Union News

Wingate University Athletics issued the following announcement on Aug. 2.

Wingate University head volleyball coach Shelton Collier will be one of the featured presenters for the upcoming 2021 AVCA Coach of the Year Virtual Super Clinic Powered by Coaches Insider, to be conducted virtually July 30 through August 4. The summit will feature current and past AVCA Coach of the Year award winners and will be geared to provide expert instruction to coaches of all levels.  

Collier was invited to present by the AVCA as a former NCAA DII National Coach of the Year in 2013. His presentation on "Adapting Drills for Specific Game Situations" will be conducted Monday, August 2 at 5 p.m. Collier is joining notable Division I coaches Keegan Cook (Washington), Craig Skinner (Kentucky) and Beth Launiere (Utah) as one of the select Division II coaches involved in this year's special clinic. Collier has been a well-known and popular speaker at numerous AVCA conventions, USA Volleyball Symposiums and international volleyball clinics over the years, and is highly regarded as an educator and clinician in both the collegiate and international volleyball world.

"I really enjoy putting these presentations together for coaches across the country," Collier says. "I challenge myself to provide some thought-provoking perspectives as well as share some of my experiences over the years, with the hopes of helping coaches at all levels. I know I have benefited from listening to many coaches over the years, and appreciate those who take the time and effort to share ideas with other coaches. This clinic is an awesome concept by the AVCA, and I was pleased to be able to make a contribution."

Before coming to Wingate in 2002, Collier was the head coach at Georgia Tech for 11 seasons, earning ACC Coach of the year honors,  was an assistant coach for the USA Women's National team, and spent nine seasons as the head coach at University of Pittsburgh, with several Big East Coach of the Year selections.

Collier has guided the Bulldogs to unparalleled success over the past 15 years, earning SAC Coach of the Year 10 times in the process. Collier's 10 league Coach of the Year awards are most in league history. No other coach has more than four and no other coach in league history has won the award more than three consecutive seasons. Collier just finished his 19th season at Wingate. He is 528-85 in his Bulldog career, good for a winning percentage of .861. Collier won 296 matches at the University of Pittsburgh, while piling up 271 victories in 11 years at Georgia Tech. Collier has compiled 1,095 victories in his 39-year coaching career. He has a career winning percentage of .775.

Collier ranks fifth among all current coaches in the NCAA in career wins with. He is behind two Division I coaches and two coaches from Division II. Only nine coaches in the history of NCAA volleyball have over 1,000 victories. Collier's 528 victories at Wingate are the most in league history, while he also has a conference-record 295 SAC victories.

This past spring, Wingate again won the SAC Tournament Championship, and attended the AVCA National Championship Tournament in Dallas Texas in April. The 2019 season saw the Bulldogs hit the 30-win mark for the 10th time since 2007 and 10th time in program history. Wingate went 30-3 overall, going 21-1 in league play to claim its 13th regular season SAC title in 14 years. The 'Dogs ranked in the top 10 nationally in winning percentage for the 13th straight year, while making a 15th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs earned hosting duties for the NCAA Southeast Regionals for the eighth time in 12 years, advancing to the regional semifinals for the 10th time in 12 seasons.

The Bulldogs have won 14 of the last 15 regular season SAC titles, adding 12 SAC Tournament championships in that span. Wingate has won five NCAA Southeast Regional championships since 2010, making five trips to the NCAA National Quarterfinals. The Bulldogs have had at least one student-athlete earn All-American recognition every year since 2007.

Collier was named the AVCA National Coach of the Year in 2013, while also earning SAC and Region Coach of the Year honors. Collier guided the 12th-ranked Bulldogs to a 32-3 record in 2013, leading Wingate to its second straight regional title and third in four years. The Bulldogs had an AVCA first and second team All-American in 2013, the only SAC players to ever earn first and second team AVCA All-American honors in league history.

Collier has previously been the head coach for the USA Youth National A1 and A2 program, with the responsibility of training 30 of the top young players in the USA National High Performance pipeline. He has led his age group to two gold medals and two bronze medals in the Junior International Division at the High Performance Championships. Collier will be part of the USA National Team coaching staff again this upcoming summer.

In 2007, Collier was the head coach for the USA Youth National Team that participated in the World Championships in Mexicali, Mexico. In 2006, Collier directed the Youth National Team to a gold medal at the NORECA Championships, which qualified the team for the 2007 World Championships. Collier was the head coach for the USA Junior National Team in 2005 at the Junior World Championships in Ankara, Turkey. Under Collier's guidance, in 2004, this Junior Team won the gold medal at the 2004 NORECA Tournament.

During the summer of 2003, Collier was the head coach for the USA Youth National Team. Collier led the team to a fourth-place finish at the World Championships in Poland. The USA's journey to the final four included a stunning upset of number one-ranked Russia. In the summer of 2002, Collier was the head coach for the USA Junior and Youth A2 National Teams that trained in Colorado Springs.

Original source can be found here.