Brennan Dean

Executive Indoor Director

Brennan Dean, M.A.
Brennan Dean is involved in youth volleyball at two of the most respected high school and club programs in the country. He is Varsity Head Coach of the Torrey Pines High School girls volleyball program, and is the owner and Executive Director of WAVE Volleyball Club in Del Mar, Ca. Brennan has been coaching since 2004, and currently coaches both boys and girls club teams in the WAVE program.

Brennan’s teams have garnered numerous California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) section championships and have consistently been nationally ranked at both the high school and club levels. Additionally, he has coached an abundance of players who have gone onto play at NCAA division 1 universities and as professional players overseas.

For his efforts at Torrey Pines High School, Brennan was named the 2015 CIF and California State Volleyball Coach of the Year. In 2019 his TPHS team won the Open Division of California State and was awarded National Champions and was the National High School Coach of the Year.

He was the recipient of the 2018 American Volleyball Coaches Association Club Director of the Year. Brennan currently is on multiple committees and boards related to national and regional volleyball.

Brennan holds a decade of professional counseling experience in the San Dieguito Union High School District. He has held the Head Counselor and at District Head Counselor positions during his service in the academic setting. Brennan’s expertise as a youth counselor and coach give him a unique perspective on interacting with athletes, encompassing today’s topic of the importance of connectivity and connection between coach and player.

Brennan is a San Diego native and an alumni of Chico State University and Point Loma Nazarene University. He met his wife Kristen through coaching, and they created a non-profit that creates opportunity for kids to play volleyball where volleyball isn't easily accessible in the United States. Their non-profit also helps kids play club volleyball all across the country. Brennan and Kristen have a daughter named Harper and a son named Cal, and they love to travel, camp, and hang out with their dog when not on the court.

Matt Olson

Executive Beach Director

Matt Grew up in Cardiff and attended La Costa Canyon High School. After earning league MVP honors at Grossmont Junior College in San Diego, Matt then played 3 years at the University of Arizona. He was The Mountain region MVP in 2002 and won National Collegiate Club Championships in 2002 (All-Tournament 1st team) and 2003. Matt was the co-head coach (2001-2003) for the Arizona Women’s Club Team. In his senior year at Arizona, Matt was a manager for Dave Rubio’s University of Arizona Women’s Division One Volleyball team during the 2003/2004 season. Matt graduated Cum Laude from the University of Arizona in 2004, earning a BS in Physical Education.

Matt was a Head coach for the Wave 13’s in 2006. He assisted Ed Machado for two seasons (2006/2007) at LCC where the team won back-to-back CIF championships and finished 3rd in the state in their 2007 Season. Matt directed/coordinated the Wave Boys program for 3 seasons (2006-2009) before taking a year off to pursue his professional beach volleyball career. The 2011 AVP season marked Matt’s 8th season as a pro beach volleyball player. Some of Matt’s AVP highlights include finishing 2nd in the Hermosa Beach Open in 2007, Matt and partner Kevin Wong won the 2008 Belmar, NJ Open and the duo finished 2nd in the 2009 Manhattan Beach Open. In addition to traveling around the US on the domestic AVP tour Matt has competed professionally in multiple countries including Mexico, Australia, China, New Caledonia and Columbia.

Coaching Highlights:
2001-2003 University of Arizona Women’s Club Team Co-Head Coach
2003-2004 University of Arizona Div. I Team Manager (Dave Rubio – Head Coach)
2005-2006 WAVE Volleyball’s 13’s Head Coach
2005-2007 La Costa Canyon Women’s Varsity Assistant Coach (Ed Machado – Head Coach)
Back to back CIF Championships
3rd in the state in 2007
2006-2009 WAVE Volleyball’s Boys Director/Coordinator
2010-2014 WAVE Volleyball Associate Director & Director of Operations
2012-Present WAVE Beach Executive Director
2016 ACVA Beach Club Coach of the Year

Playing Highlights:
2000-2013 Beach Volleyball Professional (AVP Tour)
National top 40 individual ranking or better from 2004-2013.
Competed in 134 professional domestic events with:
83 top 10 finishes
34 top 5 finishes
2008 AVP Belmar Open Champion (Partner Kevin Wong)
2011 AVP Championships Huntington Beach Champion (Partner Matt Prosser)
50th all time prize money earner with $271,305.00
Cover of Volleyball Magazine: August 2009
Cover of DIG Magazine: 2011 #5
Competed professionally in Mexico, New Caledonia, Australia and China

Indoor Player Highlights:
1997 CIF Champion (La Costa Canyon)
1998 CIF Champion (La Costa Canyon)
League MVP and Team Captain
2002 NIRSA National Champion (University of Arizona)
All Tournament 1st Team honors
2003 NIRSA National Champion (University of Arizona)

Matt's Beach Highlights: http://youtu.be/1oWNjcG2dDM

Doug Forsyth

Director of Facilities

Kristen Dean

Programs & Finance Director

Madi Fields

Sr. Director of Operations

Madi joined the WAVE coaching staff in 2020 and is our Sr. Director of Operations.

