Emory, Va. --- A successful high school coach with strong ties to club volleyball in the southeastern United States has been selected as the head volleyball coach at Emory & Henry College. 

Dan Clotfelter served as head volleyball coach at Walker School in Atlanta, Ga., building that high school program into a state powerhouse.  During his eight-year tenure at Walker, the team competed in four Final Fours, three Elite Eights and one Sweet Sixteen.  For those accomplishments, he was selected four times as the Area Coach of the Year and was selected as a State All-Star Game Coach. 

“We are so excited to bring a coach with Dan’s background to Emory & Henry,” said E&H athletic director Myra Sims.  “Private schools in the Atlanta area play a very high level of volleyball and Dan’s work in building the Walker program from the ground up has been impressive.”

Sims said Clotfelter will build on the solid volleyball tradition that Emory & Henry has established.  “He has a well-developed plan to recruit quality student athletes, and he is a great student of the game who has shown that he can coach players to help them get better.  Dan can help us continue on the path to becoming a perennial contender for ODAC championships.”

Clotfelter also has served as youth development director and coach for the A5 Volleyball Club.  He was instrumental in building that club from its infancy in 2005 when the club was formed to its current membership of more than 300 players.  Clotfelter’s teams have secured bids to four straight USA Volleyball national championships and A5 Volleyball led the nation with 14 bids in 2010. His teams have also won three Southern Region volleyball championships, beating the best teams from Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia.

Clotfelter said, “I am very excited about the opportunity to be part of the Emory & Henry community.   The student athletes on the volleyball team sold me on both the college and the athletic program.  The team has high expectations for themselves and their coach. “

The E&H volleyball team will return next fall with its current squad.  “With an experienced team, we expect to make immediate strides towards the top of the ODAC,” Clotfelter said.

Known as a strong tactician, Clotfelter has achieved the Level II certification in the Volleyball Coaching Accreditation Program. He has presented multiple times at the Georgia Volleyball Coaches Association annual clinics on topics that include practice design, serving and passing.

This release is courtesy of Emory & Henry College.