Joel Kolner

I live in beautiful Crystal Lake, Illinois and have lived in the area for the last 30 years. I have been married for 35 years, have 5 grown children and 10 beautiful grandchildren. During the summer I like to golf, take long walks and boat on the Chain O’Lakes with my family. 

I love girls’ club volleyball because I think it offers so many benefits to the girls. They learn what it is like to belong to a team, they build long-term relationships with teammates from other schools, they learn how to be coached, and they learn how to deal with adversity and the ups and downs of the game. I believe in trying to build up a player’s confidence and skill level through coaching in a positive manner. While winning is important I try to put more of an emphasis on getting better each and every practice and tournament. I enjoy seeing them get better so they are able to bring their skills to their school team. 

Year 14 for Club, 9 years with Club Fusion and 5 years with Mission VB. 

My most notable achievements have been seeing girls that I have coached play in college. There is nothing more gratifying than to know that in some small way I had an impact on their ability to play at the next level. 

Volleyball was not an organized sport when I was in high school, so my volleyball playing experience has only been for fun with friends. I played baseball, basketball and soccer in high school and have also coached travel baseball and youth basketball. 

My favorite part of coaching is playing the matches and strategizing on how to disrupt the opposing team’s offense to give my team an edge.