Casey Swenson
Varsity Head Coach
Head Coach
This is Coach Swenson’s sixth year as head coach of the SCHS Girls’ Volleyball program. He is very honored and excited to continue to be a part of the volleyball tradition at SCHS. Coach Swenson grew up in a volleyball family in Capistrano Beach. His mom was among the first to play for the women’s volleyball program at UC Irvine, and she remains an avid beach player. His dad was an English teacher for 40 years and coached boys and girls volleyball at Mission Viejo and Trabuco Hills for 20 of those years. Coach Swenson played two years of varsity volleyball for Coaches Hurlbut and O’Rear at SCHS. His younger brother Dusty graduated from SCHS in 2002, and played volleyball for Coach Goldstone where he earned South Coast League MVP and All-CIF honors. In addition to volleyball, both Coach Swenson and his brother played football all four years at San Clemente.
After high school, Coach Swenson attended UC Irvine where he played volleyball for Charlie Brande, one of the most successful and influential club volleyball coaches in the country. He majored in History and was a four time Big West Conference Scholar Athlete. His love of history led him into getting his teaching credential at UC Irvine, and his love of San Clemente brought him back to SCHS in 2004 as a teacher and volleyball coach. Since then he has taught World History and AP European History, and has coached nearly every level of the boys and girls volleyball programs.
Coach Swenson was the Girls’ Varsity Assistant Coach under Rob O’Rear for 10 years and is elated to be back with the program that has been such a foundational part of his life in education. He contributed to 7 league titles and has coached multiple players who went on to be All-Conference performers in college. He has experienced similar success on the boys’ side, winning multiple league championships and tournaments on the lower levels, including an undefeated season and two season ending tournament championships in his last two seasons. He was also fortunate enough to coach 3 players who went on to win NCAA championships. As head coach, Coach Swenson has led teams to 4 league championships and 3 CIF State playoff bids.
Coach Swenson has also been blessed with a loving and growing family. His wife Liz is an alumnus and Math teacher at Dana Hills…which we try not to hold against her! Together they have three children: Truman (9), Hendrik (8), and Escher (3), as well as an extremely lovable Sheepdog/Lab mutt named Harper. The Swenson family looks forward to spending time in the gym cheering on the Tritons.
This upcoming season promises to be exciting as we look to defend our South Coast League title and remain one of the top programs in Orange County. Coach Swenson is eager to share the pride in team and community that he has experienced with all of the players on this year’s team. Expect an atmosphere that is inclusive, competitive, and uniquely San Clemente. We may all come from different levels of playing experience or clubs, but here, we are truly #OneTownOneTeam. Go Tritons!!
Sara Hoffman
Varsity Assistant Coach
Asst. Varsity Coach
This is Coach Sara Hoffmans’s 9th season coaching at San Clemente High School. Sara is returning to her alma
mater where she competed as a 3 year varsity player. She went on to set at Cal State San
Bernardino where she was a 3 time DII All-American. She helped her team earn 4 conference
championships and 2 final four appearances. After college, Sara continued playing volleyball for
a season in Norway.
Sara is an elementary school PE teacher in Capo Unified training future Tritons. On the
weekends she enjoys playing volleyball and traveling whenever possible.
Sara is looking forward to another strong SCHS season and continuing the proud traditions of
San Clemente volleyball. She has a younger brother, Dillon, who also played at San Clemente
and UCI.
Ryan Talafus
JV Head Coach
JV Coach
Coach Talafus began playing volleyball during summer, prior to his sophomore year of high school. He made the frosh/soph team at San Clemente High School where he excelled during his first season of playing competitive volleyball. He played under Ken Goldstone during his varsity season at San Clemente before graduating in 2007. He attended Saddleback College and transferred to Cal State Fullerton where he received his B.A. in History along with his teaching credential. Recently, he completed his Master’s degree in Educational Administration, along with receiving his administrative credential from Concordia University, Irvine. Coach Talafus will be starting his sixth year teaching history at Capistrano Union High School in San Juan Capistrano.
Coach Talafus is excited to coach this year at the junior varsity level and excited for the opportunity to help the players develop their skills. He is looking forward to having a competitive and exciting season. He will be entering his seventh season with the girl’s volleyball program. He enjoys spending time with his wife Angie, daughter Rylee, and his dog Copper during his time off the court.
