Meet our Coaches

Coach Mike has been playing volleyball since he was a kid in DE in 1993.  He was playing as a Pro by 1996.  It was at that time he started coaching…  Mike has now been coaching beach volleyball for 25 years.

“The reaction that you get from a child when something clicks and they get it.  Is priceless”

Mike has won over 30+ Men’s Pro Tournaments, including 4 Miller Lite tournaments in 2002. He had 3 top 10 finishes on the EVP tour in 2013, 2 top 10 finishes on the Dig the Beach tour in 2013, 5 top 10 finishes on the Dig the Beach Tour in 2014, and 2 top 5 finishes on the EVP Tour this year.

“Coaching is my passion. I get more out of child learning something that I have taught them then winning a Big game myself… it is something that can never be taken away from them”

Coach Hari has been teaching and coaching kids in multiple dance disciplines, basketball and volleyball for over 25 years. It was 18 years ago, when she moved to Deerfield Beach, that she really became serious about beach volleyball.

During the past 10 years a passion for teaching and abundant sports skill-set has led her and Mike to create Riptide Volleyball, a year around volleyball training academy. Now Hari is excited to pass all that she has learned onto her Riptide athletes.

Coach Nick’s volleyball career started his sophomore year of high school, following in his older brother's footsteps.  He competed in AAU and USAV Boys Club for two years before getting recruited to play for the Men's Division 1 program at Sacred Heart University in Connecticut.  While competing in college, he helped coach local teams/clubs, along with running summer clinics to help strengthen the skills of college prospects.  That is where his love for coaching really blossomed. 

He has been playing volleyball and coaching for over a decade now, and being with Riptide for the past two years has allowed him to work with some of the best and brightest athletes this new generation has to offer.

“My goal here is to help encourage our athletes to push themselves to new heights, achieve their goals, and grow a stronger love for the sport I've dedicated my life to!  I believe that in playing volleyball, it is not about how high you jump or how hard you can spike, but how true to yourself you can be on and off the court!  Go Riptide BlackSheep! “

Coach Dave has been playing professional beach volleyball for over 25 years. He attended the University of Delaware where he was on the Men’s Indoor Volleyball Team. Dave is bringing his wealth of knowledge to the Riptide family and helping to create the next generation of volleyball players.

Coach Matt is a two-time Seaside Hall of Famer, both as a coach and a player.  Actually, he is the only Hall of Fame coach to have played for Seaside.  Matt was a starter on the ’97 18 Seaside Black team that won the National Championship in Denver, Colorado.  

      Matt started out assisting Sonny Knight in 2002, with the 16-1 team that finished 5th at the JO’s.  From 2003 on, Matt coached numerous teams at different age levels, highlighted by a 2nd place finish at the SoCal Classic as the 17-1 team head coach in 2004; and a 5th place finish as the 16-1 team head coach at the Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky in 2005.  Prior to the start of the ’06 season, the club debated whether to play a junior high setting sensation – Tien Le – down, but Matt lobbied to get him to play up on the 15-1 team.  The year before (2005), as a 12 year old, Tien led Jim Harrah’s 14 team to a 5th place finish at JO’s.  In ’07, Matt led the 16-1 team to a 9th place finish at Jo’s as Tien turned 14 years old.  In ’08, he coached the 17-1 team to a 7th place finish at Nationals.  Tien was the setter on all those teams and Matt did a great job developing young Tien.  Matt finished up coaching at Seaside in 2009 where he spent the entire year helping Coach Featherstone develop new young coaches to work during the transition from the tent in Del Mar to the state-of-the-art, San Diego Volleyball Club facility in Rancho Bernardo.

      In addition, Matt Coached at Grossmont College where he helped guide the Griffins to the SoCal Regional Playoffs in 2007 and 2008.  Rated AAA as a beach player, Matt moved from San Diego to Florida in 2010 to begin a new life.

