“It’s a huge honor being selected as one of the regional head coaches. This is the third time an NM State coach is selected as a High Performance coach and it is great in many aspects,” said Wallis. “We not only get to work with many of our young talented players in the region but also get to travel to a national tournament and let our (SURVA) players compete against a lot of other great talent in the country.”
Each team trains for five days on the campus of NM State then travels to Des Moines, Iowa to compete against all the other regional teams from across the United States. Toby Manzanares, head coach of Rio Rancho High School in Albuquerque, will assist Wallis during the three-day tournament.
“I am looking forward to working with the team and training them with Toby [Manzanares] for a few days,” Wallis said. “It is a great coaching opportunity for us because of the international rules that USAV uses and it will offer a different and unique twist to our collegiate and club rules.”
The High Performance Program bridges the gap between USA National Teams and youth volleyball programs across the country. The High Performance team is a developmental level of the United States Volleyball Association High Performance team designed to provide top training opportunities for volleyball athletes who aspire to reach the elite level of their sport and is intended to grow the pool of talented young players who may someday compete for a spot on the USA National and Olympic Teams.
“I am excited about the opportunity and will do my best to represent our region with class and lots of energy,” Wallis said. “I love coaching collegiately but teaching youngsters is also a passion of mine as I train our 12 and 13-year-olds in our club here in Las Cruces. It should be a lot of fun coaching this team with coaching legend and my longtime friend, Toby Manzanares.”
Keep up with Aggie volleyball online at www.NMStateSports.com. Fans can also follow Aggie volleyball on Twitter @NmsuVb.