Kasey Crider Joins @CanesVB Coaching Staff
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Miami head volleyball coach Jose “Keno” Gandara announced the addition of Kasey Crider to the Hurricanes coaching staff.
Crider accepted a position as assistant coach on the Miami volleyball coaching staff, joining assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Sanja Tomasevic on the Hurricanes’ bench.
“Kasey is a young coach with a great desire to learn, improve and become a great coach,” Gandara said. “He has been involved in really good programs, as a player at Pepperdine and then working with the Pepperdine men and Stanford women. He understands the setter position from a technical standpoint; not just in the way he played it, but also as a teacher.”
Crider comes to Miami after spending two seasons as a volunteer assistant with the Stanford women’s volleyball program. A year ago, Crider helped the Cardinal win the Pac-12 Championships and earn the No. 1 overall seed in the 2014 NCAA Tournament. Stanford went 33-2 while Crider was on staff in Palo Alto, reaching the semifinals of the 2014 NCAA Tournament before falling to eventual national champion Penn State.
“First, I think it’s important to acknowledge where I came from,” Crider said. “Many thanks to John Dunning and the Stanford women’s volleyball program. I’ll always cherish my time there; it’s a wonderful place. But I am equally as appreciative and excited for my opportunity here at ‘The U.’ Keno, Sanja and the rest of the community couldn’t have been more welcoming. It feels like something special is happening here and I’m fired up to be a part of it. There is work to be done and I am looking forward to doing it the best I can.”
Prior to his time at Stanford, Crider spent the 2012-13 season as a volunteer assistant coach for the men’s volleyball team at Pepperdine. Crider played for the Waves from 2008-11 and was a two-time All-American, ending his career ranked second in program history in assists (3,989).
“His background as a setter compliments us really well,” Gandara said. “He was a good player at a good program. He played at a high level, both in college and professionally. He understands the position. He will get familiar with our system and combine his knowledge with my philosophy and really be able to help our setters. He will be kind of like an offensive coordinator, working with the setters and helping me run the offense and keeping track of our offensive output.”
Following his collegiate career, Crider played professionally overseas during the 2011-12 season for Boldklubben Marienlyst, located in Denmark. There, he led the squad to first-place finishes in both the Nordic Cup and Danish Pokal Cup Championships. He was named the Danish Super League Player of the Year, while also earning the Best Setter Award and was picked as MVP of the Danish Pokal Cup Championship.
“Kasey and I will work closely on offense,” Gandara said. “Sanja knows the system and has coached defense before, so she will have to take more of a hold of that side of the game. Our offense is a big part of our identity, so we will have two coaches on offense and Sanja will take on a bigger role in running our defense.”
In addition to being an asset coaching the current crop of Hurricanes, Gandara believes Crider will be an asset in recruiting.
“We will definitely take advantage of his knowledge and ability to evaluate talent,” Gandara said. “Once he understands the way we want to play, he will be able to find the players we want to bring into our program.”
A native of Granite Bay, Calif., Crider graduated from Pepperdine with a degree in journalism in 2011.
“He came very highly recommended by everyone he worked for,” Gandara said. “He has strong character and is confident, but also has a desire to learn. He is also very familiar with a lot of the technology that is popular in coaching and teaching volleyball and that is an asset to us. I think his personality really fits in well with our staff and our program and we are very excited to have him here.”
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