Coaching Staff

Kellie Rowland

Head Coach, 12 Black

Kellie Rowalnd, seven year coach. 

Rowland has coached FaR Out at the national level for seven years. She spent 22 years as the head coach for Lakewood high school where she achieved an overall record of 1,028 – 155. In her time as head coach Rowland achieved one state title (2012), four state-runner ups titles, seven final fours, 12 regional titles, 19 district titles, and 19 conference titles. Rowland also coached 43 all-state athletes at Lakewood high school.

Macy Keizer

Assistant Coach, 12 Black

Macy Keizer, fifth year coach.

Keizer has previously coached FaR Out for two years at the regional level, as well as three years at the local level. Her history with the club dates back to “DFFO” years where she had a successful playing career before making her college debut at Wayne State University. Keizer graduated from Western Michigan University in 2018 with a degree in child and family development.

Sid Schiller

Assistant Coach, 12 Black

Bio Coming Soon!

Clair Rowland

Head Coach, 13 Black

Clair Rowland, fifth year coach.

Rowland has coached FaR Out one year at the local level, two years at the regional level and two years at the national level. He has also served as an assistant coach at Lakewood high school where he has taken home one State Championship and multiple top-ten finishes. In Rowland’s 25 years at Lakewood, he worked with the setters and helped develop 7 all-state honorees.

Savannah Stoepker

Assistant Coach, 13 Black

Savannah Stoepker, second year coach.

Stoepker has coached FaR Out for two years at the local level. She graduated from Lakewood high school where she was a part of the state runner-up team in 2017 as well as the final four team in 2018. Stoepker’s team was also the GLAC conference champions (2015-2018) and she was named to the all-conference team in 2018. Stoepker then went to play at Grand Rapids Community College where she led her team in aces.

Charley Andrews

Head Coach, 14 Black

Charley Andrews, second year coach.

Andrews has coached FaR Out at the national level for two years. She graduated from Harper Creek high school where she was also a Miss Volleyball candidate for the state of Michigan in 2016. She graduated from the Western Michigan volleyball team in 2021 where she was the AVCA Diversity Award recipient. Andrews was the assistant coach for Hope College in 2022 where she helped lead her team to an elite eight finish. Andrews is currently the assistant coach for Davenport University.

Jeff Butler

Assistant Coach, 14 Black

Jeff Butler, third year coach. 

Butler has coached FaR Out for two years at the regional level and one year at the national level. He was the head varsity coach at Mattawan high school for a total of 21 years where he brought home multiple District championship titles. Butler has multiple wins under his belt from his time working with Dead Frog as well as FaR Out including a 2021 AAU National Championship. He was an assistant coach at Western Michigan University from 1994-1997 where he was in charge of out of state recruiting, home match management and player development.

Christa Manyen

Assistant Coach, 14 Black

Christa Manyen, third year coach. 

Manyen has coached FaR Out at the national level for three years, as well as with the youth academy for five years. She graduated from Forest Hills Northern after playing for four years, then joined the Cornerstone University volleyball team. Manyen also has 14 years of experience coaching at the junior varsity level. She is currently the head coach for the junior varsity team at Rockford high school.

Cameron Rowland

Head Coach, 15 Black

Cameron Rowland, eleventh year coach. 

Rowland has coached FaR Out for 11 years at the national level. He also serves the club as the assistant director and recruiting coordinator. Rowland has just finished up his fifth year as the head coach for Lakewood high school where he has recorded more than 200 wins. Within these five years he led his team to two state-runner up finishes as well as four final four finishes. Rowland has also spent time as the director of volleyball operations and volunteer assistant at Western Michigan University.

Ola Nowak

Assistant Coach, 15 Black

Ola Nowak, second year coach. 

Nowak has been a FaR Out coach and intern for two years. She is a FaR Out alum that graduated from Grandville high school in 2021. Nowak started her college debut at Grand Rapids Community College, then transferred to Davenport University in her sophomore season.

Connor Libs

Head Coach, 15 Gold

Connor Libs, first year coach.

Libs is coming to the FaR Out volleyball club with 10 years of coaching experience, as well as experience as a player. In the past Libs has played for Louisville Fury, Eastern Kentucky University (club team), and Midway University. Libs was also named to the all-conference academic team at Midway University in 2018.

Amanda Frost

Assistant Coach, 15 Gold

Amanda Frost, third year coach.

