Alex Hoekstra
Hometown: Cincinnati, Ohio
Alma Mater: University of Mount Olive
Position: Assistant Volleyball Coach/Skill Development Coach
Phone: 423-443-2549
E-mail: hoekstra.m.alex@gmail.com
Hoekstra comes to Shepherd after a three-year stint as the assistant volleyball coach at Western New Mexico University. At WNMU Hoekstra's responsibilities included opponent scouting, skill development, recruiting coordination, and strength and conditioning. Under his guidance, a barely .500 Mustangs reach a 23-7 record in 2013 which was good enough for a NCAA National Tournament birth. He assisted in the development of three all-conference players Angelina Pulu, Alyssa Meihack, and freshman Kaysee Pilgrim.
This past winter Hoekstra was the head coach of one of the nation's best club teams. Elevation 18's out of Mason, Ohio won three out of their five tournaments and placed fourth in Open at MEQ. Hoekstra first started coaching boys volleyball in 2006 for Cincinnati Attack. The Attack teams he coached all qualified for USA Open Nationals. His success on the boys side doesn't stop there, he has also coached two silver medal finalist teams at the USA High Performance Championships.
Prior to coaching at Western New Mexico University, Hoekstra was a standout player at the University of Mount Olive were he teamed up with Guerci. As the team's setter and floor captain, Hoekstra ended the 2010 season third in Division I statistics in assists, second in the nation in team hitting percentage, and was honored with the team's MVP award. The Trojans were one of the original teams that pioneered the Conference Carolina's men's volleyball league. The 2010 Trojans won the first ever Conference Carolina Men's Volleyball Championship.
“Coach Hoekstra and I are excited to finally work together. It's a dream come true and something we've been working for. Our personalities and coaching styles compliment each other very well. We both came up playing multiple positions and have been fortunate enough to come up around some very respected volleyball coaching and playing circles. This allows us comfort in specializing but also being able to address offense, defense, and other facets of the game thanks to some different perspectives. Exciting isn't enough to describe it.” - Camilo Guerci
