Alumnus Chad McDole looks to lead the Yellowjackets to the top of the Mid-America Men's Volleyball Intercollegiate Conference (MAMVIC) in his seventh year with the program.
McDole returns the majority of his starting line up from last season. McDole is really excited about this season. "This is a excited and talented group of young guys" said McDole. "What's equally exciting is the program is going to have two junior varsity teams, allowing 35-38 guys competing for a varsity spot. This is really exciting for the program. I believe this is the largest number of men's volleyball players in Graceland's history. You can feel the excitement in the program, it is very competitive and fun to be a part of."
The head coach knows the quality of player he needs due to his personal experience in the sport. McDole was a defensive specialist for the 1998 NIRSA men's volleyball national championship team. He also served as one of Graceland's junior varsity women's volleyball coaches from 1996-99, and then graduated with a degree in wellness and recreation at the end of the year.
Following his playing tenure at Graceland, McDole completed his Masters of Education in sports administration from the University of Kansas in Lawrence. At KU, McDole spent two years as a women's volleyball assistant under Head Coach Ray Bechard.
From 2002-2004, McDole was the head women's volleyball coach and sports information director at a fellow Heart of America Athletic Conference school, Benedictine College. For the Ravens, McDole was in control of both a varsity and junior varsity women's volleyball program. The varsity team finished the season 26-7, with a second-place finish and an 8-2 record in the HAAC. "This was fun for me because of the unique opportunity to compete against my father. Benedictine was very much a rival school with Graceland; in fact, Benedictine had never beaten Graceland ever in women's volleyball. Of course that tradition did not last long after I got there."
The Graceland graduate has been on staff for several volleyball camps including USAV National Development Camps for the past 22 years, USAV Regional & National High Performance Camps for two years, University of Kansas Volleyball camps for the past 10 years, and now running his own USA Volleyball Iowa Region National Development Satellite Camps. McDole is also a member of USA Volleyball and the American Volleyball Coaches Association.
McDole's coaching position is coupled with a teaching appointment in the Division of Health and Movement Sciences, where he teaches primarily in the Physical Education and Wellness degrees.
Chad and his wife Amber are the parents of three boys, Tyson, Trevor and Tate. Chad is the son of Patty and Stew McDole, who is the head women's volleyball coach at Graceland University.
Eric Majors brings a wide body of experience back to his alma mater.
While at playing at Graceland, Majors was a middle blocker for teams that finished 2nd, 5th and 9th at the NIRSA Collegiate nationals, while being named to the MIVA all-tournament team his senior season. Coach Majors started his coaching career while still attending Graceland first as the women's varsity assistant. This team reached new heights with its first ever undefeated HAAC conference championship. Success followed Majors as he took the reins of the Graceland women's junior varsity head position as they took home the HAAC junior varsity tournament championship and finished with the best match record in Graceland junior varsity history. The following year, Majors took over the men's junior varsity head coaching position. Several players from this team were promoted to the varsity team and where key contributors to Graceland's 1998 NIRSA national championship season.
After graduation, Majors continued his coaching career at Piper Highs School in Kansas City, Kan. In only two seasons, Majors achieved a County Championship and a Sub State runner up finish. More importantly, three players went on to play NCAA Division II volleyball or higher from those years.
Majors soon reentered the college ranks taking over the head position at Longview Community College in Lee's Summit, Mo. Again success followed in the team, winning the NJCAA Region 16 championship and Majors being named region "coach of the year" in 2001.
Coach Majors then took the assistant position at HAAC foe Avila University in Kansas City, Mo. There, Majors' greatest contribution was bringing in a stellar recruiting class composed of local and junior college talent. By his second year, Avila had reached new heights by qualifying for the HAAC postseason tournament and placing several players on the HAAC all-conference team. During the offseason, Majors directed the Boys Program for the Mid-America Volleyball Club in Overland Park, Kan. He helped develop 6 players who went on to play collegiate volleyball as well as competing at the USAV Boy's National Championship Tournament.
Major's next endeavor was creating Sand Shark Volleyball Club in Kansas City, Mo. Here he developed female youth teams between the ages of 11 and 18 in the highly competitive Kansas City volleyball USAV club scene. Accomplishments include having three teams finish top-ten in the region final standings, 13 tournament championships as well as sending many players to play at the collegiate level.
In 2008, while still directing Sandshark Volleyball Club, Majors took over the head assistant position at William Jewell College women's team in Liberty, Mo. At WJC, Majors primary role was in individual skill development and practice planning. By 2010, William Jewell was ranked an impressive 2nd in three conference stat categories including hitting percentage, assists per game and service aces per set. His biggest accomplishment at Jewell was improving Jewell's blocks per game from 9th in HAAC stats in 2009 to 4th in 2010, all while having the youngest starting line up in the conference.
Majors has continued his playing career winning 4 Heart of America USAV Men's AA championships as well as finishing in the top 10 at the USAV Open Adult National championships three times. In his spare time, Eric also displays a passion for art as well by displaying his paintings at local galleries and art shows. Coach Majors holds a B.A. in Fine Art and a Minor in Business Administration from Graceland University, graduating in 1997.
