STEPHANIE GIBSON, WINTER PARK HIGH SCHOOL (FL)

• Picks up her first AVCA National Coach of the Year award
• Led Winter Park to a 29-3 record this season and a second-place finish in the Florida Class 7A state tournament
• Her team won 2023 district and regional championships
• Was the Metro Conference Coach of the Year this season, which marked her 10th time receiving the award
• Has 836 career coaching wins and has been part of nine Wildcat state championships: six as the head coach and three as an assistant
• Under Gibson, Winter Park has won 12 regional titles, 24 district titles, and 21 conference titles

 

BRIAN WHEATLEY, VENICE HIGH SCHOOL (FL)

• Just finished his 30th season as Venice High School’s girls volleyball coach
• Earned his 700th career coaching win during the 2023 season
• Guided Venice to another deep postseason run, as the Indians made the quarterfinals of the 2023 Florida Class 7A state tournament
• Has led teams to six state championships (1998, 2005, 2012, 2014, 2017, and 2022), including titles in four different decades
• Last summer, he coached the U.S. U23 team at the Global Challenge in Pula, Croatia
• Also has served as the director of Venetian Bay Volleyball Club since 1998

 

AVCA HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS COACHES OF THE YEAR

2008: Todd Garvey, Mercy Academy (Louisville, KY) and Tom Turco, Barnstable High School (Hyannis, MA)
2009: Bret Almazan-Cezar, Archbishop Mitty High School (Santa Clara, CA) and Anita Boeck, Arlington High School (Arlington, SD)
2010: Bill Morrin, Grantsburg High School (Grantsburg, WI) and Amy Steininger, Marion Local High School (Maria Stein, OH)
2011: Jeff Carroll, Billings Senior High School (Billings, MT) and Susan Brewer, Bellville High School (Bellville, TX)
2012: Suzie Pignetti, Charlotte Latin School (Charlotte, NC) and Ron Kordes, Assumption High School (Louisville, KY)
2013: Kim Lauwers, A.J. Dimond High School (Anchorage, AK) and Jody DeGroot, Bellarmine Preparatory School (Tacoma, WA)
2014: Al Bennett, Westlake High School (Austin, TX) and Angie Spangenberg, Harlan Community High School (Harlan, IA)
2015: Nancy Dorsey, St. James Academy (Lenexa, KS) and Jean Kesterson, Cathedral High School (Indianapolis, IN)
2016: Jeni Case, Ursuline Academy (Cincinnati, OH) and Jan Barker, Amarillo High School (Amarillo, TX)
2017: Alexis Glover, Wando High School (Mount Pleasant, SC) and Zach Young, Lafayette High School (Wildwood, MO)
2018: Zoe Bell, Ardrey Kell High School (Charlotte, NC) and Heath Kufahl, Christian Heritage Academy (Del City, OK)
2019: Margie McGee, Valley View High School (Jonesboro, AR) and Ann Schilling, Bayside Academy (Daphne, AL)
2020: Renee Saunders, Skutt Catholic High School (Omaha, NE) and Loretta Vogel, Mercy High School (Farmington Hills, MI)
2021: Mayssa Cook, Bloomfield Hills Marian High School (Marian, MI) and Sue Ziegler, Lincoln Lutheran High School (Lincoln, NE)
2022: Suzanne Marble, La Conner High School (La Conner, WA) and Diana Kramer, New Bremen High School (New Breman, OH)
2023: Stephanie Gibson, Winter Park High School (Winter Park, FL) and Brian Wheatley, Venice High School (Venice, FL)