About Us

Fernie Volleyball Club was started in January of 2017, although we are still a young club we have experienced significant growth. We are excited to provide athlete’s between the ages of 11-18 the experience of playing what we believe is one of the greatest team sports.

FVC is registered as a not-for-profit society in BC. The club is managed by an engaged board of directors comprised of parents and volleyball supporters from the community. We also have a pool of certified coaches that lead our individual teams.

Vision: The Fernie Volleyball Club is a leading community champion of youth empowerment through sport, promoting a lifelong passion for volleyball.

Mission: To promote and develop the game of volleyball in the Elk Valley and South Country by providing local youth with safe and accessible opportunities to enhance skills, resilience, and sportsmanship.

Important Documents

Through my daughters, I’ve reconnected with my love for the game of volleyball. I grew up playing high school and club volleyball in Ontario and later competed for four years as a University of Waterloo Warrior.

I’ve coached at the Grade 6/7 level for several years and am excited to be joining the FVC coaching team this season. I love helping girls build confidence, resilience, and a sense of belonging through team sport. I’m grateful for the opportunity to play a small role in helping young athletes grow, develop, and discover what they’re capable of through volleyball.

I found my love for volleyball while in Elementary school. From there I was hooked on playing the sport and continued to play through High School and then in adult leagues and for fun. My coaching career started while still in High School, I teamed up with other coaches to assist younger teams, and then moved to Head Coach. I coached many years at Sparwood Secondary and the last five years I have been at Fernie Secondary. I plan to remain coaching for many years, since my hope is that my daughter will find the love for the sport. I am a level two certified coach and enjoy brining my knowledge and passion for the game to my practices and onto the court.

I grew up playing volleyball in Alberta and played as much as I could indoors and on the beach courts. After high school, I attended Briercrest College and played right/left side hitter for two years. I got into coaching in my early twenties when I moved to Fernie. I coached the FSS Senior Boys for 8 years and we had some successful seasons, making it to AA Provincials twice. When our kids were small, I took a break from coaching for a few years. I coached the 13U Development team in 2022, the 13U Griz team in 2023 and look forward to more years of coaching to come. I am an Advanced Development Coach and I am passionate about teaching young athletes how to play and love the game of volleyball.

I began playing volleyball in junior high in Drayton Valley, Alberta, and continued through high school and the Alberta provincial program, competing on what was then known as the Midget Provincial Team (16 & Under), during an era of side-out scoring and no liberos. I remained involved in high-level sport through my own mountain bike racing and through both of my daughters’ participation in competitive swimming, but I did not return to volleyball until my youngest daughter, Carly, began playing at age 13.
I coached in various roles throughout her club career and have continued coaching to this day, ten years later. During that time, I have coached athletes from 14U to 18U, in both boys’ and girls’ high school programs, on teams that finished near the bottom of provincial rankings as well as teams that competed in National Championship finals. In every setting, I have found the same passion for the sport and a commitment to continual learning.

I love Volleyball and always have. I played in High School and quite a bit throughout University (not on the Varsity team but at a competitive rec level). In the late 90s I coached a Sr. Boys high school team in Toronto (Lawrence Park Collegiate) for 2 years and helped the team qualify for Provincials for the 1st time in the School’s history. In Fernie I’ve volunteered for a number of years to help with skill development of younger athletes running morning sessions for Gr 3s to Gr 6s at EIDES and helping with various camp programs. I stay involved coaching school volleyball at EIDES and FSS. I have my Volleyball Canada Development Coach certification and from 25+ years ago I’m a Tennis Canada Level 2 certified instructor having coached kids/adults for many years and having played on the Varsity tennis team at McMaster University for 3 years. My 3 daughters are all very volleyball keen so I hope to be coaching for many years to come.

I have a background in competitive sports having played basketball at the collegiate level in Canada. While I had to table my love of volleyball for several years, I enjoyed picking it back up after university, primarily playing in beach tournaments in Ontario.

I've coached youth sports most recently at EIDES and Fernie Secondary, and have many years coaching at youth sports camp. These experiences have solidified a passion for helping kids enjoy being active, feeling confident, and learning what is means to be part of a supportive team. My goal as a FVC coach is to create a positive, fun environment where athletes can grow both as players and people.

I found my love for volleyball while in Middle school grade 6. Volleyball quickly took priority and I continued to play in High School as well as in club. Suffering a big leg injury I was unable to keep up with it outside of high-school. It wasn't until my daughter found her own love for the sport when she was introduced to it in grade 5. That's where my coaching started and love for the sport was sparked again. I've helped with assistant coaching in school and 2026 is my 3rd season with FVC. I plan to remain involved coaching (or assistant) or wherever needed as long as my daughter continues her love for the sport.

Submitted Photo. NOT FROM FVC MEDIA DAY! 🤣
I was lucky to grow up in a small town that had a good high school volleyball program. Because of that I was able to play college volleyball and then continued to play as an adult. I have coached, instructed and guided all of my life. Coaching a Girls 13U team will be a new experience for me but I am very excited about the opportunity.

My coaching philosophy is to progress and have fun while developing the fundamentals of the game. As a first year coach with the FVC I look forward to the opportunity to grow as a coach, learn how to coach my daughter and help all of the other parents with their expectations of having a daughter in club volleyball.

