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The West Florida Waves Boasts Some Of The Best Coaches The Area Has To Offer
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Pati
Gandolfo

MASTER CLUB COACH

West Florida Waves is proud to have Pensacola State College Head Coach Patricia Gandolfo as our Master Club Coach.

Gandolfo spent two stints on the UWF Argonaut staff with a stop as assistant coach at the University of South Alabama in between.

In her time at UWF the Argonauts won at least 24 matches every year, seven Gulf South Conference (GSC) regular season championship in addition to five GSC Tournament Championships.

Gandolfo also spent two seasons in uniform playing at UWF (2008 & 2009). As a team captain she led the Argonauts to a collective 54-21 record which included a GSC Championship and was named a Third Team AVCA All-American during her final season. Overall, she added AVCA All-South Region First Team, NCAA South Region All-Tournament Team, All-GSC First Team and GSC Tournament Most Valuable Player to her honors.

Prior to playing at UWF, Gandolfo spent two seasons in junior college competition playing at Missouri State University-West Plains. While there she received NJCAA First Team and Second Team All-American honors and in 2017 was inducted into the school’s athletic Hall of Fame.

WEST FLORIDA WAVESOUR COACHES

Our coaching staff works hard each season to prepare our players for the next level. Our club focus is to teach our players the fundamentals and develop each players skill in a highly competitive environment.

WEST FLORIDA WAVES2022-2023COACHES

  • F.D. Dodson
    F.D. Dodson
    11-1
  • Brandy Bradley
    Brandy Bradley
    12-1
  • GiGi Vardai
    GiGi Vardai
    13-1
  • Jasmine King
    Jasmine King
    14-1
  • Steven Clay
    Steven Clay
    15-1
  • Giulio Simonelli
    Giulio Simonelli
    16-1
  • Chad Fuller
    Chad Fuller
    17-1
  • Nylah Demps
    Nylah Demps
    18-1

READY TO JOIN WEST FLORIDA WAVES?

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West Florida Waves Volleyball Club is a proud member of the Gulf Coast Region Volleyball Association, and USA Volleyball

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F.D. Dodson
11-1
I have been coaching for over 17 years. I started under the late Randy Pounders. I fell madly in love with volleyball and made a committed decision to learn as much as I could.
I am still committed to that decision today.
I love helping young people learn the game and become better individual players and teammates. I try to take every opportunity that I am given to make a positive impact on my athletes.
It’s not just about motivation for a win; it’s about encouraging them to be the best they can be.I have the pleasure of watching these young players grow and develop into empowered young adults.
Brandy Bradley
12-1
GiGi Vardai
13-1
I started playing volleyball when i was 13 and i fell in love with the sport in big part because of my coach as a junior. He was a great influence in my professional career and in my personal life, made us understand that volleyball was about more than just playing the sport and he was absolutely right,i played and coached for the past 26 years and through this beautiful sport i found numerous families all across the globe.   i got into coaching(and love it) because i want to give back and share the same great experiences my coach gave/taught us.
Head Volleyball Coach  08/2012-12/2015
  • In 2012 worked as the assistant Junior Varsity Coach
  • Started as head coach in 2013, brought the record from 3-18 to 8-11
  • In 2014 brought the record to 18-5, finished first seed in District and received Big School Coach of the year.
  • In 2015 finished first in District with the best school record of 21-3
  • coached as head coach for prostyle club ,eurohaus & BUVB from 2012-2018
Playing career: Indoor Volleyball as a starter
  •  1999  placed 3rd in the Romanian National Junior Championship played setter (under 19)
  •  1999-2005 played professionally in Romania for various teams played as a outside hitter
    National and International Beach Volleyball  
  • 2002- Romania National Champion
  •  2002+2003 -Balcanic (european) champion- counties participating: Serbia, Greece, Bulgaria, Albania, Hungary, Moldova, Romania
  •  2004 & 2005 Istanbul, Turkey International Champion
Jasmine King
14-1
 
     
I have a passion for the game of volleyball, it is my favorite thing to do!
  I strive to be a positive role model in young women’s lives. I want every girl I coach to not only become a better volleyball player but also a better friend, student, teammate and daughter. I am big on intangibles and truly believe that in volleyball, intangibles sometimes outweigh skill. I am honored to coach for such an amazing organization and looking forward to a great 2020 season!
    High School:
  • GBHS Varsity team all 4 years
  • Led the team in kills senior year with 350
  Club/Travel
  • Played for West Florida Revolution throughout high school – (now the Waves) on the 18’s, all 4 years of High School.
  College:
  • Earned a full ride Division I scholarship to The University of Southern Mississippi.
  • Started and played in every single match my Sophomore, Junior and Senior year.
  • Finished my career with 999 kills and a total of 1,223 points.
  Professional:
  • I have coached club since 2013 (Hub City VBC in Hattiesburg MS 2013, 2014 & 2015; Barracudas in  2017,  and West Florida Waves in Pensacola, FL 2018-present).
  • Worked at GBHS for 4 years (2 years as the guidance receptionist & 2 years teaching).
  • First year at GBHS, we won a District Championship; 2nd year we won District runner up.
Steven Clay
15-1
Giulio Simonelli
16-1
Played  for the Italian Naval Academy  & coached all age groups for the past 20 years.Coached the past 14 years in Club with Volleyball Pensacola and currently West Florida Waves , also Head Coach at Catholic for the last 8 seasons . Coaching is a science ! It requires  multidimensional skills and the challenge to transfer knowledge and vision to young players . My passion is to develop young players and  see them grow as student-athletes and individuals .  This wonderful sport  that we love ,  gives us the opportunity to teach life lessons and together, with the principles of volleyball, offer us the opportunity to have a positive impact on young generations . It doesn’t get any better than that !
Chad Fuller
17-1
I started playing volleyball in high school in 1991 and continued playing competitively in collegiate club and USAV until 2004, playing setter and outside hitter. During this time I competed at nationals 1999-2002. In 2002 I started coaching club running my own club(WFVBC)from 2003-2008, then coaching with WF Revolution from 2009-2013 and now with WF Waves since 2014. I also was the assistant coach at Pensacola State College from 2008- 2017. Winning 5 conference titles during that time.I’ve  been around the game going on 29 years while coaching for 18 of those years.
Nylah Demps
18-1