Stephanie
My name is Stephanie Angel and I have been playing volleyball for about 18 years. I played three years of varsity volleyball at Mission San Jose High School followed by five years playing club at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. During my time at Cal Poly, our team won two national championships and placed 2nd in nationals in my last year. After college, I wanted to continue to play at a higher level, so I joined various adult teams to compete at USAV Open Nationals every May.
I would usually go to the gym and "workout" about a month or so in advance before the tournament, but I could never last playing into the last day and I was always sore for weeks afterward. In my fourth year playing at adult nationals, I tore my calf on the second to last day and was out for months. It was at that time that I realized that my body couldn't handle playing a three to four day tournament anymore and I needed to learn how to train for that type of competition. That's when I emailed Donny.
Donny coached me for one season in high school, but we remained friends after through coaching at a mutual volleyball club in Fremont and playing at open gyms. I have always respected Donny for the amount of effort and training he put in to continue to compete at a high level, even though his stature would normally prevent him from doing that. I had heard he was training some other volleyball friends of mine, so I decided to give it a shot.
Donny started training me in the Fall following my calf injury and our goal was simple: train my body to maintain competing at a high level. We started off with correcting my balance and posture and learning how to prevent injuries from happening. All of the exercises were designed for a specific purpose or to correct a bad habit. After that cycle, we moved on to building strength, adding more power to my jump and swing. Wow. I had never done lifting of that nature before (having never played at a Division 1 level) and I immediately fell in love with the way it made me feel. I felt stronger, leaner, and way more powerful!
A few months before leaving for nationals (and this time competing in the Open Division for the first time) Donny had a plan to get me to peak at the tournament and all of his exercises were designed for that purpose. When the tournament finally came around, I was able to last playing four full days of volleyball without a single muscle injury or soreness. At one point, I was transitioning off the net and caught something on the ground that normally would have rolled my ankle, but because of my balance training, my body naturally adjusted and my ankle snapped back into place! I had gone from not being able to walk for weeks after this tournament to being totally fine the next day!
I have since continued to work with Donny for this purpose every year: continue to compete at the highest level possible at Nationals. I competed in the Open Division last year, again with great success, but this year my sights are set even higher. My highest vertical leap ever recorded is 9' 8 1/2", but I have set my goal at 10". Donny knows this and has developed a program to get me there.
I used to go to the gym, do about 20 minutes on the elliptical followed by some random ab workout and maybe a few reps on the free weights. Now, I have a plan every time I go to the gym and I can definitely say I get more out of a 60 minute workout now than I ever did before. Donny puts so much thought into every exercise, every cycle of your training, every movement your body is making; and that keeps me motivated to stay on track and push through even when it's tough.
Beginning workouts with Donny was one of the best decisions I have ever made and I would HIGHLY recommend him to anyone, volleyball player or not, who is looking to get more out of their workouts and training. You wont be disappointed.
I would usually go to the gym and "workout" about a month or so in advance before the tournament, but I could never last playing into the last day and I was always sore for weeks afterward. In my fourth year playing at adult nationals, I tore my calf on the second to last day and was out for months. It was at that time that I realized that my body couldn't handle playing a three to four day tournament anymore and I needed to learn how to train for that type of competition. That's when I emailed Donny.
Donny coached me for one season in high school, but we remained friends after through coaching at a mutual volleyball club in Fremont and playing at open gyms. I have always respected Donny for the amount of effort and training he put in to continue to compete at a high level, even though his stature would normally prevent him from doing that. I had heard he was training some other volleyball friends of mine, so I decided to give it a shot.
Donny started training me in the Fall following my calf injury and our goal was simple: train my body to maintain competing at a high level. We started off with correcting my balance and posture and learning how to prevent injuries from happening. All of the exercises were designed for a specific purpose or to correct a bad habit. After that cycle, we moved on to building strength, adding more power to my jump and swing. Wow. I had never done lifting of that nature before (having never played at a Division 1 level) and I immediately fell in love with the way it made me feel. I felt stronger, leaner, and way more powerful!
A few months before leaving for nationals (and this time competing in the Open Division for the first time) Donny had a plan to get me to peak at the tournament and all of his exercises were designed for that purpose. When the tournament finally came around, I was able to last playing four full days of volleyball without a single muscle injury or soreness. At one point, I was transitioning off the net and caught something on the ground that normally would have rolled my ankle, but because of my balance training, my body naturally adjusted and my ankle snapped back into place! I had gone from not being able to walk for weeks after this tournament to being totally fine the next day!
I have since continued to work with Donny for this purpose every year: continue to compete at the highest level possible at Nationals. I competed in the Open Division last year, again with great success, but this year my sights are set even higher. My highest vertical leap ever recorded is 9' 8 1/2", but I have set my goal at 10". Donny knows this and has developed a program to get me there.
