Our Coaching Family

Kristine Heidger, Director

Prior to Kristine Heidger's professional beach volleyball career on the WPVA tour (now AVP), she was a multi-sport varsity athlete in high school (tennis, softball and volleyball) and a four year six-rotation starter at Michigan State University as a middle and right side hitter. After college, she moved to Manhattan Beach, California and trained with coaches, Anna Collier and Nina Matthies, and some of the best players in Southern California. Beach volleyball demands that a player becomes competent in EVERY skill and this is what drew Kristine to the sport. She has coached middle and high school players on and off for more than 10 years in the Atlanta area and loves seeing her players gain mental strength, confidence and proficient movement and technique.

Taylor Snipes - Assistant Director, Sand Stars Director, Master Coach

Taylor grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee where she was the captain of her high school team and Junior Olympic club team. After she graduated, she was recruited as a Middle Hitter to West Georgia and earned herself a starting position her freshman year playing all the way around. After her college career ended, she went on to compete in Open level tournaments all throughout the Southeast and still actively competes in them. Taylor has since coached at several high schools in TN and is currently the Flowery Branch High School Varsity Coach. She has a passion for working with young athletes and growing the sport however she can and is excited to be a part of Georgia Beach Volleyball!

Nate Heidger

Born and raised in California, Nathan Heidger competed for three years on the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball tour. Prior to competing professionally, he was a multi-sport college athlete (basketball and volleyball) and was awarded All-State Honors at Santa Monica College before continuing on to Long Beach State University. Transitioning from indoor volleyball to beach taught Nate the importance of hard work, grit and perseverance. Coach Nate currently resides in Dacula, GA with his wife Kristine and two daughters Lily and Carly. He has a passion for helping club volleyball players get to the next level by improving their all-around skills through Beach Volleyball.

Coach Alex, Master Coach

Alex Rosa grew up in Honduras where he began playing volleyball at a very young age. He was the captain and setter of his varsity high school team which led to being drafted as the setter for the Honduran Junior National Team. He moved to the US to continue his education at Kennesaw State University which allowed him to be the Head Club Volleyball Coach for various Atlanta volleyball clubs. He is currently a competitive beach volleyball player and has won several tournaments. He has a passion for teaching others the sport he loves and growing beach volleyball and is glad to be a part of GA Beach for the 4th year!

OUR FOUNDERS

Our founders, Nate and Kristine Heidger, began offering free clinics to the community in 2013 in hopes of sparking the love of beach volleyball in the hearts of young athletes. Word spread and interest grew over the years and in 2018, GA Beach Volleyball was formed. We now serve more than 60 club middle and high school athletes and their families while also teaching young beginners the FUNdamentals of volleyball skills in our SandStars program. We love seeing our athletes enjoy competing and building mental toughness through our program and are grateful for the opportunity to mold these young women as they prepare for their next steps in life.

Coach Laura, 14u Liason

Laura Madison has been around the sport of volleyball for more than 25 years. She grew up playing indoor volleyball in high school in Ohio and began coaching with Suwanee Sports Academy and a local indoor club after moving to GA. She loves working with young athletes teaching them about discipline and perseverance. She noticed her own skills improving while playing outdoors on grass and sand and loves the hustle and pace of the beach game. Laura is also a certified Health Coach by the Dr Sears Wellness Institute. She is passionate about empowering adults (and kids) to make the best health and nutrition choices for optimal wellness and performance She is excited to have an impact on these young athletes with GA Beach Volleyball for the 4th year!

Coach Derek

Derek played volleyball for El Toro High School in Southern California making the CIF second team in 1987, the CIF first team and the Fab 50 list in 1988. He played club for Laguna Beach and made first team all American. He went on a full ride scholarship to play at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne and played pro beach volleyball on the midwest circuit for 2 years. He finished up his career after moving back to southern CA and qualifying on the AVP tour to then play AVP on and off for 4 years.

He coached Northview HS to the final four two years in a row and coached at GAC for two years, making it to Elite 8 and Final Four.

Coach Derek AVP

Coach Julie

Julie has been coaching for more than 6 years - North Georgia Volleyball and Chestatee High School. She still plays competitive sand and grass tournaments and recently won the Shanks Grass Triples Tournament and competes at Fuds every year. We are grateful to have her coaching with us this season

Coach Bricks

Diana Hernandez, Sand Stars Director

BIO

We are excited to announce Diana Hernandez as our new Sand Stars Director!

Diana recently moved here from Phoenix Arizona, and is excited about new opportunities in Georgia! She is currently a Marketing Manager for a software company and also runs her own small business consulting company. Diana has over 12 years of playing experience, including setting for her college club team at Arizona State and playing in adult sand doubles leagues in Arizona. She coached indoor varsity volleyball for 3 years and is excited to get back in the sand to coach GA Beach Volleyball Sand Stars!