Hello everyone, my name is Kirill Cater. I am excited to join the local community and be part of the Fernie Volleyball Club this upcoming club season. I grew up playing volleyball through high school, club and provincial team levels in BC. Coaching is a part of sport that I have always enjoyed, and over the past 10+ years I have had the opportunity to work with a wide variety of athletes from beginner youth through to varsity level. This included spending 4 seasons as an assistant coach with the University of Calgary Dinos Men’s Volleyball and one summer with the U16 Team Alberta Volleyball Program. I am looking forward to being part of the community and helping FVC athletes develop into better volleyball players and athletes both on and off the court!

I’m passionate about volleyball, a love that started playing with my family at the beach when I was a kid. I played club volleyball in my youth, then trained with Lakehead University’s Thunderwolves during university for 1.5 years. Since leaving the LU Thunderwolves, I have pursued my love for this sport through continuing to play in competitive recreational leagues, being active in the Fernie adult volleyball community since moving to Fernie in 2018, and coaching youth camps.

After coaching U13, U17, and U18 with the Fernie Volleyball Club a few years ago, I took a break to complete my Master of Counselling degree. I am excited to be done school and back with the FVC! My coaching style combines positivity, fun, intensity, and healthy competition to help players develop both on and off the court.

Hi everyone, my name is Tate Clarkson and I’m excited to be coaching with Fernie Volleyball Club again this season. I’ve been playing volleyball since Grade 6 and have loved the sport ever since. Over the years, I’ve competed in both indoor and beach volleyball, which has given me a well-rounded appreciation for the game.

Coaching is something I really enjoy and am passionate about. I spent many years coaching girls’ volleyball with HVAC (my daughter played there) before making the switch to coaching boys with FVC. I have a son on the 16U boys team that I am coaching for the 2026 season. I love working with athletes, helping them build solid fundamentals, confidence, and a strong work ethic while still having fun on the court.

Volleyball is also a big part of our family, as my daughter currently plays with EKVC on the 15U girls team and have younger kids up and coming. In the summer you can find our entire family on the beach courts! I’m looking forward to continuing to be a part of the FVC community.

I grew up in a volleyball and specifically volleyball coaching family in Ontario. My father was a long-time school volleyball coach and from an early age I participated in practices and started coaching Gr 8 and Junior Girls teams while still in high school. I started playing the game in Grade 6 and played throughout school. I also played 2 years for the Peel Selects volleyball club before returning to helping my father coach after I graduated school. When I moved to Fernie a few years ago, I couldn’t wait to be coaching again!

Hello, my name is Alexa Bialik. I am from Edmonton, Alberta. I am a student at the University of Alberta and played club volleyball with FOG for seven seasons. I am very passionate about the game and in the summer I enjoy playing in beach tournaments. I worked for Volleyball Alberta where I helped with reffing, coaching and organizing the Premier tournaments. After moving to Fernie this past summer, I wanted to stay actively involved in the volleyball community. I am so grateful to have the opportunity to coach the 14U Griz team this season! This is going to be a great season!

I grew up in Jaffray and played high school and club volleyball in Cranbrook (Mt Baker & EKVC). I then spent 5 years at the University of New Brunswick (UNB) where I was an Atlantic University Sport (AUS) all-star playing mostly as a Middle. I was among the USports leaders in blocks per set in my final year and also represented New Brunswick in 2017 at the Canada Games for Beach Volleyball. I’m a level 2 advanced beach development coach and I’ve coached youth volleyball extensively in New Brunswick and Cranbrook as well as helping out with the FSS Senior Boys in Fall 2021.

Upon graduating from high school, I enrolled at the University of Lethbridge with the dream of becoming a teacher. After playing volleyball extensively throughout high school, I couldn’t completely separate myself from a sport that I was previously so involved in; I immediately decided to shift my focus from playing volleyball to giving back to a sport that I loved so much. That was over 12 years ago, and I have been coaching girls volleyball ever since. As a fully certified Level 1 Coach, most of my coaching has occurred at the high school and U16-U18 club levels. I have coached hundreds of athletes from all walks of life, travelled with teams across the country (and the continent), experienced amazing venues and games, and I still love this sport as much as I did when I was first introduced to it.

Fully certified level 3 volleyball and basketball coach. A teacher with 10 years experience coaching basketball (US summer camps) and over 15 years of coaching volleyball with high school, club, provincial team (SK/AB) and college programs.

College experience:

(Keyano College. Fort McMurray, AB)
2 years playing
2 years asst. coach
1 year head coach women’s
4 years head coach men’s
2001 – Alberta College Athletic Conference (ACAC) All Conference player
2008 – ACAC North Coach of the year
2009 – ACAC Coach of the year
2009 – Canadian College Athletic Association (CCAA) Coach of the year

GIRLS COACH – Ami Barras

GIRLS COACH – Andrea Reed

GIRLS/BOYS COACH – Bruce Nelson

GIRLS COACH – Cari Munro

GIRLS COACH – Cate Durham

GIRLS COACH – Dennis Anderson

GIRLS COACH – Dennis Staples

GIRLS COACH – Jen Grebeldinger

GIRLS COACH – Jessie Gigliotti

GIRLS/BOYS COACH – Jim Tosh

GIRLS COACH – Kevin ‘Giff’ Giffin

GIRLS COACH – Kirill Cater

GIRLS COACH – Sage Stevenson

GIRLS COACH – Tate Clarkson

GIRLS COACH (2022-2024) – Al Trkulja

GIRLS COACH (2025) – Alexa Bialik

GIRLS COACH (2022) – Robyn Anderson

GIRLS COACH (2017-2018) – JL Winters

COACHES ADVISOR – Trent Mason