Coach Jamie Walsh
Coach Jamie has had a passion for beach volleyball since she was 11. Growing up on the sands of Pismo beach, before college beach volleyball exploded, she did whatever she could to find four people to play with every weekend.
She helped high school beach volleyball get started in California and was able to compete and become a Riviera league champion her senior year of high school. Thanks to Andrew Bennett of Tamarack Volleyball Club, Jamie toured UCLA, Stetson and TCU. She competed for her first two years of college at the 5 seed at Stetson, and later transferred and found her home at Grand Canyon University in Arizona where she finished her degree while bouncing between the 4 and 5 seed for the remaining two years of her eligibility.
Coach Jamie now dedicates her days working in the mortgage industry with LHM financial. After she finishes her day job, she helps with Grayhawk operations and coaching, is the Head Coach for Notre Dame Prep High School’s Beach Volleyball Program, Scottsdale BeachFest Organization, and helping run the BVCA in Hermosa. She likes to spend her free time traveling to new places, hiking, taking photos, and making the world a better place by getting to know people and sharing their talents!
GCU
2019 – Senior
- Started the 2019 season off with a 11-0 winning streak on Courts 4 and 5 to finish the season 21-5
- Earned the Lopes’ best winning percentage of 2019 at .808
- Highlighted her senior season with top-ranked wins over No. 4 LSU, No. 6 Hawaii, No. 7 Cal Poly (twice) and No. 10 Long Beach State
2018 – Junior
- Compiled a record of 18-9, the highest winning percentage on the team
- Won a team-high 18 matches, 16 on Court 5 – also a team-high
- Notable wins against Hawaii, Nebraska, South Carolina and USC
2017: ASUN Honor Roll … Went 3-5 overall … Posted a win at the 4 seed over Morehead State … Notched two wins at the 5 seed over Cal State LA and No. 6 Long Beach State.
2016: ASUN Honor Roll … Went 25-9 at the 5 seed … A-Sun Pair of the Week on April 5 … The 24 dual match victories with Alexa Richardson ranked fifth among all pairs in the Atlantic Sun … Went 5-2 in A-Sun play … Posted a big non-conference win vs. #2 Southern Cal … Other non-conference wins include #10 Georgia State, #18 Tulane, #19 South Carolina, and #10 Grand Canyon … Won 13 matches in a row, inlcuidng all three in the A-Sun Championship.
High School
Arroyo Grande High School – Arroyo Grande, Calif.
- First-team All-Pac-8 – high jump
- First-team All-San Luis Obispo County – high jump
- High jump mark of 5’8” at All-County meet
- Second-team All-Pac-8 – indoor volleyball
Qualifications:
- 4 Year Division I Beach Volleyball Athlete
- Concussions in Sport Certified
- SafeSport Certified
- NFHS Fundamental of Coaching Certified
- Former Indoor Varsity Assistant Coach at ALA Ironwood
- Current Head Coach for Beach Volleyball at Notre Dame Prep
- Scottsdale BeachFest Business Development
- Grayhawk Operations Manager
- High School – 4 year Indoor player
- Extensive Coaching Experience in both indoor and sand – private and group settings
- BVCA National Championships Social Media Director
Coach Mike Hawkins
Club Director Mike Hawkins started coaching in 2012 with the goal of teaching daughter Alyssa and all her friends the game of volleyball. Starting with City of Scottsdale indoor league, then AGAF @ Boys and Girls Club in Grayhawk, then started Grayhawk Beach along with coach David Potocki Sr. officially in 2014. Playing indoor and beach since the late 80’s, volleyball is nothing short of a lifelong passion. Mike has played AOVA, CBVA, Masters in Seaside and Motherlode, and continues to play indoor USA Adult Nationals and Huntsman Senior games. Coach Mike earned his BCAP-I Certification in 2017 in Gulf Shores, AL and is continuously learning and surrounding club with best coaching staff in AZ.
Mike graduated from Arizona State University in 1991 with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and currently works in the Aerospace industry developing Software/Systems for business/commercial jet flight decks and turbine engine control systems. With his industry profession and love of beach volleyball, Mike knows that academics and high level education is priority 1 and the importance of the academic/athletic/life balance.
Over the last 10 years Grayhawk Beach has grown attracting the best coaches and converting more and more players from indoor to beach. We continue to increase our field of competitive teams locally and California tournaments. Whether just beginning or playing at highest-level, Mike knows this business is more than just volleyball. Focus on skills development, confidence, self-esteem, and that competitive spirit both on the court and in real life. Mike is also the co-founder of the first indoor beach volleyball festival Scottsdale BeachFest (2019-2021) held at the Scottsdale WestWorld Arena.
Coach Bobby Schwarzkopf
Rest In Peace, Coach Bobby.