Frost has coached FaR Out for two years at the local level, as well as one year at the national level. Frost was a two time all state setter at Lakewood and career ace record holder.

Valerie Lurye

Head Coach, 16 Black

Valerie Lurye, eighth year coach. 

Lurye has coached FaR Out for two years at the regional level as well as six years at the national level. During these years she has served the club as a head coach, a lead coach and as the programming assistant, including things like marketing, media, travel, etc. She graduated from Forest Hills Northern in 2009, then attended Grand Rapids Community College. In her time as a coach, Lurye has been on the coaching staff at Aquinas College, Grand Rapids Catholic Central, Caledonia and Forest Hills Northern. She received the award of Varsity Coach of the Year in 2015 for region 7.

Jenna Ellens

Assistant Coach, 16 Black

Bio Coming Soon!

Chris Schaffer

Head Coach, 17 Gold

Chris Schaffer, second year coach.

Schaffer has coached FaR Out for two years at the regional level. He comes to FaR Out with a rich history of coaching. Schaffer has been a part of the coaching staff at Midwestern State University, Christ Academy high school and club ZIVA, where he picked up the title of Club Coach of the year in 2015 and 2018. He is currently the assistant coach at Cornerstone University where he was most recently named the WHAC Conference Assistant Coach of the Year (2022).

Aubrey Lenz

Assistant Coach, 17 Gold

Bio Coming Soon!

Rachel Netzler

Head Coach, 17 Black

Rachel Netzler, fourth year coach.

Netzler has coached for FaR Out at the national level for four years. Netzler graduated from Portage high school then found playing time at Iowa Western Community College, KVCC, and Northern Michigan University. Her 2006 team at IWCC was inducted into the hall of fame and she held the record for greatest number of assists. After finishing her playing career, Netzler stepped into her coaching career at a number of different clubs and colleges, including Sports Performance, Magnum, Dead Frog, University of Akron, and her current school as an assistant coach, Davenport University.

Brian Netzler

Assistant Coach, 17 Black

Brian Netzler, fourth year coach. 

Netzler has coached FaR Out at the national level for four years. He has a rich coaching history while making appearances on the staff of Grand Rapids Community College, Grand Valley State University, Ole Miss, Austin Peay, Miami of Ohio, and Davenport University. At Miami of Ohio, Netzler helped lead that program to berths into both the NCAA and NIVC Division I post-season tournaments. In Netzler’s current position, the head coach of Davenport University, he has achieved the program’s first ever national and regional rankings, as well as the most wins in Division II history (2022).

Joe Steenhuysen

Head Coach, 18 Black

Joe Steenhuysen, twenty five plus year coach. 

Steenhuysen has been with the FaR Out program since the very beginning. As a founder of the club, he also takes on the responsibility of coaching the 18 black team as well as serving as the national gym lead coach. Steenhuysen has won numerous national championship titles, most recently coming from the 18 Black win in the 2022 AAU Nationals. He serves as an honored guest coach at many summer camps, colleges, high school, and middle schools in the midwest. Steenhuysen has directed FaR Out to being one of the most successful volleyball clubs in all of Michigan.

Michele Lurye

Assistant Coach, 18 Black

Michele Lurye, fifth year coach. 

Lurye has coached FaR Out at the regional level for three years as well as the national level for two years. She has been a part of the coaching staff for multiple successful programs, including two state runner-ups at Lowell high school as the assistant coach. Lurye was also a part of the 18 Black coaching staff that took home first place in the 2022 AAU National Championships. Lurye is currently an assistant coach at Davenport University.

Alan Kaufman

Head Coach, 18 Gold

Alan Kaufman, seventeenth year coach. 

Kaufman has coached FaR Out for ten years at the regional level as well as seven years at the national level. He has a lengthy playing history starting in Salem Ohio, 1977 as both a setter and a pin hitter. Outside of Kaufman’s seventeen consecutive years with FaR Out he has also been on the coaching staff for Salem high school and Caledonia high school.

Courtney Cronkright

Assistant Coach, 18 Gold

Courtney Cronkright, fifth year coach.

Cronkright has coached FaR Out for four years at the regional level as well as one year at the national level. She is a Jenison high school and FaR Out alum. After graduating high school, Cronkright played at Olivet College from 2014-2018 where she collected an impressive 1299 career digs. Cronkright is currently the freshman coach at Byron Center high school.

Brenda Berg

Head Coach, 12 Red

Brenda Berg, third year coach.

