GENNE BALETO
SVA Director and Head Coach
SVA Director of Player Development
COACHING STAFF
Motivators. Educators. Mentors.
GENNE BALETO
Seattle Volleyball Academy Director
U14 Head Coach
Coach Genne started out playing volleyball as a Freshman at Rim of the World High School in California. During her Junior and Senior years, her team won the 1981 and 1982 California State Girls Volleyball Championships. She was named 1981 and 1982 MVP of the Sunkist League and was on the California State Girls Volleyball Regionals and All-State Tournament Teams both years. She also played for the Orange County Volleyball Club, where they were top finishers at the Junior National Open Volleyball Championships from 1981-1983.
From there, Coach Genne moved to Seattle, and played volleyball at the University of Washington from 1983-1986. She captained the team her last two years there and held numerous records. She held the record for Career and Season Service Aces for nearly 20 years and was honored to become a member of the Pac-10 All-Decade Team for 1980-1990.
After completing her college career, Coach Genne founded the Seattle Juniors Volleyball Club with her former University of Washington coaches. She helped bring a U18s team to a 6th-place finish in the 1989 Junior Nationals Open Championships.
From 1994-1997 Coach Genne was the club coach at Seattle University where her women’s team competed in and won numerous Evergreen Regional tournaments.
The 2021-22 indoor season was her official return to coaching where she took a SVA U12 team consisting of first year club volleyball players to a 17th place finish in a field of 33 teams. Coach Genne will be the head coach of both the SVA U14 Developmental team, and the U14-1 National squad this season. She also brings her leadership and organizational qualities to SVA as the Director of Seattle Volleyball Academy overseeing all aspects of the club.
JOE BALETO
Seattle Volleyball Academy
Director of Player Development
U17 National Head Coach
Coach Joe is one of the most well-known and well-respected coaches in the Northwest. He started out playing volleyball in 1981. His interest in the sport grew quickly, and within five years, he was playing for the Seattle Athletic Club, one of the top Evergreen Region Men’s Club Teams. During that time, he began coaching junior players, and helped bring a Seattle Juniors U18s team to a 6th-place finish in the 1989 Junior Nationals Open Championships.
Coach Joe began his collegiate coaching career at Seattle University and remained there from 1990-2000. He took his men’s club team to back-to-back Evergreen Regional Championships in 1998 and 1999. In 2000, Coach Joe joined the Seattle University Division II Women’s Volleyball Team as an Assistant Coach and remained there until 2007.
From 2010-2014, Coach Joe was the head volleyball coach at West Seattle High School where he coached both of his daughters.
In 2019 he became the assistant coach for beach volleyball at the University of Washington and coached through the 2020 season.
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After leaving the University of Washington Coach Joe moved to Kennedy Catholic High School as the Girls' Volleyball JV Head Coach and Varsity Assistant Coach 2020-2023.
Coach Joe also brings many years of club volleyball coaching experience to Seattle Volleyball Academy. As the Director of Player Development, he will oversee all of the training throughout the Seattle Volleyball Academy program as well as head the U17 National team for the 2023-2024 season.
STEPHANIE PAPKE
Seattle Volleyball Academy Training Coach
U15 Development Head Coach
Coach Steph hailed from Auburn Washington where she helped lead the Auburn HS volleyball team to the State Tournament her senior year. Coach Papke attended Washington State University on a volleyball scholarship and became a four-year letter winner (1994-97), and was the first Cougar volleyball player to be voted by coaches to the All-Pac-10 team. She finished her career third in school history with 3,839 assists and was a three-time All-Pac-10 honoree. During her junior year she earned Pac-10 All-Academic First Team honors and was an All-District 8 selection as well. That same year, Coach Steph was named an AVCA All-American.
In 1998 she was a Pac-10 Conference Medal Winner and was WSU's nominee for NCAA Woman of the Year. In 2019 she was inducted into the Washington State University Hall of Fame.
Coach Steph has coached at the club, high school, and junior high levels, along with running volleyball camps and clinics, for over 25 years. She is currently the Skills Specialist Coach at Go Time Athletics, where she specializes in setting. Coach Steph is SVA’s skills coach and assistant coach to the program.
TOM AMPARO
Coach Tom started playing volleyball in high school in Guam. He was part of a Championship Team his junior year and earned multiple All-Island Player honors during his high school tenure.
In 1999, Coach Tom was fortunate enough to be part of the Guam National Volleyball Team that competed in the South Pacific Games, held in Guam.
After high school, Coach Tom moved to the Pacific Northwest where he played for club teams in Corvallis and Seattle. He was part of two Evergreen Regional Championship teams and earned a 3rd place finish in the 2002 USAV National Championships.
Coach Tom’s experience includes coaching at Hazen and Kennedy Catholic High Schools, as well as a 7-year tenure with Puget Sound Volleyball Academy. There, he gained invaluable knowledge and experience and is excited to coach with Seattle Volleyball Academy.
Coach Junior has been a youth sports coach for over 25 years. He started his career coaching boys’ and girls’ recreation volleyball and basketball. Coach Junior then moved on to coaching AAU basketball and high school football.
He has spent the last 7 years coaching girls’ volleyball in middle school and on select club teams.
Coach Junior is excited to be a part of the coaching staff with Seattle Volleyball Academy, where he will be instrumental in helping players build confidence, as well as improve their volleyball skills in a positive, and highly competitive team atmosphere.
