Next Level Camp
2024 NEXT LEVEL CAMP PROGRAM INFORMATION
Who: Boys Rising 10th-12th Grade (+ experienced 9th Grade)
Where: Schaumburg Sports Center (1141 W Irving Park Rd, Schaumburg)
When:
Lewis University Assistant Coach, Jacob Kerschner - Monday, July 22 5:00p - 8:00p
UCLA Assistant Coach, Nick Vogel - Thursday, July 25 9:00a - 12:00p
Long Beach State University Associate Head Coach + Assistant Coach, Nick MacRae + McKay Smith - Monday, July 29 5:00p - 8:00p
Price: $275 for full camp , $100 for 1-day
LEWIS UNIVERSITY ASSISTANT COACH: JACOB KERSCHNER
AVCA Ranking (4/15/2024) #16
Monday, July 22
Check-In: 4:30p - 5:00p
Camp Session: 5:00p - 8:00p
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Jacob Kerschner is in his fourth season as Assistant Coach for the Flyers. While on staff, Kerschner has helped lead the team to an overall record of 54-28 as well as a MIVA Championship and NCAA Final Four Appearance in the 2021 season.
The Flyers have reached the MIVA Tournament Semifinals every year Kersch has been part of the program.
With his role as Recruiting Coordinator, Kerschner has already made an impact on the Flyers by bringing in 6 Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 athletes in the 2022 recruiting class. This count put the Flyers with the most Fab 50 athletes by any DI/DII program as well as ranked 6th best overall recruiting class according to Volleyball Magazine.
Prior to coaching, Kerschner was a member of the Flyers from 2015 through 2020. He played in 48 matches and appeared in 106 sets during his five seasons with the Flyers. Kerschner recorded six kills in 16 chances for a hitting percentage of .313 in his career. He added four service aces in each of the 2018 and 2019 seasons. Kerschner posted 20 digs during his redshirt junior season and recorded a career-high five digs in the five-set win at Cal State Northridge on Jan. 26, 2019.
He is a five-time recipient of the Brother David Delahanty Award - given to Lewis student-athletes for academic excellence and was also a five-time selection to the Academic All-MIVA team. Kerschner also received his bachelor’s degree in mathematics with a minor in athletic coaching from Lewis in 2020.
Kerschner has also been involved within the USA Volleyball coaching pipeline with multiple roles as an NTDP coach at both regional and national training series.
Kerschner, a native of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was an all-state player at Central Dauphin High School.
UCLA ASSISTANT COACH: NICK VOGEL
2023 NCAA National Champions // AVCA Ranking (4/15/2024) #1
Thursday, July 25
Check-In: 8:30a - 9:00a
Camp Session: 9:00a - 12:00p
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Nick Vogel, a four-year starter for UCLA men’s volleyball from 2009-12, returned to Westwood for the 2023 season after serving most recently as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the DePaul University women’s volleyball team the previous four seasons.
With Vogel on staff, UCLA captured its first NCAA Championship since the 2006 campaign and 20th overall title. The Bruins also won their first Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Tournament Championship since the 2006 season. The 12-0 regular-season MPSF record was UCLA’s first unbeaten ledger since it posted a 19-0 mark in 1995. The Bruins led the nation in hitting percentage (.382), blocking average (2.80) and set assists (12.64). Middle blocker Merrick McHenry topped the nation with a .526 attack percentage and was named winner of the Ryan Millar Award as the top middle attacker in the country. Guy Genis rated fourth nationally in blocks per set (1.21). The Bruins also were rated among the nation’s top five in kills/s (second), aces/s (third) and opponent hitting percentage (eighth).
“We are excited to welcome Nick back to UCLA,” said head coach John Speraw at the time of the hire. “As a Bruin and former international professional, Nick will bring a breadth of perspective that will significantly augment the collegiate experience of our student-athletes. Furthermore, I have been exceptionally impressed with how Nick has developed his own philosophy and coaching style. He takes teaching the game and the lessons within the game very seriously. We are grateful to have Nick back in Westwood.”