Madi is a California native and grew up in Vista. She began her volleyball career at the young age of 8. Madi played for multiple north county clubs before she landed at WAVE in 2011. During her 5 years at WAVE, her team won multiple qualifiers and SCVA regional championships. In 2013, her team won a silver medal in the 13 American Division. From ages 14-17 her team qualified for nationals in the Open division. Their finishes include:

14 Open - 11th Place
15 Open - 3rd Place
16 Open - 9th Place
17 Open - 13th Place

Madi graduated from Mission Vista High School in 2016 where she was a 4 year letter-winner. She continued her volleyball career at the University of Wyoming where she was the starting libero all 4 years. Madi left her mark as UW’s All-Time Digs Leader with 1773 digs, 6x Mountain West Player of the Week, 2019 All Mountain West honoree, 2019 UW Female Athlete of the Year, and 2020 NCAA Woman of the Year nominee.

She graduated in 2020 with her Bachelor’s degree in Business Management/Human Resources and a minor in Communications.

SCOTT HARTLEY

DIRECTOR OF RECRUITMENT & TRAINING

Scott began his coaching career with WAVE in 2017. Prior to joining WAVE, Scott was the Volunteer Assistant Coach for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Next he served as an Assistant Coach at Point Loma Nazarene University. Before this, Scott coached at the USA Women’s National Team tryouts and had been coaching girls/boys in high school and club volleyball at 949 Athletics, Santa Margarita Catholic High School, A’o A Koa Volleyball, Spike & Serve, and La Costa Canyon High School.

Scott grew up in Encinitas and started playing volleyball while he attended La Costa Canyon High School. The first volleyball team he ever played on was a team coached by Matt Olson here at WAVE. In high school, Scott played outside hitter and won CIF Division 1 all 3 years he played varsity. He received a scholarship to play at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa. During his time there, he received two NCAA Scholar Athlete Awards and was a Co-Captain during the 2015 season when they held a #1 overall ranking for over two months and ultimately finished the season in the National Semifinals. Also during college, Scott played for USA Volleyball in the 24th Asian Pacific Championship in Fukuoka, Japan. After graduating, he played professional volleyball for PAOK Volleyball Club in Thessaloniki, Greece, Blizzard Volleyball, Costa Mesa Stunners, and Las Vegas Ramblers (NVA). He is currently playing in the VLA for San Diego WAVE.

Scott’s approach to coaching comes from his experience as a player, in which he developed many of the higher-level skills of volleyball from spending time on the bench trying to earn a starting spot in college. He wants to alleviate the stress that athletes feel by providing them with a deeper understanding of the quick decisions that are needed to be made to be successful at the highest levels. Since Scott is still playing, he believes he is able to connect to his team by understanding their perspectives and relating with them on a player’s level.

Two interesting facts about Scott: One, he and his sister played on the first boys and girls teams at WAVE. Second, he has started and played a match in every position besides setter in collegiate or professional volleyball.

Cole Mortland

BOYS DIRECTOR AND RECRUITMENT COORDINATOR

Cole Mortland joined WAVE in 2019 and became the Director of Boys’ Recruitment in 2021, and is now additionally WAVE's Boys Director. In 2022, Cole was named the Volunteer Assistant Coach for the UC San Diego men's volleyball program.

Cole began his coaching career for Balboa Bay Volleyball Club in 2012, and concluded his time there in 2019 after seven seasons. During his time with Balboa Bay, he was a coach for four national championship teams: 15 Open in 2014, 18 Open in 2016, 18 Open in 2017, and 16 Open in 2019, as well as one bronze medal in 18 Open in 2015. Over the course of his seven seasons with Balboa Bay, Cole trained 18 USAV BJNC All-Americans & helped send over 25 players to play collegiate volleyball.

For 2013 and 2014 high school seasons, Cole served as the assistant coach for the Laguna Beach Boys Volleyball varsity team. During his time with the Breakers, he helped guide the team to two Orange Coast League championships as well as a D-III state championship in 2014.

Cole has also served as a coach and evaluator in the USA Volleyball High Performance pipeline.

Cole believes in the critical importance of mastering the fundamentals. He also believes that lessons of hard work and teamwork learned in the gym can and should be applied to the real world. Cole is a strong believer that the personal connections made through the game of volleyball are what make coaching truly rewarding.

Personally, Cole played as a setter for Epic Volleyball Club from 2003 to 2008. He was coached by fellow WAVE coach Darrell Dilmore during his senior season, winning a silver medal in the 18 Open Division at the 2008 USAV BJNC. Cole was named an All-American at the tournament.