I used to go to the gym, do about 20 minutes on the elliptical followed by some random ab workout and maybe a few reps on the free weights. Now, I have a plan every time I go to the gym and I can definitely say I get more out of a 60 minute workout now than I ever did before. Donny puts so much thought into every exercise, every cycle of your training, every movement your body is making; and that keeps me motivated to stay on track and push through even when it's tough.
Beginning workouts with Donny was one of the best decisions I have ever made and I would HIGHLY recommend him to anyone, volleyball player or not, who is looking to get more out of their workouts and training. You wont be disappointed.
Inanna
I’ve been playing volleyball for 14 years – starting in middle school and continuing on to 3 years on UC Berkeley’s women’s club team and my 4th year on their collegiate beach team. I’m not going pro, but I simply love playing volleyball and having a competitive outlet that keeps me in shape and encourages me to be continually working towards getting better at something.
To me, two major components of volleyball are your technique and your physical strength/speed to play. If your strength is lacking, your level of play will also probably be held down. At a certain point I knew I needed something to push my physical capabilities to the next level in order to get to a higher level of play - especially because of my height. We did a lifting regiment with UC Berkeley’s beach team, but I needed more structure and guidance in my workouts post-college to make them as efficient as possible and to keep me improving. I also knew I needed to do something to prevent all my recurring injuries if I wanted to keep playing volleyball the amount I am.
Donny has given me consistent and well-structured workouts that over the course of the last year have kept my body from injuries I was previously prone to (5 ankle sprains and throwing out my back 4 times). He has also opened up a next level of volleyball to me. My max vertical has increased as well as my speed and my endurance to maintain a certain level of play for longer periods of time. Playing at a higher level has gotten “easier” over the past year.
Training for me consists of seeing Donny for an hour 1-3 times every 2- 3 months to get 3-4 new workouts customized for that time block. I’ll then do those 3-4 workouts over the course of a week for that time block. The workouts build off the previous ones and consider how much volleyball I’m playing at that time. If it’s summer time when I’m playing a ton of beach tournaments, workouts are adjusted to be a lighter. Workouts consist of a combination of plyometrics, agility drills, lifting and mobility work – many being volleyball specific and personalized to what I’m needing.
I’ve seen a definite improvement in my physical abilities and level of play since seeing Donny. I highly recommend his workouts for anyone trying to get efficient training!
To me, two major components of volleyball are your technique and your physical strength/speed to play. If your strength is lacking, your level of play will also probably be held down. At a certain point I knew I needed something to push my physical capabilities to the next level in order to get to a higher level of play - especially because of my height. We did a lifting regiment with UC Berkeley’s beach team, but I needed more structure and guidance in my workouts post-college to make them as efficient as possible and to keep me improving. I also knew I needed to do something to prevent all my recurring injuries if I wanted to keep playing volleyball the amount I am.
Donny has given me consistent and well-structured workouts that over the course of the last year have kept my body from injuries I was previously prone to (5 ankle sprains and throwing out my back 4 times). He has also opened up a next level of volleyball to me. My max vertical has increased as well as my speed and my endurance to maintain a certain level of play for longer periods of time. Playing at a higher level has gotten “easier” over the past year.
Training for me consists of seeing Donny for an hour 1-3 times every 2- 3 months to get 3-4 new workouts customized for that time block. I’ll then do those 3-4 workouts over the course of a week for that time block. The workouts build off the previous ones and consider how much volleyball I’m playing at that time. If it’s summer time when I’m playing a ton of beach tournaments, workouts are adjusted to be a lighter. Workouts consist of a combination of plyometrics, agility drills, lifting and mobility work – many being volleyball specific and personalized to what I’m needing.
I’ve seen a definite improvement in my physical abilities and level of play since seeing Donny. I highly recommend his workouts for anyone trying to get efficient training!
Frederick
I have been using Coach Donny’s vertical jump program since my freshman year of high school. I had never lifted weights before and my vertical was pretty low. But Coach Donny’s program has taught me how to use weights and incorporated them into a specifically custom-made workout. In three years, my standing jump has increased 7 inches, and my approach jump 9 inches, allowing me to almost dunk a basketball. I could not be any happier with the coaching Donny has given me, making me the athlete I am today.
Vince
I started working with Coach Donny two years ago. Donny is incredibly patient, supportive and motivating to someone who never lifted regularly before. Through his tutelage, I dropped 5% Body Fat Percentage, dropped three pant sizes, and gained 10% muscle mass. Once ashamed going to the beach, I am now constantly complemented by my peers in outdoor activities through appearance and athleticism. All this is thanks to Coach Donny, who has become a close friend. I highly encourage everyone to seek him as their personal trainer; he will help you reach your goals whatever they are!