coaches

12 Baden - Josh tag

Josh Tag started out following his mother, Sue, to practice early on in her 15-year coaching career. Playing against adults since he was 11, he played for two years at Missouri Valley College. Josh's coaching resume includes head coaching at the Bear Creek School for six years and leading the University of Washington's women's club volleyball program to a silver medal at the NCVF D1 Championships. He is active in the adult volleyball community and plays indoor, beach, and grass tournaments year-round. This is Josh's eighth year with ITVC.

12 Baden - Leilani Nussman

Leilani is excited to be coaching for ITVC 12 Baden again this year! She started her volleyball career in middle school, and played through club in high school. She started coaching in high school, with a 3rd & 4th grade league, and now with The Northwest School C team. She enjoys instilling younger players with the FUNdamentals of the game.

13 Baden - Bonnie foote

Coach Foote coached 22 seasons as the Head Volleyball Coach at Mount Si High School. She retired from HS coaching so she could free up time to watch her daughter's last two years of playing varsity volleyball at Tahoma HS. In her last season, Coach Foote was the KingCo 4A Coach of the Year and the Wildcats went undefeated in the KingCo 4A Volleyball Conference and finished tied for 9th at the WIAA 4A State Tournament.
She is an alumni of Auburn High School and a three-sport athlete. She played 2 years of collegiate volleyball and basketball. She was a First-Team NWAC, All-Star Setter in 1989 and 1990. NWAC Female Athlete of the Year 1989. First Team All American NWACC setter. Coach Foote has been a volleyball coach since 1993. As a Head Coach, Foote has one KingCo 4A League Title (2021) three KingCo 3A League Titles, seven trips to the 3A State Volleyball Tournament with two Final Four appearances, and six top 10 finishes. She was the 2011 Seattle Times All-Area Coach of the Year and three-time KingCo 3A Coach of the Year (2009-11). Coach Foote has had a long list of athletes go on to play collegiate volleyball at all levels (USA Women's National Level, D1, D2, D3, NAIA, & CC).
Coach Foote has a bachelor's Degree in Exercise Science/Sports Psychology from Western Washington University and a Master’s Degree in teaching from City University. Along with HS coaching, she has coached club volleyball for 29 years. She started her club career at Puget Sound VBC, Coached one season at NW Juniors, and then helped kick off Kent Juniors Volleyball Club in its first year. She was the Club Director for RidgeValley VBC for 10 years. She has taken many teams to Junior Nationals, open, and others with the highest finish being 11th place in the Open Division at the U16 level, with the now-retired Kent Juniors VBC. Foote trains athletes using GM2 systems and methodologies. She believes in developing a strong foundation of fundamentals and believes in game like practices.
In her free time, she enjoys spending quality time with her family and friends, traveling, relaxing, beach trips, and watching her daughter, Isabelle play volleyball. Coach Foote loves the phrase, Every Play… Every Day… She wants to help her athletes to get better, to learn to compete, and to believe in each other and themselves. Being great teammates is at the forefront of this season, she believes in family. She is excited about the opportunity to work with this season's U13 team.

13 Baden - alyssa smith

Alyssa is stepping into her first year of coaching with a passion to return to the game she loves. Having recently graduated from Central Washington University, where she spent four years, Alyssa is ready to bring her expertise to the coaching arena. In her high school years at West Valley High School in Yakima, Washington, Alyssa made a name for herself by being voted first-team all-conference right-side player and contributing to West Valley's first 4A State Championship win. During her university years, Alyssa transitioned to the middle position and gained a deep understanding of the front-row game. She's excited to share this knowledge with her new team at 13 Baden. Outside of the court, Alyssa loves to cook, read, and workout!

14 Baden - Kyle Wong

This will be Kyle’s 1st year coaching for ITVC. Kyle’s passion for playing volleyball started growing up in Hawaii and playing in grade school and progressed throughout high school and college. Kyle has been coaching at the high school level for the past 10 years. He enjoys teaching the skills of volleyball and is focused on player development throughout the season. His philosophy is one of hard work and consistent improvement. Kyle loves playing volleyball either indoors or outdoors be it hardwood, taraflex, beach or grass. He is always ready to play!

14 Baden - Rachel Hunter

I’ve been playing volleyball for about 15 years. I played four years of Varsity at Bishop Blanchet High School and an additional four years for Western Washington University’s club team. I coached Blanchet’s volleyball camps for five years and coached the Western club team for a year. I continue to play in indoor and grass leagues as often as possible. I’m excited to help young players develop great fundamentals and nurture their passion for the game!

