Coaches Symposium
2023-24 Fall Speakers

November 29 (Online)
8:00PM – 9:00PM
Pre-practice physical preparation for athletes (How to help prevent acute and overuse injuries)
Rhonda Schmuland – Briercrest College Women’s Head Coach
Rhonda Schmuland began her tenure as head coach of the Briercrest Women’s Volleyball program in 2022-2023. She joined the Clippers from Olds College, where she had led the team from a 0-24 season prior to her arrival in 2018-2019 to a 5-11 season record in 2021-2022 season post-COVID.
A native of Calgary, Alberta, Schmuland played for Briercrest College (2001-02) and Trinity Western University (2002-2006) helping lead Trinity Western University (TWU) to their first National appearance after joining the CIS (now USport) league in 1999-2000. During her time at Briercrest College she received ACAC All-Conference award and went on to earn multiple awards at TWU including Canada West Second-Team All-Star, 4-time U-Sport Academic All-Canadian, and the prestigious Thérèse Quigley Award in 2005-06.
Following her post-secondary career and earning her Bachelor’s in Human Kinetics from TWU, Schmuland continued to pursue volleyball professionally in France. At the completion of her playing career Schmuland completed her Masters in Physiotherapy from the University of Alberta in 2010. During her time at the UofA she was the team therapist for the University of Alberta Golden Bears volleyball team and assisted them through multiple National Championship tournaments including the 2010 season where the captured the USports National Championship.
Schmuland has served in many coaching roles over the last 20 years, giving her a vast arrange of experience:
- 2002-2006 – Fraser Valley Volleyball Club – Head Coach
- 2008-2009, 2011-2018 – She was an integral part of the Canuck Volleyball Club program in Calgary as a head coach as well as Fitness Coordinator for 15+ teams in the club.
- 2015 – Schmuland was awarded the prestigious honor of the Volleyball Alberta U18 Coach of the Year.
- 2013-2022 – Multiple different roles within the Team Alberta Provincial Team Program with the most recent being 2022-Mentor Coach and 2021-U17 Head Coach.
- 2015-2016 – Assistant Coach – Ambrose University
- 2019-2022 – Head Coach of the Olds College Women’s Volleyball program
- 2023 – Mentor Coach for Team Sask
- 2022-Current – Head Coach of the Briercrest Women’s Volleyball program

November 30 (Online)
8:00PM-9:00PM
Injury Prevention and Management
Lee Stevens – Craven Sport Partner & Physiotherapist
Lee is a graduate of the University of Saskatchewan, where he completed a Bachelors of Science in Kinesiology (2009) before moving on to the Masters of Physical Therapy program (2011). Upon graduation, Lee received the Craven SPORT services Sport Physiotherapy award, presented to the graduating student with the highest academic achievement in foundational and clinical science courses related to sport physiotherapy, as well as the School of Physical Therapy Award for Top Research Project. Lee has since gained the Certificate in Sport Physiotherapy designation through Sport Physiotherapy Canada, which involves additional training and specialization in the areas of athlete health and performance, emergency sideline care, athletic taping, functional return to sport training, exercise physiology, protective equipment, and concussion evaluation. Lee is also a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and works as a consultant with the Sport Medicine and Science Council of Saskatchewan (SMSCS).
Clinically, Lee enjoys working with individuals of all ages including both athletic and non-athletic populations. He takes an active approach to rehabilitation and believes strongly in empowering his patients by providing them with the knowledge and skills to help themselves. He believes in taking a whole-body approach to an individual’s injury and draws on his knowledge in the areas of orthopaedic assessment and treatment, movement analysis and correction, and strength and conditioning to help a person work towards their goals. He has taken post graduate courses in the areas of functional movement screening and assessment (FMS, SFMA), running injury prevention, the Mulligan Concept of Manual Therapy, the McKenzie Method of Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy (MDT), Movement System Impairment Syndromes through Shirley Sahrmann, vestibular rehabilitation, and has attended numerous sport physiotherapy and strength and conditioning conferences. Lee has a special interest for concussion management. He is a certified practitioner through Complete Concussion Management Inc. and has taken courses through R2P Concussion Management as well. Lee has a passion for sharing information and providing workshops and education sessions on concussions for athletes, parents, coaches, and organizations, and has regularly guest lectured on the topic in the College of Kinesiology at the U of S.
Outside of the clinic, Lee stays busy with his young family. When he’s not chasing kids or the dog, Lee enjoys playing hockey and fastball, being involved with the family farm, and spending as much time at the lake as possible building and renovating the cabin, hanging out on the water, and spending time with family.
2024 Winter Speakers