Berg has coached FaR Out at the local level for three years. She graduated from Godwin Heights high school where she also played for three years on the varsity team. After high school, she played one season at Grace Bible College. Berg has actively coached for Ada Christian middle school over the past nine years, and she will be coaching the sixth grade team in the Fall of 2023.

Jahna Salisbury

Head Coach, 13 Silver

Jahna Salisbury, first year coach.

Salisbury will be joining the FaR Out staff for her first year while coaching at the local level. During her years at FaR Out, she also played beach volleyball at a high level. Salisbury and her partner qualified for the junior Olympics, won the Dunes Classic Tournament and was a gold medalist for the West Michigan Beach Volleyball Tournament all in 2017. She is also coaching the 7th grade A team at Byron Center middle school.

Brittany Beaune

Head Coach, 13 Red

Brittany Beaune, fourth year coach. 

Beaune has coached FaR Out for two years at the local level, as well as two years at the regional level. She graduated from Mason high school in 2011 after four years of playing as well. Beaune has experience coaching a variety of different levels throughout middle school and high school ages. Beaune is currently the head coach for the East Kentwood junior varsity team.

Isabelle Koenigsknecht

Head Coach, 14 Silver

Bio Coming Soon!

Katie Lutjens

Head Coach, 14 Red

Katie Lutjens, third year coach. 

Lutjens has coached FaR Out for two years at the local level, as well as one year at the regional level. She graduated from Catholic Central in 2019 after playing for four years, and was also a FaR Out athlete from 2013 to 2019. Lutjens coached the Catholic Central varsity team as an assistant in 2020, then coached the Catholic Central freshman team as an assistant in 2021 and as the head coach in 2022.

Sydney Zandstra

Head Coach, 15 Silver

Bio Coming Soon!

Patsy Morris

Head Coach, 15 Red

Bio Coming Soon!

Abi Mangus

Head Coach, 16 Silver

Bio Coming Soon!

Kelsey Anama

Head Coach, 16 Red

Amy Wierenga

Head Coach, 17 Red

Bio Coming Soon!

Kayla Clark

Head Coach, 18 Red

Bio Coming Soon!

Kelly Hutchinson

Assistant Coach, 18 Red

Kelly Hutchinson, sixth year coach. 

Hutchinson has coached for the Capital branch of FaR Out for five years. She graduated from St. Johns high school, then played for one year at Kalamazoo Valley Community College before transferring to Cornerstone University for her next three years of eligibility. Hutchinson is coming into this season with 25 plus years of coaching experience at a variety of different levels and age groups.

Kyleene Dalton-Koons

Head Coach, 12 Cardinal Spring

Bio Coming Soon!

Alli Pickard

Head Coach, 12 Cardinal

Bio Coming Soon!

Hannah Giere

Head Coach, 12 Grey

Hannah Giere, first year coach.

Giere is well immersed in FaR Out culture considering she played at FaR Out for five consecutive seasons before her college debut. Giere was the Emily Duits scholarship recipient her senior year. Giere played for Jenison high school where they were conference champs in 2019. She now is playing at Cornerstone University where her team won the WHAC regular season and tournament in the 2022 season.

Allison Sagraves

Head Coach, 12 White

Allison Sagraves, eleventh year coach. 

Sagraves has coached FaR Out at the regional level for two years as well as at the local level for nine years. She also takes on the role of a lead coach in the local gym as well as the Youth Academy Director. Sagraves graduated from Jenison high school and FaR Out in 2002. She then played at Cornerstone University from 2003-2005 where she received multiple all conference and all region accolades. Sagraves has taken part in coaching middle school and high school programs at Jenison, Forest Hills Eastern, and South Christian.

Kerri Ellis

Assistant Coach, 12 White

Kerri Ellis, second year coach.

Ellis has coached FaR Out at the local level for two years. She has also had experience working with the FaR Out Youth Academy. Ellis played all four years at Forest Hills Northern, and has also coached middle school volleyball in the Rockford school district for six years.

Sydney Ritz

Head Coach, 12 Crimson Spring

Bio Coming Soon!

Ali Pignataro

Head Coach, 12 Crimson

Bio Coming Soon!

Joleigh Cronin

Head Coach, 13 Garnet

Bio Coming Soon!

Miranda German

Head Coach, 13 Cardinal

Bio Coming Soon!

