Nicole joins the WAVE coaching staff with over 20 years of coaching experience at every level. She was a two-sport collegiate athlete playing volleyball and running track at New Mexico Highlands University. During college, she started coaching club volleyball and club track. After graduation, she coached both sports at West High School. The following year she was asked to be the assistant coach for both sport at her alma mater. In addition to coaching volleyball and track she was also the Strength and Conditioning director for both programs. From NHMU, Nicole got the assistant coach position at Rutgers University. Following Rutgers, she was given the Head Coaching position at Palm Beach Atlantic University. There, she had her first child and decided to step into different roles in volleyball, such as a consultant for college and club teams, as well as personal trainer. Her husband of over 20 years, Isaac Carter, is the Assistant Head Football Coach at University of San Diego. They now have four amazing children: Anaya, Sienna, Aeneas, and Ezra.

She currently coaches the JV volleyball team at Otay Ranch High School and also works as a School Counselor in the Chula Vista Elementary School District.

Nicole's Coaching Philosophy: I believe that as a coach you have the responsibility of molding your student-athlete into not only the best athlete they can be, but also, the best person they can be. We as coaches must realize that the standards we set for our athletes on the court, are inevitably going to influence their lives off the court. By helping our athletes uphold the standards we set, we in turn, aid them in developing character, discipline, self-determination and self-efficacy. A coach should be empowering their athletes to make the right and mature decisions in all areas of their lives.

To achieve these objectives a coach must establish the appropriate relationship between themselves and their athletes, built on trust, caring, character and respect. When character development is the foundation of your program, athletes are enabled to gain the most from their athletic experience. And, when this is accomplished, we as coaches are able to get the most out of our athletes.

I do not base my success as a coach on how many games I win. Rather, I tend to focus on team cohesion. My desire is to see the athletes I work with learn and refine their skills. This is the true measurement of a successful coaching program. I am committed to using all my knowledge, abilities and resources to make each player on my team more successful. My focus is to promote teamwork, commitment, and mutual respect. If this is attained, a triumphant winning team will be the outcome.