Looking for private lessons? Those on staff with an email link below can be contacted or you can send a general inquiry where a coach will be appropriately matched up according to the request made.
John Lysik – Executive Director /Founder 
John has been coaching volleyball juniors for over 20 years and is the lead coach and coordinator for all beach club training at Southern Sand Volleyball. All questions regarding beach club training can be sent to him. John had coached many successful teams at several volleyball clubs on the indoor side of the game. He also served as the Assistant Volleyball Coach at William Peace University, and had been a High Performance Coach within the USAV system for 8 years. He has also served as lead trainer at various volleyball camps and clinics throughout the region, plus he has provided private training to over 100 athletes. Numerous players he has coached have gone on to receive scholarships at the NCAA DI and DII levels, for both beach and indoor. He is recognized by area junior volleyball players and their parents for offering personal, knowledgeable, experienced, and passionate instruction. He is USAV Beach IMPACT and Beach CAP certified. John also has a bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Connecticut, with a master’s degree in Management, from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He spent 10 years in software design and development, obtaining two US patents. The next 10 years of his career were spent as a program manager, before getting out of engineering and into coaching volleyball.
Mark Nalevanko – Associate Director/Founder
Mark has been organizing and running beach programs in NC for around 15+ years. He is the lead coordinator for leagues and tournaments at Southern Sand Volleyball. All questions regarding those programs can be directed to him. In the Fall 2012, he played a major role in establishing sand volleyball as a club sport at North Carolina High Schools which has grown from the inaugural season in Spring 2013 featuring 9 schools to over 50 schools in recent years. Additionally over the last 10 years he has served as the Beach Director for the Carolina Region/USA Volleyball with primary duties focused on coordinating the region’s popular junior beach tour that has seen over 20 events with 1000+ teams participating across the state each year. With over 20 years of sand volleyball playing experience, Mark brings an engineer’s mindset, having both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Computer Engineering from North Carolina State, in playing the beach game where strategy and skill diversity are important keys to being successful.
Jenny Moore – Coaching and Administrative Staff
Jenny unlaced her indoor shoes and stepped onto a beach court over 27 years ago. She was an indoor hitter in high school earning MVP and All-Conference in both softball and volleyball. In college, with the help of two dedicated coaches Janet Kennedy and Sue Smith, she was able to step up her performance earning All-Region and All-Tournament team while also leading her team in kills.
Of all of her athletic accomplishments she values meeting her husband on the volleyball court most of all. They have been coed partners for 27 years and can be found playing volleyball together every chance they get. She has two boys that share her passion for Beach Volleyball and have gone on to play in college and on the pro tour. Jenny believes that the friendships and lessons learned on the court will carry over into other aspects in life, and she is dedicated to helping the younger generation of players find their passion and confidence on and off the court.
Lisa Lysik – Coaching and Administrative Staff
Lisa’s knowledge of the human body and her experience in working with orthopedic diagnosis helps guide each participant’s conditioning needs. As an occupational therapist, her expertise is in performing “task analysis” as a way to determine how to pair exercise for improved performance and strength. This concept also applies to pairing eye hand coordination drills and practice for improved performance on the court. Her high energy motivates individuals to accelerate their overall development.
Lisa has a degree in occupational therapy from Quinnipiac University. She has 25 plus years of experience, with a focus on orthopedic and pediatric therapy. She enjoys working with kids and young adults, as well as the adult population. Lisa also applies her therapy knowledge and passion to help the individuals she coaches. Lisa is actively involved in the sport through pick-up play, leagues, tournaments, and assisting in private lessons. She has 10 plus years of sand volleyball playing experience. Lisa most recently serves as an office administrator for Southern Sand.
Darren Roberts – Coaching Staff
After playing 2 seasons indoor at Santa Monica College, Darren moved to the sand where he began learning the vastly different game of Beach Volleyball. He played 2-man Volleyball for nearly 15 years in Hermosa and Manhattan Beach. In that time, he was invited by Coach Anna Collier to join the Training Team for many of the top AVP Players and future Olympians. He spent 5 years working with the worlds best players and learning the game at an elite level. He has also worked at the collegiate beach volleyball level serving as a coach at Jacksonville University. Darren was honored to be part of the Coaching Staff at Southern Sand, working with North Carolina players preparing to play at the college level and beyond.
Russ Zacek – Coaching Staff – New Fuquay-Varina Location
Russ has been playing beach and indoor volleyball for the past 26 years. He played club volleyball at Hamilton College, followed by USAV Club volleyball in New York and Virginia. He started playing beach volleyball in 1996 in leagues and tournaments in upstate NY and has been playing consistently since that time. Within the past year, Russ posted 2 tournament wins in local tournaments and a 2nd place in Wilmington, NC. Russ is married to Marleigh, his wife of 24 years who he started dating in 1995 on the volleyball court. They have 4 children who all love and play the game. He has also coached football for the past 12 years, so has much experience in coaching. He has a passion to see students grow, compete and succeed in life and sports
Jaeger Prisk – Coaching Staff
Jaeger’s volleyball journey began at Southern Sand as a player in the boys program in 2021. That fall, he left for the mountains to attend Appalachian State University, joining their indoor club team. He would quickly become enamored with the game, serving as the club’s vice president in 2022. Jaeger would spend his summers at the sand courts in his hometown of Chapel Hill, ultimately transferring to UNC in 2023. As a student, he studies neuroscience and exercise science, always eager to implement this knowledge while assisting with SSV programs. In coaching, Jaeger is thrilled to help foster a love for the game in new players and play a role in growing the boys beach volleyball community.
LeeAnn Potter – Coaching Staff
LeeAnn grew up in Iowa and started playing indoor on a travel club team at the age of 10 until 18 years old. In 2019, her club team won the USA Volleyball Girls Junior National Championship in the Gold division. She started playing beach volleyball competitively at 12 years old and knew beach volleyball was something she wanted to continue to do. LeeAnn trained at different beach clubs throughout middle school and high school under different coaches. She was then recruited to play D2 beach volleyball at Saint Leo University in Florida from 2020-2024 under Coach Natalia Koryzna. In her senior year the team earned 4th place at AVCA Beach Championships and while attending Saint Leo she was a member of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee. LeeAnn graduated in May 2024 with a Biomedical degree and moved to North Carolina to pursue plans of attending dental school. She is excited to share her years of knowledge and training with those that are passionate about the game
Eric Honsberger – Coaching Staff
Eric brings over 28 years of experience as both a player and coach. Originally from Buffalo, NY, he began playing in sixth grade and went on to earn All-American honors (junior nationals 2003) and a enjoyed a collegiate career (2003-2007) at Rutgers University–Newark, where he still holds the record for career kills and is a member of their athletic Hall of Fame.
– Coaching Staff
Coming soon….
Ellie Bucci – Coaching Staff
Coming soon….