STMA Volleyball

We are very excited about the coaches we have in our program!

 I am currently in my second year as a teacher and coach at STMA.  Last winter I was an assistant coach for the 14-2 team.  During the school season I have worked as a varsity assistant coach, and this past fall, I coached the B-squad.  I played volleyball growing up, and had the opportunity to play three years on varsity as a captain in high school.  During college, I played competitive intramural volleyball.  Other than coaching, I teach math at STMA High School. 

Coach Anderson has coached volleyball in the STMA School and JO programs for the past 7 years.  She has worked primarily with the 8-10th grade students, but has also coached the 1st-2nd grade YDT players.  This past year she worked with the varsity team as a varsity assistant.

Jill currently lives in Big Lake with her husband Karl, sons Will (8) and James (5), and daughters AnnaLee (3) and Karlee (8 months).  Jill teaches Health and Physical Education at the High School here in St. Michael-Albertville, and coaches the Women's Varsity Lacrosse team for STMA in the spring.

Hi my name is Scott Anderson.  I go by "Coach" or "Coach Scott", not to be confused with Coach Anderson who is my daughter-in-law.  I am a graduate of Wayzata H.S., Mankato State, St. Thomas and am a retired P.E. teacher.  I have taught and coached at all levels K-College.  My primary sports have been baseball, basketball, and volleyball.  I am presently providing Grandpa daycare for the four youngest of my six grandchildren.  This is my second year in the STMA volleyball program.  I have thoroughly enjoyed working with all the students, parents, coaches, and staff.  My hope is that the 13-2's improve during the season and enjoy the journey.  GO KNIGHTS!!

I grew up playing volleyball for several different club teams in the Twin Cities area as well as STMA during the high school season.  After High School I went on to play Division II volleyball at Concordia St Paul for two years and recently graduated from the University of Minnesota.  I coached two years at White Bear Lake JO Program before coming to STMA in 2008.  I have also been the Varsity Assistant in the fall on our high school team for the past three years which I really enjoyed.  I look forward to a new year/season coaching with my sister Allie and watching all the players in our program grow!

I am a graduate of STMA and have been coaching with the JO program for 2 years at the 14's level.  In high school, I was All-Conference 3 years in a row, made All-State my senior year and top 100 defensive dandies in the country from prepvolleyball.com.  I played at Minnesota One (M1) and then went on to play for MN Select.  I recently graduated from Northwestern Sciences University in Bloomington with a Massage Therapy Degree.  I am very excited for this season and can't wait for years to come!! 

Stephanie Hillman is in her fourth year coaching with the STMA JO Volleyball program and her 8th year (9th season) of coaching overall.  Her volleyball career started in high school where she was named an all-conference setter.  Stephanie played for two years at Ripon College, then immediately began coaching for a Wisconsin Volleyball Club.  After moving to Minnesota in 2007, Stephanie coached at the Minnesota Premier Volleyball Club, was the head JV Coach at Orono High School, and then began her career with the STMA program.

Outside of coaching, Stephanie is a teacher at Orono High School but lives in Albertville with her husband, daughter, and dog.  She loves being a part of the St. Michael-Albertville community and sharing her love for volleyball with girls who hold the same passion.

Anders Carlson graduated from Orono High School in 2003 where he was the manager of the volleyball team as well as an All-Conference track and field athlete, earning 2 varsity letters for each sport.  In college, he was captain of the men's volleyball team for 3 out of 4 years, competing in the NIVC for the University of Minnesota-Morris.  Anders also earned multiple collegiate All- Conference awards in track and field over his four years on the team.  He began coaching volleyball in 2005 for the Pomme de Terre JO program (Morris, MN) where he coached the 17's and 18's teams over three years.  Anders returned to Orono and has been coaching the 9th grade volleyball team since 2008 and Middle School track and field since 2010.  This is his third season in the STMA JO program, with the previous two being with the 16-1 team.

My name is Sam Schroeder.  I went to high school at Maple Lake High School, where I was a three sport athlete.  After high school, I went to the University of St Thomas where I played two years of volleyball.  After college, I took my first job as a teacher and head coach for the volleyball team in Isle, MN.  I also started and directed the JO program at Isle High School.  After Isle, I took a job teaching, was also the head volleyball coach, and ran the JO program at HLWW.  Currently, I am a registered official with the Minnesota State High School League, compete in volleyball and softball leagues, and work for State Farm Insurance in Monticello.  This will also be my 6th season working with the STMA JO volleyball program, and I am very excited for this year!

My name is Leah Welch and I have been coaching volleyball for 11 years, with the last two years being for the STMA program as the 9th grade coach.  My coaching extends from 9th grade to the varsity level for high school and from 13's through 16's for various JO programs.  When I am not playing or coaching volleyball, I work as a professional photographer.

Ken's volleyball career began almost twenty years ago on the mean streets of New York City (they weren't so mean). As a player, he has participated on club teams in tourneys all along the east coast in competitive indoors 6's, and outdoors 4's and doubles (beach and grass).  He has previously coached for Blindbrook H.S. (Varsity program) in Rye Brook, New York and Somers H.S. (JV program) in Lincolndale, New York.  Professionally, he has served as a Print and Interactive Designer/Art Director with companies such as Conde Nast and Major League Baseball (MLB.com) and currently with the Star Tribune in Minneapolis.

He is thrilled to be working with the Lady Knights!

Hi!  My name is Jen Wiese and this is my fourth year coaching JO Volleyball for STMA JOs.  This was also my first year coaching 8th grade volleyball at Middle School East.  I am currently working at Fieldstone Elementary for Minnesota Reading Corps.  I am a graduate of STMA and played volleyball, basketball, and softball in high school.  I went on to St Cloud State to receive my bachelors degree in Early Childhood Education.  Along with coaching volleyball, this is my first year coaching 8th grade basketball at Middle School West. 

My name is Sadie Kessler and I grew up in St. Michael.  I graduated high school in 2006 from STMA where I was active in many sports, including playing for STMA JOs for most of my years growing up!  I then went on to college to play volleyball for Concordia University - St Paul.  I played as a rightside for four years and graduated from there with an Accounting and Finance Degree.  Currently, I am an employee of Ryan Terry, an accounting firm in New Brighton.  Throughout the last four years I have enjoyed coaching for different age levels at M1, Woodbury, and White Bear Lake, along with a variety of summer camps.  This will be my second year coaching at STMA, and am happy to be a part of a program where it all started for me!