SAND STARS PAGE

TESTIMONIALS

Dear Coach Nate and Kristine,

I want to take the opportunity to thank you. Throughout the past three years you've taken me in, believed in, encouraged, and supported me. You two have taught me so much; essentially everything I know about beach volleyball. Sitting back and reflecting at the end of my senior season, I had no idea how much I was learning...about how hard I could truly push myself, about mental toughness, about not giving up, about intensity, about life. Thank you for pushing me above my own boundaries and teaching me not to give up on myself; these lessons carry over into my life beyond my passion for volleyball. Volleyball has become the place I've run to for comfort from the pain of life and growing up. Coming to practice and being with my friends, growing my skills, and pushing myself physically has honestly been my saving grace. It's incredible how you've allowed me to pursue what I love wholeheartedly. I can't thank you enough fro allowing me to participate and for finding ways to include me on the team this season. You helped in identifying my flaws and turning them into my strengths. I will forever be grateful for your investment in my life, as an athlete and moreso as a person. Thank you for bringing the best out of me. Y'all have such a positive impact on my life.

Thank you so much,

Abby White (Dacula HS)

We absolutely love Georgia Beach Volleyball! I have two daughters, 12 and 15, playing beach volleyball for the first time and they absolutely love it! Both of my girls have played indoor for over 3 years and this has been such a welcome change for us. All of the coaches are amazing and consistent in the way they coach the girls. The coaches believe that positive reinforcement is the best way to coach and we have seen that since day one. We can already see huge improvements in fundamentals and speed, but most importantly my girls love the game again!♥️. So thankful to be a part of this club!

Ashley Stewart (Hadyn & Maddie, Buford HS)

Love GA Beach Volleyball!!! The coaches are amazing and lead with positivity. There is a focus on the whole athlete on and off the court. The coaches are former beach pro players so they absolutely know what they are doing. If you are looking for a supportive beach volleyball family for your daughter, this is the place!

Tiffany Harris (Sophie, Jackson County HS)

My daughter started beach this year not knowing much. She has grown in knowledge and skill tremendously. The coaches truly care about the players and think through workouts and what to teach each practice. We will be back again for sure and we highly recommend GA Beach!

Jill Brown (Bella, Hebron Christian Academy)

Playing for Georgia Beach has improved every aspect of Lexy’s game both in the sand and on the indoor court. It is amazing to see how sand training has translated to her indoor play. Lexy’s ability to read the ball, pass, and play defense is much sharper. Her court movement has improved as well. The Heidger’s infectious love of volleyball and their focus on coaching the fundamentals made our first beach season a huge success all around.

Jeff & AshleyTaylor (Lexy, Greater Atlanta Christian HS)

Georgia Beach Volleyball has helped Emma's indoor game in so many ways. Her court awareness, speed and agility and ball control have improved tremendously over the past few years. Bottom line is, to play beach volleyball, you have to do it all - serve, pass, set and hit WELL! You can't just be good in one area. Beach volleyball forces you to improve all of those skills and the number of touches you get through beach surpasses a club indoor season enormously. Emma absolutely loves playing sand volleyball and we highly recommend it to others who are considering the switch.

-Michael, Jennifer & Emma Tennant (Hebron Christian Academy)

We could not be any happier with GA Beach volleyball club! The coaches are patient with players and speaks to them with great knowledge. Our daughter started 3 years ago and has learned so much! The knowledge and skills she has learned has earned her an athlete scholarship to play beach volleyball with Truett McConnell University!! We also had another daughter that played 2 years with them and then aged out. She finds ANY reason to get back to practices so she can get back on the sand. Look no further for a beach club, this is the BEST out there!!

Delonda Godfrey, (Mady & Camille, Cherokee Bluff HS)

We love GA Beach Volleyball! It is a true family! Coaches Nate and Kristine create a positive environment with constant feedback and encouragement to help their players improve and reach their highest potential. Playing with GA Beach has made their indoor game quicker, made the indoor court smaller and strengthened their overall game since they had to learn to cover the entire sand court and learn all the skills--passing, setting, hitting, and serving! Both of our girls are multi-sport athletes and playing with GA Beach provides flexibility for the girls to improve their volleyball skills as well as get faster and stronger. They work on speed & agility and build mental toughness, which helps in any sport! We are so grateful to play for GA Beach and Coach Nate and Coach Kristine Heidger."

-Zoe Mazzawi (Hollis, Hoake & Harper, Hebron Christian Academy)