With Vogel on the Blue Demons staff, DePaul made its first appearance in the Big East championship match in 2021 and enjoyed its most successful campaign in the last 20 years. The 12 conference wins were the most since it joined the league in 2005. The DePaul coaches were selected as the 2021 Big East Coaching Staff of the Year.
At DePaul, Vogel coached offense and worked directly with the team’s middle blockers. He also had oversight of team culture development, match scheduling, opponent scouting, video analysis and the highly successful DePaul summer camps program. In 2021 and 2019, middle blocker Donna Brown was selected to the All-Big East women’s volleyball team. In 2019, Brown finished with the highest hitting percentage in the league (.399) which established a new school record for a DePaul player.
Vogel was hired in August of 2016 to serve as an assistant coach for the men’s volleyball team at the University of California San Diego for the 2017 spring season. Under his direction, UCSD accumulated its most conference wins in a 7-year span. Additionally, opposite Tanner Syftestad was named first-team All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), an honorable mention All-American, the Division II Player of the Year, and UC San Diego’s Student-Athlete of the Year.
In the fall of 2017, Vogel served as the volunteer women’s volleyball coach at the University of San Diego. During his tenure, USD won a West Coast Conference (WCC) championship, boasted a WCC Player of the Year in Kristen Gengenbacher, placed four players on the AVCA’s Pacific South All-Region Team, and made it to the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Vogel spent the 2015 fall season as a volunteer assistant coach with the women’s program at his alma mater, UCLA. The Bruins advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament that season and both middle blockers earned all-conference honors. He has also been an indoor, beach and private-lesson coach within the WAVE Volleyball Club, and a lead camp coach with Gold Medal Squared since 2012.
Vogel previously held coaching positions in an adult league and with a youth club while playing overseas in Germany, and has also been involved in several UCLA camps over the years. He brings a wealth of professional playing and coaching experience from throughout Europe, Asia and South America.
Vogel was a four-year starter for the Bruins under head coach Al Scates from 2009-12. He appeared in 99 matches and 309 sets, compiling 599 kills (1.94 per set) with a .323 hitting percentage, 299 blocks (0.97 per set), 133 digs (0.43 per set) and 75 service aces. The 6-foot-9 opposite and middle blocker paced the team in aces as a freshman and blocks as a sophomore. Vogel ended his career ranked No. 4 on the program’s rally-scoring total blocks list.
Away from UCLA, Vogel competed for Team USA at the 2009 FIVB Men’s Junior World Championship, the 2011 Pan American Games, the 2014 FIVB World Championship and the 2014 USA Volleyball Cup. He led the squad in blocking at the Pan Am Games. Following his collegiate playing days, Vogel competed professionally in Athens, Greece, for Panathinaikos, and in Germany with TV Bühl and VfB Friedrichshafen. He won the German Cup with Friedrichshafen, as well as the Bundesliga title for the 2014-15 season.
Vogel earned his bachelor’s degree in anthropology with a concentration in archeology from UCLA in 2012. He was a five-time member of the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll. A San Diego native, Vogel graduated from Valhalla High School in El Cajon after previously attending Steele Canyon High School in Spring Valley.
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LONG BEACH STATE UNIVERSITY ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH + ASSISTANT COACH: NICK MACRAE + MCKAY SMITH
2018/2019 NCAA National Champions , 2022 NCAA National Runner-Up // AVCA Ranking (4/15/2024) #2
Monday, July 29
Check-In: 4:30p - 5:00p
Camp Session: 5:00p - 8:00p
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Nick MacRae has been a part of the Long Beach State men’s volleyball coaching staff for the last 10 seasons, and in 2018, was promoted to associate head coach. MacRae is also the recruiting coordinator for the Beach.
MacRae was instrumental in helping Long Beach State capture its second-straight NCAA National Championship in 2019. With MacRae on the bench, the Beach went 28-2 and notched the program’s first-ever undefeated conference season with a 10-0 record. LBSU turned in another perfect record at home extending the team’s home winning streak to a program-record 43-straight victories at the Walter Pyramid.
