Ed Ratledge, Director/Founder
Director and founder of VolleyOC, Ed Ratledge is a fixture in Orange County volleyball. He's a favorite on the AVP Tour and has career earnings of over a quarter million dollars. A perennial top 10 finisher and member of the AVP's prestigious Top 32, he's the 11th ranked American male player as of this writing. Before his professional career, Ed played at UCLA, where he received a bachelor’s degree in psychology and was named first-team GTE Academic All-American in 2000. Ed helped UCLA win the 2000 national championship and he set the school record for most kills in a game (21) before competing in Portugal on a Benfica's professional indoor team.
Ed is extremely passionate about passing on the knowledge he's gained from playing the game at it's highest levels, and personally coaches most VolleyOC adult classes and beach club practices. He also runs the volleyball program for the Marriott Renaissance Clubsport, Aliso Viejo. Ed is Married to Jessica Ratledge and has one son, William, and one daughter, Adeline, who are all commonly seen at VolleyOC events.
Xi Zhang "Ce Ce" Associate Head Coach
Xi has been one of the best players in the world since 2004 when she burst onto the FIVB scene representing her native country, China. She appeared in two Olympics netting a bronze medal in 2008. She was voted the world's best defensive player in 2010, and the world's most outstanding player in 2008. Since moving to the United States, she has begun competing on the AVP tour, earning multiple top 10 finishes over the past few years.
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Pedro Brazao, Associate Head Coach
From Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Pedro has been a Pro Beach Volleyball player since 1999 in the Brazilian tour with four open tournament wins. Played in the World Tour (FIVB) 2001, ‘03, ‘04 with a 5th place finish in the FIVB World Championship 2003 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Started playing in the United States in 2008 and was awarded Rookie of the Year. Has two 3rd place finishes in the AVP playing with beach volleyball legend Jose Loiola - San Diego ‘08, and Matt Prosser - Chicago ‘09. Pedro has coached VolleyOC programs since 2010.
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Danko Iordanov, Associate Head Coach
Danko grew up in Varna, Bulgaria where he started playing volleyball at age 11. He graduated from Rutgers University where he played as an Opposite and Outside Hitter for 4 years on a scholarship. He has been playing Beach Volleyball competitively in California since 2005.
Indoor accomplishments: While at Rutgers-Newark from 1999-2003 - several All-tournament team and All-conference EIVA selections. Surpassed 1,000 kills and was names Rutgers’ Male Athlete of the Year in 2003. He was also a Scholar-Athlete and member of the Dean’s list. Played 2 years in the Bulgarian Pro League for Cherno More-BASK with a 4th place Championship and a 3rd place for the Bulgarian Cup finishes.
Beach Volleyball: U-21 Balkan Champion in 1997. First Place at the Bulgarian Tour 1998. Danko has maintained “AAA” rating on the CBVA tour since 2006, where he won the Cal Cup Tournament in 2009. He has been in the top 100 on the AVP consistently and finished the current 2013 season ranked in the top 50.
Danko has over 20 years of volleyball experience at the highest level. He understands the transition from indoor to beach and back to indoor. As a coach he believes that working hard on the fundamentals in a fun and competitive environment is of the greatest importance for players of all ages. He teaches by both explaining and performing and believes in positive reinforcement. Strategy is a big part of the game and teaching players about it can make them successful at the next level.
Personal: Parents are Mariana Yakimova and Todor Yordanov who were both professional athletes. Mom was a rhythmic gymnast and dad a soccer player. Has one brother – Bogdan. Danko is married to Kristen Endow.