Michaela Hurlbut
Frosh/Soph Coach
Frosh/Soph Coach
This is Coach Michaela Hurlbut’s second year coaching at SCHS. Michaela went to SCHS where she played four years of volleyball, 2 years on Varsity, and graduated in 2016. Along with 6 years of player experience, Michaela has grown up watching the game and continued to play in recreation leagues while studying at San Diego State University where she obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Sustainability. She currently is a science teacher at Aliso Viejo Middle School. Michaela is looking forward to a great season coaching the Frosh Soph team. When not teaching or coaching, Michaela loves going to the beach, reading, and spending time with her family.
Julia Genoway and Abigail Brown
Freshman Coaches
Freshman Coaches
Coach Abigail Brown is excited to be coaching her first high school team with her sister, Julia Genoway, this season. Abigail graduated from San Clemente as a three year varsity beach and indoor volleyball letterman and spent her club career at Tstreet Volleyball Club as a middle blocker. She went on to play a season of DII volleyball at Northwest Nazarene University in Idaho where she also coached a club team on her time off. She is now studying at Saddleback College where she recently ended the beach volleyball season as 1st Team All Conference.
She can’t wait to begin this new chapter and bring an encouraging and competitive spirit to her team and the San Clemente High School volleyball program.
Coach Julia Genoway joins the Triton coaching staff for her first year as the Co-Head Coach of the Freshman team. Julia attended San Clemente High School, and is proud to have played for the girls volleyball program under Head Coach, Tom Beard. Julia spent three years on the varsity volleyball team and received the Triton Award her junior year. In the offseason, Julia continued to compete in Track & Field, where she participated on the varsity high jump team for three years. After high school, Julia continued to immerse herself in the world of volleyball by becoming a “tweens” coach for T-Street Volleyball Club, and continuing her personal volleyball career at Saddleback College. In her 2018/19 season, Julia went First Team All Conference, led the conference in kills per set, and was ranked #6 in all of California Community Colleges in kills per set. After her volleyball career ended, Julia graduated Saddleback College with a certificate in the Interior Design Program, which led her to start her own full-service residential interior design business. Julia feels, “excited to return to the SCHS volleyball community alongside [her] sister, Coach Abigail, to provide a fun, competitive atmosphere for [their] team.”
Jack Iverson
FS-B Consultant, Founder of SCHS VB, Game Announcer, and Legend
Program-Wide Consultant, Founder of SCHS VB, Game Announcer and Legend
Coach Iverson feels very blessed and fortunate when it comes to his fifty-ninth year
involvement with the sport of volleyball. He was often in the right place at the right time. As a
thirteen-year-old “jungle ball” player at the San Onofre Surfing Club, three of the best adult
players took him aside and taught him the fundamentals of the game. One of those mentors
was Wally Duessler When collegiate volleyball began in 1962, the University of Redlands’
athletic director allowed Coach Iverson to organize a team and compete in the new league with
U.C.L.A., U.S.C., San Diego State, U.C.S.B. Loyola, and U.C.R. When the C.I.F. decided to
add volleyball, S.C.H.S.’s very progressive principal, Darryl Taylor agreed to let him begin both
the boys’ and girls’ programs. Many of the schools best athletes decided to help establish a
winning tradition. The first “Lady Triton Volleyball Players” included the Bishop sisters Mona
(Ferner) and Wendy (Yoder), Jennifer Adams Beard, Mary McMichael and Sue Enquist. On the
first boys’ team were Bob Yoder, Tom Beard, Carl Eissman, Stan Mathis, Bob Hoover, Andy
Williams, and Kevin O’Brien. In 1976, the boys’ team won the school’s first C.I.F. Championship
over Karch Kiraly’s Santa Barbara team. In 1984, the Olympic Games came to Southern
California for the second time. High school coaches were asked to help in their respective
sports. Coach Iverson was asked by the Olympic Volleyball Commissioner to be in charge of
the warm-up court, and for two weeks was able to watch and learn from the world’s top teams
and coaches. Currently, he thanks God for the opportunity to work with the entire program,
focussing on necessary fundamentals and developing a winning attitude that is necessary to
compete successfully in our great sport!