15 baden - dan le

I have coached 3 years of beach volleyball and 2 years of indoor at Blue Royals Volleyball Club. I believe the best athletes are also the best problem solvers, and my coaching philosophy reflects so. In my junior year of college, I started playing for the University of Washington's Men's Volleyball club team. After 7 years of volleyball experience as an athlete, I now play all positions at a competitive level. I was by no means a talented athlete, a lot of volleyball did not come naturally, and took hundreds of hours of focused and intentional effort in order to play at a competitive level. If you ever see me outside of the volleyball court, you probably found me practicing to be a Physical Therapist or found me amidst my hobbies of Chess, Tetris, or Pokemon Go. Excited to say that I will be joining the ITVC family this upcoming season.

15 baden - sabrina lin

Sabrina's coaching journey started 6 years ago as a Personal Trainier and Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach for her univeristy's varsity programs. This will be her second year coaching volleyball and first year at ITVC. Sabrina has a strong passion for volleyball, having been a player for more than 10 years and still playing at a competitive level in the local community to this day. She hopes to empower the athletes she works with by helping them develop their technical skills, mental fortitude, and comunication styles so they can compete at the highest level.

16 baden - danielle harvey

Danielle (Dani) has been playing volleyball for more than seventeen years and has been coaching for nine. Coaching club, high school, and college teams in the Pacific Northwest and southern Idaho, she has worked with a diverse range of athletes to achieve their goals and fulfill their potential. Danielle believes that coaches have a huge impact on a player's life experience, so she's determined to make sure that volleyball is a positive outlet for athletes, and that learning, teamwork, and developing skills that can be used on and off the court remain central to her coaching style. When she isn't coaching or playing the sport she loves, she's reading manuscripts as a professional book editor for a Seattle book-publishing company.

16 baden - jalene toy

We’re excited to welcome Jalene back for her second year coaching with ITVC. Jalene grew up in Snohomish, WA and has over 16 years of experience playing volleyball. She played all four years on Varsity for Snohomish High School placing 5th in state her senior year. Jalene also played for ITVC herself starting as their outside hitter which helped her get recruited to play for the University of Puget Sound. Jalene has always been placed in a leadership role by her teammates and loves to support her team as a coach. She believes in the importance that volleyball and sports have in a player’s development both on and off the court. Jalene is still very involved in the volleyball community playing in adult leagues with both men and women. When she isn’t playing volleyball, she’s reading, enjoying the PNW with her partner, or experimenting in her kitchen in Bothell. She also works on the People Team for rover.com.

17 baden - robe roberson

Robe returns to Island Thunder a second time after stellar seasons back in 2007-09. The greatest ITVC moment then was beating Mad Frogs out of Texas at the Spokane qualifier in 16s Open Division to claim the club’s first bid of two that year to JOs. Since then, Robe moved to So Cal for the last 12 years and coached for LAVA; co-directed Sunshine North with the highlight being Denver Qualifier and Reno championships with 13s; and owned and founded CITY Volleyball Club, finishing top 5 in SCVA every year; and winning the 15s Vegas Showcase as a 14s team just before COVID hit. As a coach though, Robe had his most fun in building the team concept and focusing on more than just winning, but how the female athlete truly thrives in a competitive arena.

When I’m not coaching, I busy myself figuring out something cool enough to star on Shark Tank; maybe creating a garden center for those in our communities who are hungry; drawing up plans to make my future backyard a Palm Springs-like mid-century getaway; frequenting any and all local sporting events especially basketball; a weekend where Coldplay, Billie Ellish, Kendrick Lamar, Lenny Kravitz, Gary Clark Jr., and Calvin Harris & Friends were all in concert in Seattle the same weekend; traveling to beachy hideouts I hear about or find in travel magazines. Retirement? No time soon! But when I do, you might randomly spot me as a DJ in Croatia.

17 baden - sydney remsberg

I just recently graduated from CWU where I was a 6-2 setter and 2 year team captain! My collegiate career included going to the NCAA D2 Regional Tournament every year and competing against some high-level teams. Before my college years, I played at West Valley HS in Yakima and contributed to a 4A State Championship, where I also received first team all state and all-conference honors. This is my first year of coaching, but I’m excited to put my 11 years of volleyball experience and knowledge to use and get back on the court as a coach.

Off the court, I like spending time with my dog, Kai, and other productive activities like listening to music, online shopping, and reading! I’m really looking forward to being a part of the ITVC fam!