Volleyball Canada – Volleyball Canada is pleased to announce the women’s team assistant coaches and B team coach for the 2017 season.
 
“We are thrilled with the coaching staff we have assembled for our women’s program,” said Julien Boucher, Volleyball Canada’s High Performance Director. “These coaches bring a wealth of experience to our program and will be a great support for our head coach, Marcello Abbondanza.”
 
Joining Abbondanza at the women’s base in Richmond, B.C., is Vincenzo Mallia, current assistant coach with the University of Toronto Blues (2016 CIS Champions). Mallia was also an assistant coach with the Canadian men’s B team for two years. He is also an assistant coach with Imoco Volley Conegliano (Italy’s A1 Division) and worked as an assistant coach with Volleyrò Casal de pazzi in Rome from 2013-15, winning six regional and four national championships.
 
Daniele Alpi, originally of Cesena, Italy, will also join the program this season as an assistant to Abbondanza. He is currently an assistant coach with CSM Bucuresti (Currently 2nd in the Romanian league). Daniele graduated with Honours in 2005 from the University of Urbino with a Masters in Sport Science.
 
The women’s 2017 senior B team head coach will be Gina Schmidt of Beaverlodge, AB, who is currently based in Burnaby, BC, as the head women’s coach at Simon Fraser University.
 
Schmidt is a former Canadian Team member (1998 to 2007), and was the top assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of Montana prior to joining SFU in 2013.
 
Among other competitions, the women’s senior team, will compete in 2017 FIVB Women’s Grand Prix, which includes a stop at the team’s base in Richmond, July 21 to 23.

For more information on the women’s program, see www.volleyball.ca

Volleyball Canada media contact:
Jackie Skender
E-mail: jskender@volleyball.ca
Phone: 613.794.7676