The 2019 season saw the Beach win the Big West Regular Season Championship in a five-set win over No. 1 Hawaii before boasting four AVCA All-Americans, including AVCA National Player of the Year TJ DeFalco. Under MacRae’s tutelage, Long Beach State also garnered five Big West All-Conference selections, highlighted by Kyle Ensing’s Player of the Year honor.
MacRae was named the head coach of the 2020-21 Boys Youth National Team. He previously served as the 2018-19 USA Youth National Team assistant coach.
The 2018 AVCA Assistant Coach of the Year was a key component in helping the Beach capture the program’s second National Championship in a historic season that saw the team win a program-record 24 consecutive contests. With MacRae’s guidance, Long Beach State went 28-1 and rolled through conference action claiming the Big West Regular Season and Conference Tournament Championships.
MacRae played an essential role in Long Beach State’s success as the Beach made their third-straight NCAA appearance in 2018. He helped lead the Beach to a 9-1 Big West Conference mark and a perfect 12-0 record inside the Walter Pyramid. LBSU finished the season as National Champions and saw five players earn All-America honors, while junior setter Josh Tuaniga took home the AVCA National Player of the Year award.
In 2017, MacRae was recognized for his hard work and dedication as he earned the AVCA Thirty Under 30 Award which honors up-and-coming coaching talent at all levels of the sport.
In his time at Long Beach State, MacRae has seen the Beach put together a 179-51 overall record for a winning percentage of .778. Additionally, the Beach have compiled a conference record of 92-34 (.730) with one Big West Tournament Championship, one MPSF Tournament Championship, five NCAA Tournament showings, and two National Titles.
In addition, MacRae owns a long list of volleyball experience as he has served as the 2018 head coach of the USA Youth-A1 Program at the High Performance Championships, and worked as an assistant coach for the 2018-19 USA Youth National Team that took home a Silver Medal at NORCECA en route to qualifying for the 2019 World Championships. MacRae has spent the last two years working as an AVCA Mentor Coach tutoring other AVCA members and coaches.
In 2014 and 2015, MacRae worked as a coach for the USA High Performance Championships. He also coaches at various USA High Performance camps. Lastly, MacRae served as the technical coordinator for the USA Men's Pan American Team and helped the U.S. claim a Gold Medal in the Dominican Republic in 2012, while the squad placed fifth at the 2013 Pan Am Games in Mexico City.
MacRae is a 2007 graduate of Long Beach Wilson High School. He earned a degree in business finance from Long Beach State University in 2021. MacRae played collegiate volleyball at Long Beach City College and Long Beach State.
MacRae resides in Long Beach, where he was born and raised, with his wife Ashley, daughter, Reese, and son, Nyles.
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McKay Smith, a former Long Beach State and professional volleyball player, joined the LBSU coaching staff in 2017 as a volunteer assistant coach and after helping lead the Beach to back-to-back NCAA National Championships, was elevated to assistant coach in July of 2019.
In his five seasons at the Beach, Smith has coached 16 AVCA All-Americans, including AVCA National Players of the Year in Josh Tuaniga (2018) and TJ DeFalco (2019), 20 All-Big West Conference selections, including two conference Players of the Year in DeFalco (2018) and Kyle Ensing (2019), as well as one Big West Conference Freshman Player of the Year in Clarke Godbold (2021).
A 2020 AVCA Thirty Under 30 Award winner, Smith works extensively with player development and saw Long Beach State garner four AVCA All-Americans and five Big West All-Conference selections.
A decorated coach with several years of experience at the collegiate level as well as at Junior Nationals, Smith previously served an assistant coach and strength coordinator for the 2017 State Champion Orange Coast College men’s volleyball team. With Smith on the bench, the Pirates finished the season with a 21-1 record and were a perfect 8-0 in conference.
Smith previously played for Orange Coast College where he was named 2011 Conference MVP and was first in the state in hitting percentage. He went on to enjoy a three-year career at Long Beach State where he excelled at middle blocker and was named team captain.
Following his collegiate career, Smith went on to play professionally for SKV Havirov in the Czech Republic from 2014-15.
Additionally, Smith won two Gold Medals as an assistant coach, as well as three of Bronze Medals as a head coach for the 949 Volleyball Club at Junior Nationals.