Jr. KITIONA
Seattle Volleyball Academy
U15 National Head Coach
Kalisa Amparo
Seattle Volleyball Academy
U14 Development
Assistant Coach
Coach Kalisa played club volleyball for Team Yakima starting in the sixth grade. In high school, her team qualified for State two years in a row winning the AAA High School State Championships in 1991.
During the winter months, Coach Kalisa became a competitive snowboarder and traveled around the region participating in freestyle and racing events. After winning the series in the Pacific Northwest, she qualified for the 1994 USASA Nationals with an overall finish of fifth place.
After high school, Coach Kalisa attended Seattle University and played on their college club and intramural volleyball teams. There, she met Coach Gen Baleto whose coaching expertise raised the level of her game.
Coach Kalisa has been an elementary school teacher in the Renton School District for the past 24 years. She currently teaches fourth grade. Her main coaching goal is to help athletes gain the physical and mental skills needed to progress as players and teammates.
Regina Baleto-Ferguson
Seattle Volleyball Academy
U14 Development
Assistant Coach
Coach Gina started her volleyball career in high school at Kennedy Catholic High School. She continued playing in college where she attended the University of Washington. There, she played on the Women’s Club Team and led her team as a libero/defensive specialist, and also as an outside hitter. Her team won various women’s club tournaments, and Coach Gina continued to play until her graduation.
After college, Coach Gina moved outside to play sand volleyball. She enjoyed playing at Alki Beach, and in 1985, along with her UW Club teammate, she won the Women’s A Division in the Seaside Beach Volleyball Tournament. Coach Gina remains a top beach coach in the West Seattle area. In the past, she has coached beach clinics with various organizations, but starting this summer, we will see her as one of our Go Time Athletics Beach Training Coaches.
Coach Gina has been an elementary school teacher at Lafayette Elementary for over 20 years. She currently teaches third grade. Her main coaching goal is to teach important life skills that athletes will use beyond their sport.
Lisa McCluskey
Seattle Volleyball Academy
U14 Development
Assistant Coach
Coach Lisa began playing volleyball in the fifth grade at Holy Rosary Grade School in the CYO program. She continued to play volleyball at West Seattle High School and was a member of the 1975 3A State Championship Team. After graduation, Coach Lisa traveled to Banff, Canada playing for Washington State in the Pan American Games.
Coach Lisa played Division 1 Volleyball at Seattle University for her first two years of college. In her junior year, she left the team when her nursing school program requirements did not allow her to play and travel.
After college, she stepped away from volleyball to raise her four children and was able to coach her daughter while she was in elementary school. Coach Lisa recently retired from Seattle Children's Hospital where she worked as a pediatric nurse practitioner. She is looking forward to returning to the sport she loves and coaching once again!
Alyna Brown
Seattle Volleyball Academy
U16 Development
Assistant Coach
Coach Alyna is a 5'6" senior at Mount Rainier High School where she plays on the varsity squad as their setter. A high-intensity impact player Coach Alyna has become one of the top high school players in the area.
Coach Alayna was a 4A second-team selection in 2021 and is waiting for the 4A state selections for the 2022 season. She will be attending college at Saint Leo University in Florida on a beach volleyball scholarship.
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Coach Alayna is also one of Go Time Athletics' lead summer indoor and beach volleyball camp coaches and also assists with the adult training program working and training volleyball players on the fundamentals of the game.
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Danielle DeLappe
Seattle Volleyball Academy
U17 Regional Head Coach
Coach Danielle attended Lindbergh High School in Renton, WA where she was a 4 year varsity volleyball player as an Outside Hitter. In her senior year she was a 2nd Team All-Seamount League selection as an outside hitter.
Coach Danielle lived on the east coast where she received her degree from Harvard Extension School.. In 2015 Coach Danielle moved to West Seattle in 2015 along with her 2 children. She is currently the K-8 Assistant Athletic Director and Physical Ed teacher for preschool -4th grade, as well as running multiple summer sports camps. She led Westside middle school volleyball teams to multiple league championships.
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Coach Danielle is excited to be a part of the Seattle Volleyball Academy coaching staff sharing her love of volleyball and her passion for teaching. Having the opportunities to develop and inspire physically literate lifelong movers is her passion and purpose.
Coach Sharli was a standout player at Kennedy High School where she was an outside hitter on the indoor volleyball team where she helped the Kennedy Lancers to two state tournament appearances during her high school career.
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Coach Sharli is currently playing volleyball on scholarship at Boise State University in their beach volleyball program.
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Coach Sharli is also one of Go Time Athletics lead summer indoor and beach volleyball camp coaches and also assists with the adult training program working and training volleyball players on the fundamentals of the game.
SHARLI O'NEIL
SVA Assistant Coach
BEN TURCINEC
SVA Assistant Coach
Coach Ben is attending and playing volleyball at Park University in Gilbert Arizona. In the 2023 season Coach Turcinec earned honorable mention in the Cal Pac as well as becoming a captain during his Sophomore year.
Coach Turcinec has played for both the Phoenix Ascension and Phoenix Valor which compete in the Semi Pro Volleyball League of America. Ben is heading to Europe this summer with Phoenix Ascension to be a part of a recruitment circuit for a chance to play professionally.
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Coach Turcenic is one of our Go Time Athletics Volleyball Young Beginners Program instructors, adult training instructors and is one of our Volleyball Camp Coaches.
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*Available winter break and summer
