Miamisburg Vikings Volleyball: Coaching Staff

Derek Benson - Varsity

This is Derek's debut season with the Vikings as the Varsity Head Coach.  His volleyball career began with Dayton Junior VBC and Fairborn High School where he was a 4-year varsity outside hitter.  Derek continued to play club volleyball for Wright State University following his high school years.

Derek began his coaching career at Fairborn High School, holding various positions in both their girls' and boys' volleyball programs.  He has coached boys' club volleyball for Air City VBC for 3 years, including two years of taking teams to national championships in Atlanta, GA and Austin, TX.  Derek is also one of the Junior Varsity coaches for the Centerville Boys' Volleyball Program.

Emily Williams - Junior Varsity / Varsity Assistant

This is Emily's debut season with the Vikings as the Junior Varsity head coach.  She will also serve as the assistant coach on Varsity.  She was a varsity setter and libero for Watkins Memorial High School in Pataskala, Ohio, and played club volleyball for Columbus Juniors all through her junior and high school career.  She currently tears up the Dayton Area indoor and sand volleyball leagues

Emily has coached 8th grade girls' for Fairborn High School during the 2010 season and was an assistant coach for Air City VBC's 2009 nationals team trip to Austin, TX.  Emily is also one of the Junior Varsity coaches for the Centerville Boys' Volleyball Program.

John Hopper - Freshmen

John is returning from Texas after a year away from school volleyball.  He coached club volleyball there for 2 seasons while away.  This will be his 10th year coaching volleyball and 9th in the Miamisburg program.  He is very passionate about the game and enjoys teaching it.  He has been fortunate enough the past couple years to work with some people in Texas that have taught him a lot.  John looks forward to bringing this knowledge back with him and getting started.  He is excited about working with the new coaching staff and making Miamisburg Volleyball a dominant force in the GWOC.

Mitch Wheeler - 8th Grade

Mitch is returning this year to the middle school program as the new 8th grade girls volleyball coach. With his success coaching the MHS 7th grade team last year, he has elected to continue with them on their journey through the Miamisburg Volleyball program. Mitch's involvement with Vikings volleyball has spanned over the past 8 years including coaching at Coffman YMCA (6th, 7th & 8th grade youth leagues), assistant coaching for CVA Volleyball Academy in Mason, and also coaching in our own Miamisburg Youth Volleyball Leagues. He is truly excited to continue coaching with this new staff and looks forward to helping this program grow and succeed.

Julie Giles - 7th Grade

Julie is returning to coaching school volleyball after a lengthy sabbatical from competitive coaching.  She graduated from Miami East high school as a 3-sport player and began coaching in their girls program shortly thereafter.  She served as both a Junior Varsity and Varsity Coach there and later coached 7th grade girls at Springboro Junior High.  Julie is also a member of our Miamisburg Youth Volleyball League Coaching Staff.  She is very excited to be a new addition to the Miamisburg Volleyball program and will play an integral role in building our future athletes.