SKJ COACHING STAFF

• Coach Betz has been a staple in the Sarasota volleyball community for the last 13 years. Most recently, she has been the head coach for The Out-of-Door Academy. In her five years at ODA, she has led the Thunder to four district championship matches, winning two consecutive titles in 2017 and 2018. In 2018, her squad was a 3A Regional Finalist for the first time in program history since competing within the FHSAA. The ODA program consists of athletes from 6th-12th grade and hosts 5-6 teams per season.

• Prior to ODA, Betz was an assistant under Venice HS coach Brian Wheatley where she focused on setter training and offensive systems. While with the Indians, Betz was part of three Final Four teams and one State Championship team (2012). Betz has spent the last thirteen years coaching for Venetian Bay VBC where she has had success in a variety of age groups, most notably as an 18U coach with two teams qualifying for USAV Nationals.

• As a player, Betz competed with Mid-Cities Volleyball Club (now part of TAV) and was coached by renowned high school and club coach, Arthur Stanfield. She continued her playing career as an outside hitter at Western Carolina University, where she still holds records for digs per game and aces per game.

• Coach Sutton is an experienced USAV CAP III level coach. He has directed multiple clubs (Boomtown, WAVE, OTVA Sarasota) in the area while also serving as the varsity head coach at Sarasota and Cardinal Mooney High Schools. Coach Sutton has accomplished a lot in his 9 years coaching volleyball; most recently winning the 2019 FHSAA 3A State Championship. 

         His accomplishments are listed below:

•  2019 Florida Dairy Farmers 3A “Coach of the Year” (Cardinal Mooney)
• Head Coach 2019 3A State Champions (Cardinal Mooney), 22-10 record, ranked #1 in 3A, #4 in FL, and #23 in USA MaxPreps (schedule strength ranked #3 in USA)
• Head Coach 2018 5A State Runner-Up (Cardinal Mooney), 25-8 record, ranked #1 in 5A, #13 in FL, and #196 in USA MaxPreps
• Guided two high school programs with losing records to their best seasons in program history:
• Present-2016) Cardinal Mooney High- took them from 10-15 to 81-33 in 4 years with their highest ranking in program history, including winning their first state championship title.
• (2015-2011) Sarasota High- took them from 3-22 to 79-57 in 5 years with their best 3 year run in program history, including 3 consecutive trips to regionals.
•  3 consecutive Final Four finishes at SSAC Beach State Championships (Cardinal Mooney 2017, 2018, 2019)
• USAV CAP III Certified Coach (2017)
• Named Sarasota Herald-Tribune “Coach of the Year” four times (2013, 2015, 2018, 2019)
•  Developed 16 D1 Players in 9 years (by the end of Spring 2020)
• Coached 11 Sarasota Herald-Tribune “All-Area Players”
• Coached 3 Sarasota Herald-Tribune “Players of the Year”
•  Coached and directed five top 5 AAU Nationals finishing teams
• 95% college scholarship reception rate for players trained for a minimum of 3 years

• Coach Sutton is currently teaching Physical Education at Cardinal Mooney High School. Prior to coaching volleyball, Sutton was a sports performance coach, focusing on physically training athletes and teams for their sport. He holds a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Sport Management from Florida State University.

• Coach Davis has over 20 years of coaching experience at all levels (NCAA, Club, and High School). His teams have won four High School State Championships, two National Championships, numerous National Qualifiers and he has helped over 50 players sign college scholarships.

• Coach Davis is currently a varsity assistant coach at Cardinal Mooney High School, Cardinal Mooney won the 3A State Championship in 2019.

• At the NCAA Division I level: In his first season at Quinnipiac University in 2016 Coach Davis helped create the largest single-season turnaround (18 wins) in the entire country at the Division I level, improving the Bobcats from 3 wins to 21 wins. The Bobcats more than doubled their previous record for most wins in a season as full Division I members while reaching the championship match  of their conference tournament for the first time at the Division 1 level in 2016. 

• Previously, Coach Davis was the former Club Director of Gainesville Juniors. He qualified fourteen teams for the Junior National Championships, including three times in the Open Division. In the 2001 season, his U15 National Team finished ninth overall in the country in the Open Division. His teams have won the Big South, Disney (now Sunshine), Colorado Crossroads, Northeast, and Northern Lights National Qualifiers.  In 2015, his U17 Elite Team finished runner-up in the U17 American Division at the Junior National Championships. His 2014 and 2015 teams won the AAU National Championship in the U16 and U17 Club Division. Over 50 players signed scholarships during his time as Director at Gainesville Juniors.

• Coach Davis is also the former Head Coach at P.K. Yonge High School. During his three-year run at the helm, the Blue Wave posted an overall record of 89-5, including back-to-back State Championships in 2014 and 2015. His 2015 team was simply dominant as the Blue Wave finished with a record of 31-1 overall and was ranked No. 4 nationally by PrepVolleyball.com and MaxPreps. The Blue Wave were nationally-ranked all three years when Davis was head coach. 