Forever in our Hearts. <3
Robert “Bobby” Schwarzkopf has played sand ball for 15 years now and competed in open sand for several years with his highest finish being a third in open. Bobby is USAVB Beach IMPACT Certified and the shortest player in the state to be competing at this level with Dave Potocki Jr. being a close second. His pinnacle of volleyball was when his high school team won the state championships at Deer Valley High School in Glendale (Coach Hawkins alma mater). He was named the ‘best defensive player of Arizona’ and All-State first team my junior and senior years but chose to pursue soccer in college. Check out his video on YouTube
Coach David Nobrega
Coach David stared his volleyball journey at age 12 playing on the sand and self teaching himself. He then moved to indoor where he played all 4 years in high school and then on to The University of Arizona. In high school he was part of the state championship team and while at The U of A won the NIRSA National Championship division 3. He also participated in AZ Region and US Nationals AA division. Winning 3 AZ Region championships and 1 silver medal at US Nationals. He was the Head Coach for the University of Arizona Men and Women’s club teams. He lead the mens team to a 5th place finish at Nationals and lead the women to a 2nd place finish. He also spent 4 years coaching for Club Cactus in Tucson.
After indoor, he moved back to the sand and over the last 10 years competes regularly. Through out his professional career, as an engineer, he has been blessed to travel the world. While working in Australia he joined Parklands Beach Volleyball club where he was a club champion. He has extensive coaching experience in private and group settings. David also earned USA Volleyball CAP1 certification. (Coaching Accreditation Program) and has 2021/2022 SafeSport certification.
Coach Josh Roper
Coach Josh has been playing beach volleyball since he was just 12 years old. A south Texas native, he grew up playing beach volleyball on the coast. As he began to get more serious about the sport, he traveled to Austin, Texas, where he played for Austin Juniors indoor and continued playing beach elsewhere.
During his indoor career he was selected for the Texas High Performance Team on the national level. Though his indoor career was rewarding, he decided to attend Grand Canyon University to fully focus on his beach game and be on staff for the top 10 nationally ranked program. Through his hard work and dedication to the sport he was nominated and selected for the 2022 USA Collegiate National Team, representing the country’s top 16 college beach athletes. He has not only had the opportunity to be coached by the best, but also coach alongside the best. Kristen Rohr, head coach at GCU was the 2022 AVCA Coach of the Year and has been working with Josh for the past three years.
Though Josh’s knowledge of the game is extensive, his coaching skills have also been a priority, leading Rancho Solano Preparatory most rewarding season yet and working alongside GCU to get to their second national championship tournament appearance this past season. He looks forward to the skills he has to offer to Grayhawk beach this summer and loves to work with highly motivated, young athletes!
Qualifications:
- 3 years with the Grand Canyon University beach volleyball
- 30 under 30 recipient
- Rancho Solano Preparatory Assistant Coach
- SafeSport Certified
- CPR Certified
- USA Beach Collegiate National Team
- Private and group training experience
- Multiple years of club coaching experience
Coach Katie Sarber
Grayhawk Beach would like to welcome back Coach Katie after graduating from NAU with her doctorate degree in Occupational Therapy. Katie is a wealth of knowledge and experience with the game of Beach Volleyball, and we are happy to have her back on the sand with us!
GCU
2021 – Senior
- Competed in 27 of the 29 matches
- Finished with a 14-13 record on Courts 4 and 5
- Picked up ranked wins over No. 6 Cal Poly, No. 16 Long Beach State, No. 8 Pepperdine, No. 13 Arizona, No. 18 Stanford, and No. 10 TCU.
2020 – Junior
- Competed in all 12 matches on Court 3 and finished with a 9-3 record
- Collected top-ranked wins over No. 4 USC, No. 11 Cal and No. 17 South Carolina
2019 – Sophomore
- Finished 2019 with a 6-3 record on Courts 4, 5 and 6
- Picked up a top-ranked win over No. 20 TCU on March 29
2018 – Freshman
- Finished the season 4-4 with a win on Court 3 and 5, and two wins on Court 4
- Notable win against LSU on Court 5
High School
Pasco High School – Dade City, Fla.
- Tampa Bay Honorable Mention
Personal
- Parents are Ken and Dolly Sarber
- Father, Ken, played baseball for Indiana Central from 1981-1984
- Mother, Dolly, was a cheerleader at Indiana State from 1982-1985
- Cousin, Derek Bradford, played football at Butler University
- Cousin, Nick Bradford, played football at Marion College
- Cousin, Josh Bradford, played football and Missouri Baptist
- Uncle, Dan Egenolf, was on the crew team at Purdue
- Cousin, Luke Egenolf, was on the crew team at Purdue
- Beach partner with Madi Relaz
Coach Sarah Edler
Coach Sarah has been coaching youth volleyball at Roots Volleyball Club in Austin for the past 3 years, and is super excited to continue coaching and pour into the kids at Grayhawk!