Long Beach State University Athletics
McKay Smith Named to AVCA Thirty Under 30
5/4/2020 11:57:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
The Beach’s assistant coach has been an integral part in LBSU’s back-to-back NCAA National Championships
Complete AVCA Thirty Under 30 Award Winners
LONG BEACH, Calif. – Long Beach State assistant coach McKay Smith was awarded the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) 2020 Thirty Under 30 Award, the organization announced this morning.
The award was created in 2009 to honor up-and-coming coaching talent at all levels of the sport. To qualify for the award, nominees had to be younger than 30 years old in 2019.
"McKay is very deserving of this award," Long Beach State head coach Alan Knipe said. "He is a great asset to our program in a lot of different areas. As a former team captain, he joined our staff with a great grasp of the Long Beach State culture. He not only helps us maintain what we are already good at, but he is always looking for ways to help us get better. I am proud of McKay and all of his hard work. I know the best is still to come."
Smith, a former Long Beach State volleyball player in his own right, returned to his alma mater as a volunteer assistant coach in 2017 and promptly made an impact, helping the Beach capture the 2018 and 2019 NCAA National Championships. Following the program's third title, Smith was elevated to assistant coach and, in that capacity, led the Beach to a 10-1 record during the shortened 2020 season.
In his time at the Beach, Smith has helped Long Beach State capture two NCAA National Championships, one Big West Conference title, a program-record 45-straight home victories, while mentoring nine AVCA All-Americans, 11 All-Conference selections, and guiding the team to a 66-4 overall record for an impressive .943 winning percentage, as well as a 19-1 Big West Conference mark.
In addition to lending his assistance on the court with player development, Smith also supervises all team strength and conditioning sessions in the weight room and keeps the team healthy acting as the squad's nutritionist.
Away from the college ranks, Smith has also served as a club volleyball head coach for the last five years. His teams have won two gold medals and two bronze medals at Junior Nationals. He has led his teams the USA High Performance Championships in 2019 and 2020. He was the USA A3 camp head coach, and was a lead evaluator coach at all Southern California 2020 USA High Performance Tryouts. From 2018-20, Smith served as the camp director and lead camp coach at the Alan Knipe Las Vegas High School Camp. He also volunteers for local community camps to help grow the game.
"This award is an unbelievable honor," Smith said. "I am full of gratitude and appreciation for the recognition. I would like to thank Alan Knipe, Nick MacRae, and the entire Long Beach staff for allowing me to approach the job with a process-driven mindset. They have allowed me to improve and learn from them every step of the way."
Joining Smith on the 2020 AVCA Thirty Under 30 list is former Long Beach State women's and beach volleyball standout Haleigh Hampton-Carvalho, who is now the head beach coach at Ottawa University Arizona. Hampton-Carvalho played at Long Beach State from 2010-13.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – Long Beach State assistant coach McKay Smith was awarded the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) 2020 Thirty Under 30 Award, the organization announced this morning.
The award was created in 2009 to honor up-and-coming coaching talent at all levels of the sport. To qualify for the award, nominees had to be younger than 30 years old in 2019.
"McKay is very deserving of this award," Long Beach State head coach Alan Knipe said. "He is a great asset to our program in a lot of different areas. As a former team captain, he joined our staff with a great grasp of the Long Beach State culture. He not only helps us maintain what we are already good at, but he is always looking for ways to help us get better. I am proud of McKay and all of his hard work. I know the best is still to come."
Smith, a former Long Beach State volleyball player in his own right, returned to his alma mater as a volunteer assistant coach in 2017 and promptly made an impact, helping the Beach capture the 2018 and 2019 NCAA National Championships. Following the program's third title, Smith was elevated to assistant coach and, in that capacity, led the Beach to a 10-1 record during the shortened 2020 season.
In his time at the Beach, Smith has helped Long Beach State capture two NCAA National Championships, one Big West Conference title, a program-record 45-straight home victories, while mentoring nine AVCA All-Americans, 11 All-Conference selections, and guiding the team to a 66-4 overall record for an impressive .943 winning percentage, as well as a 19-1 Big West Conference mark.
In addition to lending his assistance on the court with player development, Smith also supervises all team strength and conditioning sessions in the weight room and keeps the team healthy acting as the squad's nutritionist.
Away from the college ranks, Smith has also served as a club volleyball head coach for the last five years. His teams have won two gold medals and two bronze medals at Junior Nationals. He has led his teams the USA High Performance Championships in 2019 and 2020. He was the USA A3 camp head coach, and was a lead evaluator coach at all Southern California 2020 USA High Performance Tryouts. From 2018-20, Smith served as the camp director and lead camp coach at the Alan Knipe Las Vegas High School Camp. He also volunteers for local community camps to help grow the game.
"This award is an unbelievable honor," Smith said. "I am full of gratitude and appreciation for the recognition. I would like to thank Alan Knipe, Nick MacRae, and the entire Long Beach staff for allowing me to approach the job with a process-driven mindset. They have allowed me to improve and learn from them every step of the way."
Joining Smith on the 2020 AVCA Thirty Under 30 list is former Long Beach State women's and beach volleyball standout Haleigh Hampton-Carvalho, who is now the head beach coach at Ottawa University Arizona. Hampton-Carvalho played at Long Beach State from 2010-13.
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