• Coach Davis was named Florida High School Coach of the Year in 2015 in addition to being named the 2015 Class 3A Coach of the Year, 2014 Class 4A Coach of the Year, 2006 Class 5A Coach of the Year and also was decorated as a three-time Gainesville Sun Coach of the Year.

• Nathan Pickett was born and raised in Bradenton, Florida. After graduating from Manatee High, he moved on to attended the Florida Institute of Technology before graduating with his degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of Illinois.

• While attending Manatee High School where he competed in a variety of varsity sports including Baseball (Team USA), Football, Cross Country, Track & Field as well as Weightlifting. At 17, Nathan began playing Beach Volleyball competitively, travelling around Florida and earning multiple bids to the USA National Beach Championships.

• Upon entering his Freshman year at Florida Tech, he began as an Assistant Coach responsible for positional development to the Indoor team. After three years, he moved back to the area where he continued to coach. During the next few years he began an assistant to training and recruiting before appearing as Head Coach the State College of Florida Women’s Volleyball team. Finishing with a 47-20 overall record, two conference championships, state semifinalist, state finalist and a national championship semifinalist. During those year he assisted with the foundation of the first organized NJCAA Beach Volleyball Conference, as well as spending time recruiting and creating the first official Florida State University Beach Volleyball Team. 

• Nathan has coached with various high school programs in the area since opting to exit the collegiate scene. As a primary training coach and coordinator for OT Volleyball here in Sarasota, he has finished the club season with a top 25 team each year as well as USAV National Championship and several top finishes at the AAU National Championship with the most recent finish of 3rd overall.

• Nathan is a varsity assistant coach at Cardinal Mooney High School, Cardinal Mooney won the 3A State Championship in 2019.

• Coach Walker recently completed her playing career at USF.

• AS A JUNIOR (2018): First team all-conference selection…finished fourth in The American with 394 kills, averaging 3.52 per set…finished sixth in the league with 427 points…led USF with 23 double-digit kill performances…had 20 or more kills four times…led the Bulls with 15 double-doubles…had 21 kills and 20 digs against Stony Brook on the first day of the season (8/24)…had 14 kills and 18 digs at LIU Brooklyn (9/7)…tallied 19 kills on a .594 hitting efficiency with 10 digs against North Dakota (9/14)…had 21 kills and 10 digs in her first conference match against UCF (9/21)…tallied 22 kills and 14 digs against Houston (10/28)…earned her 1000th career kill against Houston (10/28)…finished first season as a Bulls with 19 kills and 19 digs against Georgia Tech in the opening round of the NIVC (11/29).
  
• AS A FRESHMAN AND SOPHOMORE AT MARSHALL UNIVERSITY (2016-17): Totaled 712 kills, 369 digs, 54 blocks and 55 aces in her two years at Marshall ... Named to the Conference USA All-Freshman Team and earned Conference USA Freshman of the Week honors twice in 2016 ... Recorded 336 kills, 133 digs, 29 blocks and 22 aces as a freshman ... Tallied 376 kills, 236 digs, 25 blocks and 33 aces as a sophomore. 
  
• HIGH SCHOOL: Recorded 1,700 kills, 154 blocks, 260 service aces and 1,100 digs during her high school career at P.K. Yonge, playing for coach Chad Davis ... Walker was named a prep volleyball All-American and the Gainesville Suns Player of the Year as a sophomore, junior and senior ... Walker was named the District 4A Player of the Year and a Max Preps All-American as a junior ... Gatorade Florida Player of the Year and District 3A Player of the Year as a senior. Walker's team at P.K. Yonge won the state championship in her junior and senior seasons.
  

• Coach Walker-Burdick is currently the Volunteer Assistant Coach at State College of Florida. Her primary role at SCF will be Strength & Conditioning, Player Development, and Mentorships. Prior to SCF, she was the Head Volleyball Coach at Saint Stephen’s Episcopal School. During her tenure at Saint Stephen’s she won a District Championship and was nominated 3A Coach of the Year in 2012 and broke several school records. She also is the Assistant Track and Field Coach at Saint Stephen’s. Saint Stephen’s won the team State Championship in 2017 and captured many individual District and Regional Titles. 
• 
  Coach Walker-Burdick graduated with a Master’s Degree in Education from Arkansas Tech University. She was a Graduate Assistant Coach at ATU where she was in charge of player development, on campus recruiting, and community outreach. Prior to ATU, Coach Walker-Burdick graduated from The University of North Alabama with a degree in Fitness Management/Business Administration. She helped compile a mark of Four Gulf South Conference Championships, 2 Elite Eight Tournament Appearances, 1 Final Four Appearance.
  
• Coach Walker-Burdick was born in Starke, Florida, and resides in Bradenton with her family Kenny, Rylen (5) and Walker (3)