January 23 (ONLINE)
8:00PM – 9:00PM
Arm Swing Evolution: Unlock More Velocity and Longevity in your Athletes Arm Swings
Nick Del Bianco – Athlete Wellness Academy Co-Founder
Nick is a former TWU Spartan earning 2 National Championships, 3-All Canadians and 1-Player of the Year award. He played professionally and represented Canada both on the court and on the beach.
Six years ago Nick alongside co-founder Mischa Harris, created the Athlete Wellness Academy where they help volleyball athletes increase their arm swing velocity and longevity.
Our journey towards specializing in the arm swing started because we recognized that rehabilitative and preventative “off-court” work only went as far as athletes patterns on-court. Sure we could make athletes stronger, have more range of motion, have more control over their bodies in the weight room but if they were then returning to the court and putting their bodies in compromised positions while they were attacking and serving we often saw them return broken and injured. We wanted to stop this cycle and recognized it was going to take a more comprehensive approach.
This was the birthplace of the AWA Arm Swing Evolution where we work with athletes both on and off-court to create more efficient patterns so athletes get healthy, and stay healthy. The coolest part about this process is we started seeing huge improvements in their attack and serve velocities as a result of it.
We currently consult with over 10 universities and colleges across Canada and Nick is the lead of Player Health and Wellness for the Spartans Men’s Volleyball Team and the Arm Swing Coach for University of Alberta Golden Bears.
We are excited to share our process for how to effectively create changes in your athletes arm swings so they are both healthier and hitting harder!

January 24 (Online)
8:00PM-9:00PM
Concussion Education
Lee Stevens – Craven Sport Partner & Physiotherapist
Lee is a graduate of the University of Saskatchewan, where he completed a Bachelors of Science in Kinesiology (2009) before moving on to the Masters of Physical Therapy program (2011). Upon graduation, Lee received the Craven SPORT services Sport Physiotherapy award, presented to the graduating student with the highest academic achievement in foundational and clinical science courses related to sport physiotherapy, as well as the School of Physical Therapy Award for Top Research Project. Lee has since gained the Certificate in Sport Physiotherapy designation through Sport Physiotherapy Canada, which involves additional training and specialization in the areas of athlete health and performance, emergency sideline care, athletic taping, functional return to sport training, exercise physiology, protective equipment, and concussion evaluation. Lee is also a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and works as a consultant with the Sport Medicine and Science Council of Saskatchewan (SMSCS).
Clinically, Lee enjoys working with individuals of all ages including both athletic and non-athletic populations. He takes an active approach to rehabilitation and believes strongly in empowering his patients by providing them with the knowledge and skills to help themselves. He believes in taking a whole-body approach to an individual’s injury and draws on his knowledge in the areas of orthopaedic assessment and treatment, movement analysis and correction, and strength and conditioning to help a person work towards their goals. He has taken post graduate courses in the areas of functional movement screening and assessment (FMS, SFMA), running injury prevention, the Mulligan Concept of Manual Therapy, the McKenzie Method of Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy (MDT), Movement System Impairment Syndromes through Shirley Sahrmann, vestibular rehabilitation, and has attended numerous sport physiotherapy and strength and conditioning conferences. Lee has a special interest for concussion management. He is a certified practitioner through Complete Concussion Management Inc. and has taken courses through R2P Concussion Management as well. Lee has a passion for sharing information and providing workshops and education sessions on concussions for athletes, parents, coaches, and organizations, and has regularly guest lectured on the topic in the College of Kinesiology at the U of S.
Outside of the clinic, Lee stays busy with his young family. When he’s not chasing kids or the dog, Lee enjoys playing hockey and fastball, being involved with the family farm, and spending as much time at the lake as possible building and renovating the cabin, hanging out on the water, and spending time with family.
2024 Spring Speakers

