COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (April 22, 2022) – Beach volleyball Olympian and longtime U.S. Beach National Team (BNT) coach Jose Loiola has formally joined the USA Volleyball staff as a Development Coach for the BNT.
“I am grateful and honored to be selected for this new role as USA Volleyball’s Beach National Team Development Coach,” Loiola said. “I’ve spent the last decade teaching USA athletes, and I’m excited to continue this and help develop the program that’ll allow them to achieve their goals.”
In his new role, Loiola will create and oversee transition and development programs for athletes joining the BNT from college or indoor volleyball. Programs will include on-sand coaching and support as well as instruction about life as a pro and the demands of international beach volleyball. Additionally, he will work closely with Beach National Team Development Program (NTDP) staff to identify high-potential athletes and contribute to NTDP programs and courses.
Loiola currently coaches BNT athletes Tri Bourne and Trevor Crabb but will transition out of that role in the coming months. During 10 years of coaching for the BNT, he’s also mentored Theo Brunner/Nick Lucena (fourth at 2015 FIVB World Championship), Emily Day/Jen Kessy, Sara Hughes/Kelly Claes and Hughes/Summer Ross, among others.
“It is a privilege to announce Jose as our Beach National Team Development Coach,” Peter Vint, USA Volleyball Chief of Sport, said. “He will lead an important new program designed to support the identification and continued development of athletes who may someday represent Team USA. Beyond his storied athletic career, Jose’s continued engagement with USA Volleyball, his commitment to professional development as a coach and his genuine passion for athlete development aligned perfectly with our ambitions for this program.”
As an athlete, Loiola was a standout for his native Brazil. He and then-partner Emanuel Fernando Sheffer Rego tied for ninth at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney and won a world title the year before. That capped a decade where Loiola and Rego earned FIVB Team of the Decade honors for the 1990s. Loiola has since been inducted into the International Volleyball Hall of Fame and Brazil National Hall of Fame.
Loiola began his duties with USA Volleyball earlier this month.