AVCA Announces 2008 Hall of Fame Class

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LEXINGTON, Ky. - The American Volleyball Coaches Association is proud to announce the 6th annual AVCA Hall of Fame class. The 2008 class features Deitre Collins-Parker, three-time AVCA All-American at the University of Hawai'i; Brian Gimmillaro, head women's coach at Long Beach State University; and Don Shaw, retired women's and men's head coach at Stanford University. The 2008 Hall of Fame class will be inducted in ceremonies on December 18 at the jostens Coaches Honors Luncheon, held in conjunction with the 2008 AVCA Annual Convention in Omaha, Neb.



"If you want to know the quality people in volleyball, just look at this year's AVCA Hall of Fame class," said AVCA Executive Director Kathy DeBoer. "The first volleyball player to win the Honda Broderick Cup awarded to the top woman athlete in the country, a coach who has trained players who have competed in over 10 Olympic games, and the coach with the highest winning percentage of any collegiate coach ever . . . and they were not in our Hall of Fame until this year. Remarkable people, outstanding achievements."



The induction of these three honorees now brings the total number of individuals honored to 44 in the six years of the AVCA Hall of Fame.



The AVCA Hall of Fame committee consists of Jeff Nelson (chair), Barb Viera, Brenda Williams, Julie Herman and Nona Richardson.



The 2008 class is as follows:



Deitre Collins-Parker



During her years playing for the University of Hawai'i, Collins-Parker led her team to an impressive 138-15 record, guiding the school to the first-ever back-to-back volleyball National Championships in 1982 and 1983. In addition to earning three AVCA All-American honors during her collegiate career, Collins-parker won the Broderick Cup Award, signifying the nation's top female collegiate athlete, the first volleyball player to ever receive that distinction. Collins-Parker went on to compete at the national level, and played in the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games. Collins-Parker is now in her 15th year of coaching, and is currently the head women's volleyball coach at Cornell University.



Collins-Parker makes the effort to be a recognizable leader in the volleyball community, serving as a member of the AVCA Board of Directors, and the chairperson on the AVCA Minority Coaches Committee. In this position, she spearheads clinics for female minority coaches that are aspiring to pursue coaching positions at the collegiate level. She currently has membership with the AVCA, Coaches Accreditation Program, Kaepa Gold Medal Clinics, Black Coaches Association, and Fellowship of Christian Athletes.



After receiving her degree in communication from Hawai'i, Collins-Parker's coaching career began at the University of Houston as women's volleyball assistant coach, and then continued at several other top volleyball programs around the country.

"(Collins-Parker) is an excellent ambassador for the sport of volleyball as she is known for her playing achievements while being very sincere and modest," said Sarah Bernson, assistant volleyball coach at Cornell, in her nomination of Collins-Parker. "Even though her playing days ended in 1992, Deitre is continually being recognized for her playing ability and success."

Brian Gimmillaro



Currently in his 24th season as head coach at Long Beach State University, Brian Gimmillaro has led his 49er program to three National Championships and eight national semi-final appearances, while qualifying for the NCAA Tournament for 21 consecutive years. Under Gimmillaro's leadership, Long Beach State has attained 641 of the program's 1,011 wins, with a winning percentage of .809 (641-151). In 2003, Gimmillaro was the sole recipient of the USA Volleyball All-Time Great Coach Award (Contemporary Division), as well as the "Excellence in Leadership" award, presented by Leadership Long Beach.



One of Gimmillaro's greatest accomplishments has been the abundance of players who have been recognized as some of the nation's elite. In January of 2001, the NCAA released its 20th Anniversary team; of the six players chosen, three were Gimmillaro's former players. All three of these players were Olympians in Sydney in 2000, and one, Misty May-Treanor, is now a two-time Gold Medalist, and is widely regarded as one of the best beach volleyball players in the world.



Not only has Gimmillaro proven to be successful at the collegiate level, he initially created success at Gahr High School in Cerritos, Calif. During his eight-year tenure, the team compiled a 142-15 record, winning four Southern Section Championships and two State Championships.

"(Gimmillaro) is masterful at creating and crafting unique game strategies (especially offenses) based on the strength of his athletes," said Dr. Dixie A. Grimmett, Professor Emeritus at Long Beach State, in her endorsement letter. "He has been extremely successful as a coach because he knows and understands what it takes to create a winning environment for a volleyball program."

Don Shaw



In his 16 years with the Stanford women's volleyball program, Don Shaw accumulated a winning percentage of .863 (440-70), ranking as the best in NCAA history. Under his leadership, Stanford won four National Championships and 10 conference titles, including six in a row from 1994-99, the longest streak in Pac-10 history. In Shaw's 16 years as head women's coach, Stanford's women's volleyball program was ranked in the top-10 of the AVCA poll all but nine weeks.



Shaw also directed the men's volleyball team at Stanford for a total of seven seasons, with stints on either end of his tenure with the women's program. Under Shaw's guidance of both programs, 17 student-athletes earned a combined 37 AVCA All-America awards. Many of his former players also went on to compete at the national level, including Scott Fortune and Kim Oden, captains of the 1992 men's and women's Olympic teams, respectively, and Kerri Walsh, a two-time beach volleyball Olympic Gold Medalist, who is also widely regarded as one of the best beach volleyball players in the world.



Finding time to be an influential force in the volleyball community is something that Shaw has masterfully done. He was a charter member of the AVCA, and has served on the NCAA District VIII Advisory Committee. Shaw also sought to help develop volleyball skills in players at a young age, by conducting several clinics around the country, as well as being the co-founder and director of Stanford's men's and women's volleyball camps for 20 years.



"When I think about a Don Shaw coached team, the first two things to jump out at me are the precision of execution and the competitiveness on the court," says John Kosty, Stanford's current men's volleyball head coach, in his nomination letter. "He instilled a great passion for the game of volleyball in his student-athletes and accepted nothing but the best out of every member on the team."



About AVCA



The AVCA, with its headquarters in Lexington, Ky., is managed by IMG Associations. The mission of the AVCA is to develop and grow the sport of volleyball; with a membership of over 4,900 and counting, the AVCA provides a professional network for those individuals and companies dedicated to enhancing and developing the sport. Members are comprised of national and international coaches, collegiate, high school, club, youth, and Olympic coaches, as well as club directors. Other members include former players, officials, media members and other friends of volleyball. As a group, the AVCA is committed to the development, growth, advancement, and publicity of volleyball throughout the world. Further information is available at www.avca.org.