March 27 (Online)
8:00PM – 9:00PM
The Setter/Hitter Connection
John Dunning – Former Stanford University Head Coach
John is an American volleyball coach who was the head women’s coach at Stanford University (2001–2016) and the University of the Pacific (United States) (1985–2000). In 32 seasons of collegiate coaching, he guided his teams to five NCAA championships – second most of any Division I women’s volleyball coach – and compiled an overall record of 888-185 (.828).[1] He is one of only two Division I college volleyball coaches to have won NCAA championships at two different schools.
At UOP, Dunning led the Tigers to two NCAA championships (1985, 1986), a runner-up national finish (1990), five Big West Conference championships and 16 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, where his teams compiled a postseason record of 43–15.[6]
Dunning was named Big West Coach of the Year four times while at UOP and was inducted into the University of the Pacific Hall of Fame in 2007.[7] He coached 16 All Americans at UOP, including two-time Olympian Elaina Oden and 2008 Olympian Jennifer Joines.
In 16 seasons as Stanford‘s head coach, Dunning guided the Cardinal to three NCAA championships (2001, 2004, 2016), a 58–13 record in the NCAA tournament and seven national championship match appearances.[8] He was inducted into the AVCA Hall of Fame in 2011, chosen the AVCA National Coach of the Year in 2001 and 2016 and shares the NCAA Division I record for coaching in the most women’s volleyball championship matches (10) with Penn State coach Russ Rose.[9] Dunning announced his retirement on January 9, 2017.
Dunning coached 52 AVCA All Americans at Stanford, including four-time Olympian Logan Tom, who was a two-time AVCA National Player of the Year at Stanford, two-time Olympian Ogonna Nnamani, winner of the Honda-Broderick Cup in 2004 as the NCAA’s top female athlete, and two-time Olympian Foluke Akinradewo, the AVCA Player of the Year in 2007 and the “Best Middle Blocker” at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
In 2011, Dunning partnered with three-time USA Olympic volleyball coach Terry Liskevych and Penn State University women’s volleyball coach Russ Rose to create The Art of Coaching Volleyball (AOCVB), an educational organization that teaches coaching methodology through clinics and online resources.[10] Since its founding, AOCVB has put on 43 clinics in 31 cities and created an online library with more than 3,000 video tutorials.

March 28 (Online)
8:00PM-9:00PM
Sleep Performance
Ryan Flett – Ph.D., Mental Performance Consultant, Personal Best Solutions
Ryan has his BSc in Kinesiology, MSc in Health & Human Performance, and PhD in Psychosocial Youth Development, with emphases in Statistics and Counseling. He has worked with over 40 different sports, artists, and other performers, over his 20 years and approximately 15,000 hours as a consultant. Ryan also has more than 25 years of coaching experience. He has worked with thousands of grassroots, youth, college, and masters athletes, as well as elite athletes and coaches competing at the international level from the United States, Canada, Brazil, and Chile.
He specializes in emotion; perfectionism; optimal performance in competition and optimal development in training; and in creating better habits. His approach has always been to focus on the client’s story—who they are, their unique needs, their strengths, and their experiences—in order to identify the assets and barriers that they are dealing with.
REGISTRATION INFO
*** Earn 1 PD Point per Online Session ***
Coaches please provide your full name, club name and NCCP # when you register.
Sask Volleyball will provide a discount code to Accredited Clubs.
Registration Costs for All 6 Speakers:
$10.00 + gst / Accredited Club member (Discount code required)
$20.00 + gst / Approved Club member
Fall/Winter/Spring Registration Deadline(s):
1 Week prior to event
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If you were certified in 2019, your 5-year coaching period to obtain your Professional Development points will be ending in 2024. (A minimum of 20 pts are required) Please verify your coaching Locker for the number of points you have accumulated.
For inquiries please Contact (Subject line – Coaching)
Registrants will receive Zoom links via email on Monday prior to the event
On January 1st, 2014, Volleyball Canada complied with the Coaches Association of Canada’s (CAC) NCCP Professional Development policy. Coaches who are “Certified” within any context now receive credit within the Locker database for approved professional development experiences. In order to maintain certification, certified Development Coaches & Advanced Development Coaches will need to accrue 20 points over a period of 5 years. Performance Coaches will need to accrue 30 points over a 5-year period. Please review the CAC’s FAQ for all the details.