MEET OUR STAFF
Tolis Koskinaris
Owner
Coach Tolis Koskinaris is the Owner and Head Coach of Cyclones Volleyball.
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Coach Tolis is the Head Coach for the 2022 National Champion Women’s Volleyball Team at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn. He also serves as the Head Coach of the newly formed Men’s Volleyball team at the College of DuPage. He previously served as an assistant volleyball coach under Coach LuAnn Zimmick at COD. That program won two National Championships
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For many years Coach Tolis has served as the head coach of the Boys’ Varsity Volleyball team at West Aurora High School where he will soon be taking on an exciting new role for the entire volleyball program.
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As a player, Coach Tolis helped establish the boys’ volleyball program at Waubonsie Valley High School where he played on the inaugural team under Coach Al Lagger. He also played on the mens’ club volleyball team at the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign.
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After serving for several years as a member of the Board of Directors for the USA Volleyball Great Lakes Region, Tolis is currently serving as Chairman of the Board.
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Tolis works for USA High Performance, serving as a lead-evaluator during tryouts and as a pipeline coach throughout the summer. He previously assumed the role of boys' program coordinator at Saints Peter & Paul Middle School in Naperville.
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The only things that surpasses Coach Tolis’ love of volleyball, and the joy he takes in introducing to the game and helping develop young players, is his love of his family.
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Lastly, Tolis credentials include USA Impact, CAP 1, CAP 2, and ASEP certifications
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Francsico Martinez
Francisco Martinez has been with Cyclones Volleyball since 2014. He is a coach in both the girls' and boys' programs and has worked with all levels. Outside of Cyclones, Francisco has been the Oswego Boys Volleyball Varsity coach since 2019 and an assistant coach/technical coordinator for the College of DuPage Women's Volleyball Team since 2015. As of 2021, Franky has taken over as the Head Varsity Coach at Rosary. In addition, he served the role of a volunteer assistant coach at St. Joseph in Aurora from 2014-2017. Lastly, Francisco was a player from 2008-2011 at West Aurora High School.
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Francisco preaches hard work and dedication to the sport and to the club. Francisco's enthusiasm at practice is noted by many, often being heard throughout the gym, motivating players to work hard and have fun.
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Francisco is USA CAP 1, IMPACT and SafeSport Certified.
Miguel Magana
Bio coming soon...
Eddie Martinez
Bio coming soon...
Grant Marlowe
Grant Marlowe is in his fifth year coaching at Cyclones Volleyball. Currently, he serves as the boys program director and on the girls side, coaches in the youth program at all levels. Grant is also one of the lead trainers in our Summer Beach Program. Grant is an integral piece of Cyclones Volleyball, serving as both a technical adviser to practice plan theory and planner for individual player development. Grant has a track record of identifying top level athletes at a young age.
As a player from 2000 - 2004, Grant Marlowe played at West Aurora High School, leading to a college career at Ohio State and then Lakeland College. Grant still plays at a high level in Summer Beach Tournaments and indoor USAV men's competitions.
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Grant is IMPACT, ASEP, and SafeSport Certified.
Aleesha Carlson
Aleesha Carlson started coaching with Cyclones in 2016. She has coached a variety of youth levels from 12u-14u, and is currently serving as the 14 Black coach at Aurora. As a 14u coach, the goal is to prepare athletes for the high school level, so that they can make and be successful on their teams.
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In high school, Aleesha was a starting outside/middle as a sophomore and captain of both my school and club teams as a senior. She started club at Cyclones her Junior year and loved every second. In addition to coaching at Cyclones, she is the head varsity coach at her alma mater, Somonauk High School. She loves being back as a coach at both of the places she learned to love the game. Outside of volleyball, Aleesha is a special education teacher at Boulder Hill Elementary School in Oswego SD308. She is passionate about helping young people grow into successful adults in all areas of life.
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Aleesha is both IMPACT and SafeSport certified.
Allison Klein
Allison brings a great combination of player and coaching experience to Cyclones. She has been a member of the Cyclones family for the past 6 years. She played for Cyclones as a 15u, 16u and 17u player and then transitioned to coaching. She has coached a variety of levels including 12u and 16u her first year; 14u her second year; and she is currently coaching 17u.
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She started playing volleyball in middle school and continued her passion for the sport through her high school years. She started as a setter and then began playing libero/defensive specialist throughout high school. After her senior year, she made the tough decision to hang up her playing shoes and began a coaching career with Cyclones. She has always loved the game and is honored to now help others fall in love with the sport. Her ultimate goal is for her players to get to the next level and continue their passion for the sport for as long as possible.
