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 AVP grass tour tournaments. 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!
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!
Bonnie Bright's family was featured in Volleyball Magazine on the list of the top ten families in volleyball. Her volleyball career began early as she was born to volleyball Olympian Patti Bright and Olympian and Beach Volleyball Legend Mike Bright. Bright grew to love volleyball as she was carted around to her parent's tournaments and beach games, as well as to Pepperdine University’s practices and matches while her mom was the head coach. Bright earned a scholarship to UC Santa Barbara, where she started as an outside hitter and broke the digging, service ace and assists records. She went on to compete on the pro beach circuit and make it to the top of the CBVA list in 1999, which earned her and her partner the honor of being runners up for the Pan Am games. Most recently, Bright earned MVP at USA Volleyball Nationals in 2011 for Women’s 45’s!
-USAV All American
-Nominated a Top 10 Family of USA Volleyball, All Time
-Pro Beach WPVA and AVP, Runner up Pan Am Games 1999
-UC Santa Barbara Outside Hitter
-D1 State Champion
Heather was born and raised in the surrounding suburbs of Atlanta and has been involved with volleyball over the past two and a half decades. She held the position of captain of her high school and college teams, named to the All-Academic team her sophomore through senior year, and got All Conference Team selections throughout college. Heather has over 13 years of Coaching experience and is currently finishing her Masters in Sports Psychology to continue growing her passion for working to develop young athletes mentally and physically. She continues her playing career competing in open level tournaments throughout the Southeast in all formats including indoor, grass, and beach. Heather lives and breathes the game of volleyball.
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 at GA Beach Volleyball!
Paige is an Atlanta native who graduated from Cambridge High School in Milton, Ga. She played club volleyball at A5 & NAVC throughout her high school career. She was recruited and played at the University of West Georgia her freshman year playing both volleyball and running track. Paige has coached indoor volleyball at Tallahassee Volleyball Academy and A5Gwinnett. She still actively plays high level indoor and outdoor volleyball in tournaments around the South East. Paige enjoys coaching volleyball because it allows her to train talented players and help other young women achieve their goals. “I’m super excited and beyond blessed to coach at Ga Beach this year and cannot wait to watch these athletes perform at the highest levels!”
Nikki grew up in Seattle, Washington, where she started played indoor volleyball in middle school throughout high school. She then moved to Atlanta, where she played indoor club at Georgia Tech, and became very involved in beach and grass tournaments and leagues, with some of her favorites being G-Vegas volleyball and FUDS. She is a high level dynamic player and Coach and is excited to get in the sand to Coach at GABeach!
Justin started playing organized indoor volleyball in the Chicago suburbs from Jr High through High School. Since the late 2000's, he fell in love with outdoor doubles volleyball and he started playing sand 2s and regularly. He has nearly 20 years of experience and is eager to share knowledge.
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.
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)