one of the area's top players and was the biggest middle around at 6'5."

Amber is excited for her first season with Viper. She has coached at Great Oak High School for 3 years, and is now bringing her knowledge to club! Amber has was worked directly under one of Temecula's best High School Coaches, Aimee Ricken, for the past 2 years.

Amber started playing Volleyball as a freshman at Temecula Valley High School.  After High School, she moved to Santa Maria California where she played Volleyball for Allan Hancock Community College. 

Currently, Amber is a High School Counselor at Great Oak and will be helping Viper with the Academic side of Recruiting. 

This will be Danny’s first season coaching for Viper. Danny previously coached volleyball for five years at Elsinore High School. He enjoyed coaching all levels from freshman to varsity. Danny teaches Leadership and has served as the Activities Director of Elsinore High for the last 13 years.

Danny played volleyball in high school and college. He loves the team elements of the game and values the relationships created when a group of individuals work together towards a common goal.

Danny has BA degree from Biola University and a teaching credential from San Diego State University. He holds a Masters in Education from Azusa Pacific University with an emphasis in coaching. His coaching philosophy is based on the idea of “Play Hard” that encourages players to: believe, play together as a team, work with intensity and share in the fun of the game.

Danny loves the outdoors and traveling. His hobbies include surfing, rock climbing, mountaineering, backpacking and fly-fishing. Danny is excited to be a part of the Viper Volleyball club and looks forward to coaching his daughter Haylee.
 

John started playing volleyball in the mid 80's while at the USMC.  He played Middle Blocker of rthe Camp Pendleton Varsity men's volleyball team from 1995-2004.  He started refereeing in 2003 and is currently a USA Junior National, Div II collegiate and Instructional chair for the San Diego Federated Volleyball Association (High School). 

In the past John has coached the Camp Pendleton Men's and Women's teams in the 2007 and 2008 seasons.  He was also an assistant coach for SoCal VBC 12's in 2007 and 2008.  His daughter is Ashley and she is currently playing on Temecula 12 Elite team this year.

In his spare time he is addicted to playing "Recreatronally" (whenever he can!!)

Gale Johnson will be coaching her first season at Viper for 2011-2012 season. Gail is already a recognized coach and player and returns to coaching club for the first time since taking a leave of absence to start a family in 2000. The last few years she's coached 8 AYSO soccer teams and 4 volleyball teams at Valley-Wide Rec Center.

Gale was a 4 year starter at BYU and was only the third player in BYU history to record more than 1000 kills and 1000 digs in a career. Among her awards are the following accolades: 96 AVCA Kaepa All-American, '96 Volleyball Magazine All-American, '96 WAC Conference Player of the Year, '96 Academic All-WAC. In 1993, Gale started as a freshman on BYU's Final Four Team and the highlight of that season was beating #1 UCLA at UCLA in straight sets to advance to the Final Four.

After BYU, Gale played professionally for the Utah Predators and began her coaching career as the Head Volleyball Coach at American Fork High School. During this time, Gale also earned a Masters Degree in Teaching (MAT) from Grand Canyon University.

Gale and her husband, James Johnson, have four girls - twins Morgan and Elizabeth are 11, Anna is 8 and Kate is 4.

Paul grew up playing multiple sports but fell in love with volleyball during high school. He played at Mater Dei as a middle blocker and then went on to play in college at Long Beach State. After graduating he continued to play in various leagues and competed in several doubles tournaments.

He coached at the high school level for 2 years before moving to Temecula with his wife to start a family. They now have 3 kids and Paul is thrilled to say that at least one of them shares his love of the game! Today he still plays on the court alongside his 2 older brothers.

His philosophy … Play hard, Play smart and most importantly, Play together!
 

Nick is in his first year as a coach with Viper. Nick has previously coached club in Southern California and grew up playing in the Temecula area with fellow coach Tommy Ortiz and Steve Jones. Nick has picked up his knowledge of the game through playing and learning from coaches like Ryan McGuyre at Cal Baptist.

Nick is currently married and lives in Temecula.

Angela Young got her start at Lewis-Palmer High School where she helped the Rangers post a 114-14 record with four final four trips to State. Her team won back-to-back state titles her sophomore and junior years.  As a senior, Angela collected 295 kills, 210 digs, 54 service aces and 105 blocks and was named MVP of the state tournament as a junior.

In college, Angela played for Fresno State University and coached club at Fresno Volleyball Club. In 2007, she caoched assisted with the 15-1s and in 2008 she head coached the 16-1s. Angela received

Currently, Angela is a Crossfit Coach and married to Michael Young.

Joe grew up in Temecula playing football and then attended Northeastern University in Boston MA. Joe found volleyball in college where he was the manager/assistant coach for the Northeastern University Volleyball team. He started working at Viper in the Fall of 2011 and has a natural coaching style that connects with the kids really well. As a former athlete and quarterback, he has a great mind for the game. 

Joe received his bachelors degree in Civil Engineering and is currently working at Dokken Engineering in Temecula.

This is Heather’s second year coaching for Viper. She came to Viper after running a recreational youth volleyball league for the City of Murrieta for two years. Heather truly enjoys volleyball and it is evident in her upbeat and positive approach to coaching.

Heather realized her love for volleyball in high school, where she was all Golden League (basketball and volleyball) and Athlete of the year. She also broke the league high jump record, which stood for 16 years. Heather went on to college, eventually graduating with a degree in physical education from BYU. During her college years, she played in a tournament on a team with Olympic gold medalist Ryan Millar.

Heather has been married for 14 years and has four children, two of which play for Viper. In her spare time, Heather enjoys camping with her family, the beach, scrap-booking, and, of course, playing volleyball.

Coming Soon!

Nick Singleton grew up in Huntington Beach playing sand volleyball. He also played indoor for Huntington Beach High school while training for sand doubles. In college, Nick played 2 years for Golden West College and 1 year for CSULB under Ray Ratelle. Then he played 2 years Club at CSULB while training with AVP stars like Brad Keenen, Billy Allen, Fred Souza and the like.

Nick has coached for travel teams, recreation teams and coed tournament teams and this past fall he coached his first High School JV team for Hamilton High School, where he is also a math teacher.

Nick loves the game and loves sharing the splender of the sport with new upcoming athletes.