Jess Lefler

Head Coach, 13 White Spring

Bio Coming Soon!

Jennie Cripe

Head Coach, 13 White

Bio Coming Soon!

Riley Dejong

Head Coach, 13 Crimson

Bio Coming Soon!

Elaina Britvec

Head Coach, 13 Grey Spring

Bio Coming Soon!

Aubrie Helmus

Head Coach, 13 Grey

Aubrie Helmus, second year coach.

Helmus has coached FaR Out at the local level for two years. Before stepping into the world of coaching, Helmus started her playing career at FaR Out from 2009 to 2011. She also gained four years of experience while playing at South Christian high school (2012-2014) as an outside hitter.

Emma Whitley

Head Coach, 14 White

Emma Whitley, second year coach. 

Whitley has coached FaR Out for two years at the local level. Whitley was a FaR Out athlete for four years where she was also the recipient of the Emily Duits scholarship. She is now an active member of the Cornerstone University volleyball team where she also received the WHAC Champion of Character award in 2022. Whitley contributed to her team’s success this season while they walked away with the WHAC conference and tournament champion title (2022).

Ellie Possehn

Head Coach, 14 Garnet

Bio Coming Soon!

Paige Wolverton

Head Coach, 14 Crimson

Bio Coming Soon!

Allie Cusack

Head Coach, 14 Cardinal

Allie Cusack, first year coach.

Cusack will be coaching FaR Out at the local level this season. She graduated from Grand Ledge high school before attending Lansing Community College from 2010 to 2012. Cusack then transferred to Grand Valley State University from 2012 to 2014 where she played on the University club volleyball team.

Skylee Bellgraph

Head Coach, 14 Grey

Bio Coming Soon!

Dyllan Hanna

Head Coach, 14 Ruby

Bio Coming Soon!

Kaitlyn Frys

Head Coach, 14 Sangria

Bio Coming Soon!

Claire Kransberger

Head Coach, 15 Crimson

Claire Kransberger, first year coach. 

Kransberger will be coaching FaR Out at the local level. After graduating high school, she played at Tusculum University for two years. Kransberger is currently the head coach for the freshman team at East Kentwood high school.

Stephanie Kalinowski

Head Coach, 15 Cardinal

Bio Coming Soon!

Dave Miller

Head Coach, 15 Grey

Dave Miller, fifth year coach.

Miller has coached FaR Out at the local level for three years as well as two years at the regional level. He has been playing and coaching for thirty plus years, allowing him to bring a large skill set to the FaR Out family.

Deanna Draper

Head Coach, 15 White Spring

Bio Coming Soon!

Katie Olson

Head Coach, 15 White

Katie Olson, fourth year coach. 

Olson has coached FaR Out for four years at the local level as well as one year at the regional level. She is originally from Illinois where she lived before coming to Michigan to play for Grand Valley State University from 2014 to 2018. In her time at GVSU she made it to the final four (2014) and received three GLIAC all-conference awards (2015-2018). Olson was previously the volunteer assistant coach at Michigan State University in 2021.

Justice Craft

Head Coach, 16 White

Justice Craft, fourth year coach. 

Craft has coached FaR Out for four years at the local level. She is a FaR Out alum who also graduated from East Kentwood high school. Once graduating high school, she played for Marshall University from 2014 to 2017. In those four years Craft received multiple accolades including MVP of the Eagle Challenge as well as the C-USA Academic Medal.

Camille Friberg

Coach, 16 White Spring

Bio Coming Soon!

Becca Sible

Coach, 16 White Spring

Bio Coming Soon!

Amy Weatherford

Head Coach, 17 White

Amy Weatherford, third year coach.

Weatherford has coached FaR Out for three years at the local level. She graduated from Waverly high school before going to play club volleyball at Central Michigan University. Weatherford was previously the freshman coach at East Kentwood high school for 15 years, then also coached for two years at Pinewood middle school and two years at Ionia public schools.

Valerie Lurye

Lead Coach

Valerie Lurye, eighth year coach. 

Lurye has coached FaR Out for two years at the regional level as well as six years at the national level. During these years she has served the club as a head coach, a lead coach and as the programming assistant, including things like marketing, media, travel, etc. She graduated from Forest Hills Northern in 2009, then attended Grand Rapids Community College. In her time as a coach, Lurye has been on the coaching staff at Aquinas College, Grand Rapids Catholic Central, Caledonia and Forest Hills Northern. She received the award of Varsity Coach of the Year in 2015 for region 7.