      Coach Featherstone on Matt Osburn :  “Matt was as passionate a player as the club ever had. . .he was cocky, athletic, a fiery competitor. . .In the ’97 18 & under JO finals, Matt became the go-to guy about halfway through the match with Nike Santa Cruz. . .He really sparked the team and everyone fed off his energy. . .As a coach, he still has the “fire in the belly”, but he was well-composed and patient with his players. . .He liked to work the sideline when coaching and the thing I really liked about Matt was his competitive nature and the unwavering feeling he always had that his teams would always find a way to win. . .Matt took great pride in developing players that were not necessarily the best players. . . He loved the challenge of going into competition with guys who were just a notch below the best, and finding a way to get them big wins. . .As my assistant at Grossmont, I loved this aspect of his mental make-up. . . Many years, we were outclassed, talent-wise, and we had to find unique ways to stay in matches.  Matt was real good at convincing the players they could get it done. . .especially at identifying the weaknesses of the opposing players. . . Along with Sonny, Leo, and Jeff – these loyal, committed, four guys really helped keep our club dominant after the early glory years. . .As a team, they loved working with each other during tournaments and moving from court to court to assist each other. . .It was almost as though all the teams had four coaches with them at some point during the tournaments. . .Their collective enthusiasm was contagious and the players really enjoyed being around these guys. . .On weekends, their enthusiasm for the game was on display in South Mission Beach where they all played some serious beach doubles.”

Coach Madison is a sophomore business finance major at Florida Atlantic University. She now resides in Florida, coming from the great state of Texas! Madison is a current member of the FAU Owls Indoor Volleyball Team. Prior to playing at FAU, Madison was the leading MB at Sam Houston State University (Huntsville, TX). While at SHSU, Madison earned many awards and accolades.

*ALL WAC Freshman Team 2022

*Defensive Player of the Week 

*K-State All Tournament Team

*ALL WAC Conference Honor Award

*SHSU Dean’s List

Prior to her collegiate volleyball career, Madison played club volleyball at Madfrog Club (Plano, TX). She is looking forward to bringing excitement, skill and knowledge to the 2023-24 Riptide season.

Coach Isa has made a huge impact on her high school team and has continued to advance her skills since graduating.  She has coached camps and clinics at various local schools and is now thrilled to be furthering her coaching career at Riptide. 

“Being part of the Riptide family is such an amazing experience, not to mention the other coaches are a dream to work with. The athletes we train are always so excited to learn, making each practice so much fun!”

When Coach Joel began developing his skills, he rarely made it off the bench. However, his commitment to improvement and love of the game eventually led to him becoming an extremely impactful player on his local team. He later found his passion for coaching and has been training athletes for three years now.

“What excites me about coaching is getting to bring our athletes’ skills to new heights and sparking their love for the game at a young age.”

Coach Tyler is a Riptide athlete through and through. He began training with Riptide as a way to meet new people and maintain an active lifestyle. As he quickly progressed in his skills and knowledge of the game, he discovered his love for helping others to find the same success. Tyler began coaching this season and has already started showing how helpful he can be in the development of new volleyball players.

Coach Lauren joined the Riptide Family in 2016 and instantly fell in love with the sport of volleyball. Soon after, she began junior coaching and discovered the joy of developing new athletes. In 2017 she transferred high schools to train under Coach Mike and Coach Hari at Somerset Academy Key. While there, she made a significant impact both on and off the court. Lauren was co-captain of the indoor and beach volleyball teams and graduated first in her class with a full academic scholarship to Florida State University. Lauren continued her coaching career training athletes on Riptide’s indoor club team, beach program, and adult training program, as well at the Somerset Key Middle School indoor volleyball team. Lauren eventually returned to Tallahassee to complete her studies and took on the role of Director of Operations. 

“Riptide holds such a special place in my heart. It’s been amazing to see how much the program has grown throughout the years and the impact it’s made on so many lives, including my own. I can’t wait to see what this season has in store.”