Developmental Program – Push The Rock Club Coaches
13 & Under – Howard Vernick
14 & Under – Howard Vernick
15 & Under – Boulos Abi-daher
16 & Under – Alecia Weaver, Kate Yoder, Kelsey Breitfeld
17 & Under – Patrick Fenstermacher
Howard Vernick returns for his sixth year coaching with Push The Rock and fifth year as club director. Coach Vernick has coached volleyball professionally for over 18 years at both the scholastic and club level. Before coming to Push The Rock, Coach Vernick was the founder of Court Authority Volleyball Academy where he served as president for 7 years. Coach Vernick has twice earned bids to the USA Volleyball Junior Olympic National Championship. He has coached elite level teams at tournaments throughout the country including Las Vegas, Louisville, New Orleans, Orlando, Tampa, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Baltimore, Washington D.C. and Pittsburgh. Coach Vernick is currently the Head Coach for Bethlehem Catholic girls’ volleyball and is the Director of the Keystone Region Volleyball Association High Performance Program that competes annually in the USA Volleyball High Performance National Championship. He also serves on the board of directors of Keystone Region Volleyball Association. Coach Vernick is USAV CAP II certified.
Alecia Weaver is in her 2nd year coaching for Push The Rock Volleyball Club. She played 4 years for the Emmaus Green Hornets volleyball team after which she attended Cabrini College. As a member of the Cabrini College team, she was named PAC player of the week in 2006. Alecia was a member of Crosscourt and Court Authority club teams during her middle and high school years. Alecia is currently the Assistant Coach for the Emmaus High School volleyball team, her Alma Mater. Alecia is an employee of PPL Electric Utilities and is continuing her education at Cedar Crest College, majoring in Business Management.
Kate Yoder is a native of nearby Emmaus, graduating from Emmaus High School in 2007 after playing all 4 years for the Green Hornets. Throughout middle and high school, she played for local clubs Crosscourt, Court Authority, and Stew’s Crew. She went on to play middle hitter for the Bullets of Gettysburg College, earning All-Centennial Conference recognition all four years. She graduated from Gettysburg in 2011 with a degree in health sciences. Currently, Kate is the Assistant Volleyball Coach at Muhlenberg College. This is her first year as a club coach with Push the Rock
Kelsey Breitfeld was 13 years old when she started her volleyball career. She played for Eyer Middle School, and also played CYO volleyball. At that time she also started playing club volleyball. Her first club team was Crosscourt, and then she moved to Tenacity and eventually Court Authority. As a club player, she rotated positions between DS and setter. When Kelsey entered Emmaus High School, she played on the volleyball team for her freshman and sophomore years. Kelsey was only able to play high school volleyball for 2 years due to some unfortunate medical issues, although she continued to play club volleyball until she went to college. Kelsey attended Norwich University in Vermont, playing on the volleyball team during her first 2 years. She was a DS for the team but eventually had to leave for the same issues that occurred in high school. At that point she became the manager for her college team. As manager, Kelsey helped run the practices and kept the statistics for the team. She graduated in 2011.
Patrick Fenstermacher returns to Push The Rock for his second year. Residing in the Mertztown area, Coach Fenstermacher has been coaching volleyball since 2004. His playing experience includes Brandywine Heights High School, Penn State University Club Program, and other club programs. He has coached for various club programs including TOPS, Thunder Cats, and Push The Rock. He was also the Head Coach for the Kutztown boys volleyball team and he has been a camp coach for Moravian College.
Boulos Abi-dahar is a graduate of Allentown Central Catholic High School and The Pennsylvania State Univeristy. He obtained his Bachelor of Sience degree in Professional Accountancy and is a Certified Financial Services Auditor. Previously, he coached for Quickset Volleyball Club with an overall record of 154-44. In 2010 he was also the head coach for Notre Dame High School junior varsity. Coach Boulos is currently the Assistant Varsity Girls Volleyball Coach at Bethlehem Catholic High School and also Bethlehem CYO president. He is USAV CAP I certified and is a member of the American Volleyball Coaches Association as well as the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association. Coaching is his passion and developing well rounded individuals through commitment, trust, and respect is his mission. His favorite saying is: “I don’t only coach volleyball, I build individuals more prepared as Christians to conquer life and its struggles.” Over the years, his club teams have won numerous KRVA tournament championships. In 2011 his CYO volleyball team finished 1st in Distirct I.