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Outside of volleyball, she has worked for the Oswegoland Park District for five years where she worked with their athletics department and is currently a leader in their before/after school children’s program and their summer camp program. She is currently a junior at North Central College where she is majoring in elementary education and minoring in psychology. She hopes to be a third grade teacher near the Oswego School District after graduation.
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Allison believes the combination of hard work, competitive spirit while also having fun allows players to thrive in practice, in games and will also benefit them later in life.
Kelly Townsend
I have been coaching at Cyclones Volleyball Club for five years, and the past two years I have been at Cyclones East. I was a player for Cyclones 13u through 18u, played three years of varsity volleyball at West Aurora High School, and continued my playing career at Elmhurst College as a setter. I have coached ages 5-14 throughout the years, and have been trained by many of the great coaches at the club. I was a captain and named to the All-Conference team my senior year of high school, am a recipient of the Green Heart Award for Cyclones, and have lead my college team in categories such as assists and aces the past two years. I have always been dedicated to the sport of volleyball and I love sharing my passion for the game through coaching. Being with Cyclones for almost ten years has made me into the player and coach I am today. Outside of volleyball, I attend Elmhurst College as a biology major and intend to go into ecological research.
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I am IMPACT and SafeSport certified.
GLEN ellyn
Kym McKay
Coach Kym McKay returned to the tri-city area in 2012. An alum of Batavia High School, Kym was a 2 sport athlete (volleyball and softball) for the Bulldogs. She earned 8 varsity letters and was honored as the school's Female Athlete of the Year as a senior.
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Kym continued her volleyball career at the University of St. Francis in Joliet, IL, but her career was cut short by several knee injuries. Though disappointed that her collegiate career never came to fruition, it was due to the injury that she was exposed to the coaching side of the sport she loved. Her college coach, Rich Luenemann, gave her a clipboard and it was the beginning of a wonderful mentorship that would mold Kym's future.
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Throughout their collegiate tenures (Kym at Western Illinois University and Rich at Washington University-St. Louis), they shared coaching experiences, ideas, and antidotes. Kym learned extensively from Rich who retired in 2012 as a 3 time NCAA Division III National Coach of the Year and National Champion who ranks 6th all time in collegiate career coaching wins. He taught Kym many aspects of the game of volleyball, but most significantly, he ingrained the importance of relationships while coaching. This formed one of the core elements of Kym's coaching philosophy.
Braden Woods
Previously coaching with Downers Grove North’s girls program, this is my first year with Cyclones and I’m incredibly excited to be here! As a coach, I believe that by focusing on energy, positivity, and competition you create an environment where hard work naturally follows. Furthermore, I believe that for any team to be successful, it is key to balance optimizing individual talent with building team chemistry.
I grew up in Downers Grove, playing for Elite Force Volleyball Club and Downers Grove North High School from 2007-2011. I began my volleyball career as a setter and, after a timely growth spurt, transitioned into being an outside/right side hitter . After High School I was able to continue my volleyball career playing for Lakeland University, where I was fortunate enough to be a member of a Conference Championship Team.
Outside of Cyclones, I work in marketing, sail competitively, and compete in both beach and indoor tournaments.
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I am SafeSport and IMPACT Certified.
Katie Valentino
Volleyball is a passion of mine that I love to spread. It has been a big part of my life for the past 23 years and for 16 of those years I have been coaching, assisting, training, and officiating volleyball teams as well as, co-directing, and directing volleyball clubs. I have coached girls ages 9-22 in a variety of settings and have had a chance to watch, listen and work with some amazing mentors and coaches in the volleyball world. I am excited this year to be a part of Cyclones Volleyball Club and working with old friends.
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Outside of the volleyball world, I am a Teacher, Wife, Mom, Daughter, and Sister. I have been a Special Education Teacher at Wheaton Warrenville South High School for the past 13 years, and have taught elementary summer school for 8 years. My husband Joe and I are happily married and we are so lucky to have a wonderful daughter Addison who is almost 5 and son Steven who is 2.5 years old.
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Every year I encourage all of the girls and parents to come up and introduce yourselves to me and to communicate with me as much as needed if you have any questions or concerns. I am a very competitive person but like to maintain a positive and motivating atmosphere with my teams and parents. I believe being upfront, honest, approachable and consistent are key components when coaching to help nurture growth and love for the sport. Communication is very important and promoting this skill along with advocacy and camaraderie are keys to success when playing a team sport. Looking forward to spreading my passion for volleyball at Cyclones!!