IRVINE, CA --- After spending the past four years as the top assistant for Paula Weishoff, Kyle Kvasnicka has been named Concordia's new head coach, concluding a two-month nationwide search.
Kvasnicka becomes the seventh coach in program history and takes over a team that finished 31-6 and runner-up at the 2008 NAIA National Championships. Weishoff announced her resignation Dec. 9--just a day after receiving the 2008 NAIA Coach of the Year--in order to take the helm at NCAA Div. I UC Irvine.
"I'm excited for this opportunity, and grateful to [Athletics Director] Tim Preuss, [Executive Vice President] Gary McDaniel and the search committee for selecting me," Kvasnicka said. "I'm excited to have a chance to continue the program that Paula has established. It's going to be a big challenge, but it's one that I'm looking forward to taking on."
"This is something that I've been preparing myself for during the past 13 years, and I'm looking forward to growing and learning through the experience."
The head coach for the U-17 team and assistant director at the Laguna Beach Volleyball Club, Kvasnicka becomes the third head coach in Concordia Athletics to make the move from assistant coach within the past year.
Jenny Hansen and Crystal Rosenthal each spent seven years as an Eagles' assistant coach before becoming head coach of the women's basketball and softball program, respectively, in the summer of 2008.
"Kyle has been a key part of the success of Concordia volleyball over the past four years," Preuss said. "Not only on the technical side of things, but also in terms of character, work ethic and spiritual maturity, it became apparent that we had the ideal candidate right here."
Kvasnicka's experience leads back to his home state of Nebraska , where he began coaching in 1996 as a student-coach at Norris High School in Firth, Neb.
As an undergraduate at Nebraska , he served as a student manager for a 2000 squad that went 34-0 and captured an NCAA Div. I National Championship under head coach John Cook, who also led the Huskers to a 2006 national title.
"Kyle has been mentored by some of the best coaches in the game, with John Cook and Paula Weishoff" Preuss said. "I'm confident that the future of Concordia volleyball is in very capable hands. The best is yet to come."
Kvasnicka takes the reigns of a team that made appearances in the NAIA National Championships semifinals, including two finals appearances, in four of Weishoff's five years at the helm.
Weishoff resigned as the winningest coach in the program's history, with a record of 146-33--an .815 winning percentage.
"I've been in a great position, to be able to observe Paula over the past four years," Kvasnicka said. "I've watched the things she's done on and off the court, and it's given me a good idea about how to be a successful coach. I think I've grown the most from watching how she's conducted herself on a day-to-day basis."