Cole played for Mt. Carmel High School from 2005 to 2008, serving as starting setter on varsity for his last three seasons. At Mt. Carmel, Cole was a three-time first team All-CIF selection. In his senior season, Cole served as captain and led his team to a CIF San Diego Section DII Championship.

In college, Cole played club volleyball for UC Berkeley from 2008 to 2012, serving as captain his senior year. He was a first team all-NCCVL selection in 2012 and helped lead his team to a silver medal at the 2012 NCVF National Championships. At the conclusion of his senior season, Cole was named Runner-Up for Cal Club Sports Male Athlete of the Year.

Cole holds a BA from University of California, Berkeley and a MBA from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. He currently works full-time in commercial real estate as a member of the marketing team at CBRE.

Mike Placek

Beach College Recruitment Coordinator

Mike was a graduate of Torrey Pines High School where he lettered in tennis and volleyball. He was a beach volleyball national champion in 16U as a 14 year old, and earned his A Rating when he was just 13 years old. Mike was also the #1 ranked tennis player in Southern California in 16 and under and earned a tennis scholarship to UCSB. While at UCSB he was awarded on the All Big West Conference Team 3 times and was also on the Big West All Academic Team his Senior Year.

Following college in 2004, Mike began his professional beach volleyball and coaching career. He has finished as high as third place in AVP and USA Volleyball in tournaments in 2008 and 2012. In 2010 and 2011, Mike had the opportunity to represent Czech Republic in international events and competed all over Europe. He won an Exhibition in Lille, France and had two main draw FIVB World Tour finishes in Prague, Czech Republic and The Hague, Netherlands. Mike was a top ranked player on the National Volleyball League Pro Tour.

Mike also is an active and experienced trainer. He holds certifications in the Egoscue Method focusing on postural alignment and injury prevention, and has formally directed the Egoscue Method Clinic (Chicago, Illinois). He has provided training services locally with Libafit, Full Spectrum Training, and provided personal training. Mike has a wide range of experience training clientele from age 7 to 85, and has clients of all athletic abilities from youth athletes, through collegiate and ranked professionals. In 2021, Mike was named AVCA Beach Coach of the Year.

Mike started coaching at WAVE in 2009 and lives in Encinitas with his wife Stephanie, his daughter Elle, his son Luke, and his dog Oppo.

Cindy Burns

Administrator & Travel Coordinator

Cindy is WAVE's Travel Coordinator! Her daughter Brooklyn played 10 seasons at WAVE, and Cindy also served as the Team Parent for all of her teams. In addition to being WAVE's Travel Coordinator, Cindy worked a full career in Marketing & Creative Services!

Mel Strockis

Player Liaison

Melissa Adams grew up in La Jolla, California playing indoor and beach volleyball…WAVE alumni! In the early years she and her beach partner took 1st place at Doheny, they finished 4th place at CBVA Manahattan Beach their 1st year.

Adams graduated from Cathedral Catholic High School as a 2-time California State Volleyball Champion, received the coveted CIF Sportsmanship Award, earned The Coach Dick Serrano “Spirit of the Dons” Award and was named to the Union Tribune All-Academic Team. Mel was a 2-sport high school athlete (Volleyball and Water Polo). She was named Varsity Water Polo Most Valuable Defensive Player and made the Union Tribune All Academic Team. Adams earned her Bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies with a Minor in Sociology from Colorado State University. Additionally, she earned her Early Education teaching certificate from UCLA and graduated Suma Cum Laude.

Melissa began her WAVE coaching career in 2011 and has coached Girls JV VB at Santa Fe Christian High School, Girls Frosh VB at Torrey Pines High School and Girls Varsity VB at Cathedral Catholic High School. Currently, she is coaching Varsity at Torrey Pines High School. She has run and assisted with clinics & camps on the beach and in the tent. Adams LOVES volleyball! She truly lives to share her positive energy with every athlete who crosses her path.

Lauren Lee

Marketing Director

Born and raised in Texas, Lauren brings years of club experience from playing in the NTR Region for top teams at TAV, Skyline, and Madfrog. Lauren was a 4-year letterman at Coppell High School where she later got recruited and played for both Rice University and San Diego State University. Earning her Masters in Marketing, Lauren also graduated as the 2021 Valedictorian maintaining a perfect 4.0 GPA during the course of her academic career.

Lauren has strong experience training DS/Liberos in both defense and serve receive techniques with her 10 years of experience playing. Currently, she holds school records for both Coppell High School and at San Diego State University while also being selected as a 2017 Under Armor All-American Selection, and the Defensive Player and Most Valuable Player of the Year in 5-6A in Texas.

Apart from coaching at WAVE, Lauren works as the Head of Marketing for a digital media agency in San Diego. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her dog, Oakley and exploring San Diego. She loves hanging out with her friends, working out, doing water sports, and staying active, whether playing indoor or sand volleyball at WAVE. You can probably find her and her fluffy dog!