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Rick Kerkhoff - Head Coach
Rick Kerkhoff started playing volleyball in college (Wright State University). After a year on the club team, Kerkhoff played on the varsity team. He was the team captain for two years and team MVP one year. While playing at WSU, the men’s national team was stationed there. Rick and some of the other WSU players practiced, played in leagues and adult club ball with members of the national team. Coach Kerkhoff's college coach was the national team assistant coach. The head coach of the national team at the time was Doug Beal (now CEO of USA Volleyball). The boycott of the 1980 Olympics cut short his dream of trying out for the Olympic team.
After college Kerkhoff continued to play club volleyball after moving to Cincinnati and starting to teach high school. He taught and coached girls high school volleyball for the next nine years. He coached the varsity team for five years and in that time never lost a league match. Kerkhoff's teams won the district championship four times with one trip to state losing to the state champions by 2 points!
The adult club teams that Kerkhoff played on played in the national championships several times. To earn a trip to nationals, the team had to place in the top 2 in the regional championship. Their top finish was 16th which at the time was the best a Midwest team had ever placed at nationals.
As Kerkhoff's daughter, Kristen, approached high school, he started coaching girls Junior Olympic club volleyball. He coached her teams, and more after she graduated, with the Southwest Ohio Thunderbirds.
2010 marks Kerkhoff's 8th year with Cincinnati Attack, a boys’ Junior Olympic volleyball club. His teams have competed at the national championship tournament every year. In the summer of 2005 his 18’s team finished 5th at nationals. His team only lost one match the entire tournament and that was to the team that won it all. Kerkhoff has sent players from his 18's teams to play at the next level in college. Some of the schools where his players have played are: Ohio State University, Ball State University, Lewis University, Lees Macrae, Mount St. Joseph and Mount Olive University. Many of his other players are playing club ball for the schools that they are attending.
Having said all of the above, here is what Kerkhoff brings to the court:
Ø 30 years of coaching and playing experience
Ø Playing experience against the best players in the world
Ø Coached by the best coaches in the country
Ø Coaching experience against the best players in the country
Ø Current winning experiences against top teams in the country
Ø Players with national recognition or the ability to continue as college players