SPIRE Academy Hires Veteran Volleyball Coach Andy Cole as Program Director and Head Coach

GENEVA, Ohio, April 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- SPIRE Academy—a sports academy located in Geneva, Ohio—announced today that it has hired Andy Cole to be its new Volleyball Director and Head Coach. Cole has been coaching volleyball for 22 years, much of that time at the college level.

"This is an exciting time to be coaching volleyball," said Cole. "There are currently three professional women's volleyball leagues in the U.S. This indicates a great deal of momentum in the sport at the national level, and women's volleyball is already big at the local level, here in Ohio. My first priority with SPIRE Volleyball is to grow the program. With this kind of popularity nationwide and locally, and with the Olympic-level facilities that SPIRE Academy offers players, robust and sustainable growth shouldn't be an issue."

Cole is from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He began playing volleyball at the age of seven, and played from that point on, through high school and then at Ohio State University. At the collegiate level, Cole coached volleyball at: Westcliff University (Head Coach); Cerro Coso Community College (Head Coach); the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee (Technical Coordinator, Assistant Coach); Northwood University (Assistant Coach); Loyola University of Chicago (Graduate Assistant Women's Coach); and Lewis University (Assistant Men's and Women's Coach).

Cole's first coaching job was at Glen Hills Middle School in Wisconsin. But for all his experience coaching, he had never coached high school. One of the reasons Cole came to SPIRE was the opportunity to coach high school volleyball at an immersive level—immersive because, at a sports boarding school like SPIRE, the job is 24/7.

"Coaching at SPIRE, you get tuned in to the life and development of a student athlete at a comprehensive level," said SPIRE CEO Steve Sanders. "You have to want this kind of challenge, which Andy clearly does. He understands our values and our mission, which is a focus on the whole person—a long-term view of the student athlete versus a short-term one. That's The SPIRE Way. Andy gets it. We're excited to have him on the SPIRE team."

About SPIRE Academy

SPIRE Academy is a comprehensive academic, athletic, personal skills and college-and-career development boarding school located in a world-class event and wellness complex located in Ohio's Harpersfield Township. Constructed on 750 acres under 850,000 square feet of roof, SPIRE Academy (spireacademy.com) has five divisions: (1) SPIRE Academy & Camps, an accredited college-preparatory international boarding school and multi-sport/specialty training and development academy for grades 9-12 and post-grads; (2) SPIRE Leagues, Clubs & Professional Teams, including SPIRE Academy affiliated leagues and club programs; (3) SPIRE Events, a facility and associated team that host local, national and international tournaments and events with the NCAA, the Big East, Big Ten, Atlantic 10 conferences, the Olympics and world championship qualifiers; (4) SPIRE Institute, the research and development arm of SPIRE Academy, studying performance improvement across multiple disciplines through corporate affiliations and university relationships; and finally (5) SPIRE Fit, a membership-based fitness, swim, personal training and health center open to the community. Sports currently featured at SPIRE Academy include men's and women's basketball, esports, lacrosse, soccer, swimming, track and field, volleyball and wrestling.

Media Contact
Monica Kolbay
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SOURCE SPIRE Academy