Cameron Rowland

Lead Coach

Cameron Rowland, eleventh year coach. 

Rowland has coached FaR Out for 11 years at the national level. He also serves the club as the assistant director and recruiting coordinator. Rowland has just finished up his fifth year as the head coach for Lakewood high school where he has recorded more than 200 wins. Within these five years he led his team to two state-runner up finishes as well as four final four finishes. Rowland has also spent time as the director of volleyball operations and volunteer assistant at Western Michigan University.

Elle Humphries

Lead Coach

Elle Humphries, fifth year coach.

Humphries has coached FaR Out at the regional level for four years and is now taking on the role of a lead coach in her fifth year. She graduated from Portage Central high school where she was an all-state honoree in 2012. After high school, Humphries played at Ferris State University from 2013 to 2014 where she and her team won a regional championship and made it to the elite 8.

Humphries has a rich history of coaching for FaR Out, including winning the 2021 and 2022 AAU State Championships. She is currently the varsity assistant coach at Byron Center high school.

Lori Armstrong

Lead Coach & Float Assistant

Bio Coming Soon!

Missy Ritz-Johnson

Lead Coach & Float Assistant

Bio Coming Soon!

Kerri Ellis

Float Assistant

Kerri Ellis, second year coach.

Ellis has coached FaR Out at the local level for two years. She has also had experience working with the FaR Out Youth Academy. Ellis played all four years at Forest Hills Northern, and has also coached middle school volleyball in the Rockford school district for six years.

Toni Haynes

Lead Coach

Toni Haynes, sixth year coach. 

Haynes has coached FaR Out at the regional and national level for six years. She graduated from East Kentwood high school in 2010 before playing at Kishwaukee College for two years where she was also named an All American. Haynes then transferred to Mars Hill University for her last two years of eligibility. Haynes also coached at Club Fusion in the Chicagoland area. Haynes is now the current head coach at East Kentwood high school.

Maribeth Johnston

Lead Coach

Bio Coming Soon!

Sid Schiller

Lead Coach

Bio Coming Soon!

Joe Steenhuysen

Lead Coach

Joe Steenhuysen, twenty five plus year coach. 

Steenhuysen has been with the FaR Out program since the very beginning. As a founder of the club, he also takes on the responsibility of coaching the 18 black team as well as serving as the national gym lead coach. Steenhuysen has won numerous national championship titles, most recently coming from the 18 Black win in the 2022 AAU Nationals. He serves as an honored guest coach at many summer camps, colleges, high school, and middle schools in the midwest. Steenhuysen has directed FaR Out to being one of the most successful volleyball clubs in all of Michigan.

Charley Andrews

Lead Coach

Charley Andrews, second year coach.

Andrews has coached FaR Out at the national level for two years. She graduated from Harper Creek high school where she was also a Miss Volleyball candidate for the state of Michigan in 2016. She graduated from the Western Michigan volleyball team in 2021 where she was the AVCA Diversity Award recipient. Andrews was the assistant coach for Hope College in 2022 where she helped lead her team to an elite eight finish. Andrews is currently the assistant coach for Davenport University.

Ola Nowak

Lead Coach

Ola Nowak, second year coach. 

Nowak has been a FaR Out coach and intern for two years. She is a FaR Out alum that graduated from Grandville high school in 2021. Nowak started her college debut at Grand Rapids Community College, then transferred to Davenport University in her sophomore season.

Michele Lurye

Lead Coach

Michele Lurye, fifth year coach. 

Lurye has coached FaR Out at the regional level for three years as well as the national level for two years. She has been a part of the coaching staff for multiple successful programs, including two state runner-ups at Lowell high school as the assistant coach. Lurye was also a part of the 18 Black coaching staff that took home first place in the 2022 AAU National Championships. Lurye is currently an assistant coach at Davenport University.

Allison Sagraves

Lead Coach

Allison Sagraves, eleventh year coach. 

Sagraves has coached FaR Out at the regional level for two years as well as at the local level for nine years. She also takes on the role of a lead coach in the local gym as well as the Youth Academy Director. Sagraves graduated from Jenison high school and FaR Out in 2002. She then played at Cornerstone University from 2003-2005 where she received multiple all conference and all region accolades. Sagraves has taken part in coaching middle school and high school programs at Jenison, Forest Hills Eastern, and South Christian.