Andy Read was named interim head coach of the Long Beach State volleyball program on June 1, 2009. Read will serve as LBSU's head coach while Alan Knipe takes a three-year leave of absence to coach the USA National Team through the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England.
Read, who has spent the last 13 seasons as an assistant under Knipe at Long Beach State, was the head coach at UC Irvine from 1992-96.
Read was the head coach of the Boys' Youth National Team last summer, leading the team to the title at the NORCECA Championships in Miami, Fla., where the team didn't lose a game. This summer, Read will coach the same group at the Boy's Youth World Championships in Italy.
Read was the head coach for the USA Men's Junior National Team in 2006, leading the team to a second-place finish at NORCECA and a berth in the Men's Junior World Championships in Morocco.
At the World Championships, Team USA finished seventh (tied for the best finish ever by a USA Men's Junior Team) and along the way defeated the then reigning champion from Russia in straight sets.
Read has coached several USA Developmental Teams, including seven players from last summer's Gold Medal USA Olympic Team.
Read has also served as scout and consultant for the USA Men's National Team in several international tournaments, most recently the 2006 World Championships in Japan.
In January 2005, Read was named the USA Development Coach of the Year after serving as head coach of the USA Boy's Youth National Team that earned a gold medal at the NORCECA Youth Championships in Mexico City with a record of 6-0. The team won its last 17 games in a row en route to earning a berth in the 2005 Boy's Youth World Championships. Read also worked with the USA Men's National Team in Colorado and Texas in 2005.
Prior to the 2004 season, Read was an assistant on the U.S. Men's Volleyball team that competed in the World University Games in Korea. Read helped lead 49er teammates David Lee, Scott Touzinsky, Tyler Hildebrand and others to a bronze medal in a 3-2 victory over France in the medal round. Read also spent time as an adviser to the U.S. Men's Volleyball National team that competed in Mexico for a qualifying spot in the 2004 Olympics in Greece. On that squad were former 49ers Tom Hoff, Jim Polster, and David McKienzie.
In 2002, Read coached the USA Youth "High Performance" camp at the Colorado Springs Training Center. In the summer of 2001, Read served as the head coach for the U.S. Junior National Team that traveled to Brazil. Former 49ers Touzinsky and Jeff Wootton were members of that U.S. squad.
Prior to his stint at UC Irvine, Read was an assistant coach at Pepperdine from 1990-92. In his final year at Pepperdine, the Waves captured the 1992 NCAA National Championship.
On the international level, Read served as an assistant coach for the World University Games in both 1995 and 1997. In 2005, Read was the head coach for the USA Men's Junior National Team and in 1998 and 1999 he coached the U.S. Youth National Team. In 1999 he coached with the USA Volleyball staff at the 1999 World Cup in Japan.
Read's connection with Long Beach State began when he was the head coach of the Marina High School boy's team from 1988-89, where he coached Knipe.
Aside from his coaching duties, Read will continue to serve as a science teacher at Westminster High School in Westminster. He is a 1981 graduate of Biola University with a degree in biological science. |