New Jersey City University Athletics

Action Photo Gallery

Last Updated: January 8, 2013

 
Prominent Richmond-area club coach F. Ray Vance, was named the first full-time head men’s and women’s volleyball coach in the history of New Jersey City University in July, 2012 after a national search.
 
Vance is the 13^th women’s coach in the 30-year history of the program and the 11^th men’s coach in the 24 seasons the sport has been sponsored. The combined position, elevated from part-time status, gives NJCU full-time coaches in six of its 12 athletic programs.
 
Vance’s most extensive experience is as a prominent club volleyball coach with the Richmond Volleyball Club (RVC) from 2009-12. In 2011-12, he was head coach of RVC’s 15’s National Team, which won six tournaments. From 2010-11 he guided the RVC 16’s Zonal Team, winning four tournaments, and coached the RVC 15’s Zonal Team in 2009-10. RVC received a Most Improved Team award in 2011.
 
“I’m really excited about the opportunity,” said Vance. “We have a great bunch of kids here at NJCU. I really like the challenge of coaching men and women with the varying styles. The men’s team has a lot of success recently so I’m hoping to build on that. With the women we’re looking to establish a strong foundation and build on that because they’ve struggled in recent years.
 
Discussing his coaching philosophy, Vance added: “We are going to be a ball control oriented team. It’s going to be relentless pursuit and playing smart volleyball. We are going to make less mistakes than the other team, we’re not going to beat ourselves. You have to be better than us to beat us.”
 
“Coach Vance comes to NJCU with over a decade’s experience on the Division I and club levels, and possesses a solid recruiting background,” said Director of Athletics Alice De Fazio at the time of his hiring. “The elevation of the men’s and women’s volleyball coaching position to full-time status is a very positive enhancement, and I anticipate continued growth for both programs.”
 
Vance recently served as an assistant boy’s coach at Douglas Freeman High School in Richmond, Va. from 2010-11. The Rebels finished fourth in the state each season and won the 2011 AAA Colonial District tournament.
 
His previous collegiate position was as an assistant women’s volleyball coach at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond for three seasons (2001-03). The Rams won the Howard University Invitational during his time at VCU.
 
“I’m hoping each of our teams will make major steps forward this year,” Vance continued. “We’ve got a good group of returning players who got significant time last year on the court on the girl’s side as well as on the men’s side. With the girls, they won seven matches the last three years so I want to get us up over that and into double figures and hopefully over .500 within the next year or two. On the men’s side, I feel like we can compete for a Skyline Conference [championship] right now with what we have and what we have coming in.”
 
Vance began his coaching career at Frederick Community College as an assistant coach from 1993-98. The Cougars were nationally ranked twice during his tenure and ranked among the top three schools in the region in four of the five seasons.
 
In 2008-09, Vance was head coach of the VEER Volleyball Club 18’s squad and coached the 17’s in 2007-08. He began his career with the RVC club from 2002-03, coaching the 15’s national team that lost in the silver bracket at the national tournament after winning the boy’s east coast championship. The squad won the silver bracket in the 16’s age group at the Rochester Can-Am Bid Tournament. In all, the team won approximately 10 tournaments that season.
 
Vance also worked as the assistant coach for the 2001-02 and 2002-03 RVC 18’s national team; the 2002 club finished fifth in the national tournament.
 
Previous club coaching stops include the Frederick Juniors Volleyball Club (FJVC) in Maryland from 1995-98 as the girl’s head coach for 14’s, 16’s and 18’s. He also coached at camps at American University, VCU, and Frederick Community College and worked with the Gold Medalist Pat Powers Clinic Series.
 
Vance began his collegiate playing career at SUNY New Paltz, playing setter for the Hawks during the 1998-99 season for Coach Tony Bonilla. New Paltz went 19-13 and advanced to the EIVA Division III Final Four—the only team in that school’s history, dating to 1970, to be among the top four teams in the east. He received New Paltz’ Coaches Award and Most Improved Award for the 1999 season.
 
He originally began his academic collegiate studies at Frederick Community College before attending New Paltz. After one year in New York state, he returned to Virginia and studied at Virginia Commonwealth from 2001-06. He completed his Bachelor of Science in Organizational Management from Ashford University in January 2011.
 
A 1992 graduate of Frederick High School in Frederick, Maryland, the school did not offer boys volleyball. He competed in four seasons of varsity indoor and outdoor track and field from 1989-92 for former Olympian Debbie Brown. He also ran three years of cross country for Coach Tony Driblebees. In 1992, Vance earned All-Region honors as part of the Cadets’ 4x800 indoor relay team that finished 12^th in the state meet. His 4x800-relay team won back-to-back Frederick County championships in 1991 and 1992. In 1990 he was awarded his school’s Most Improved honor for outdoor track and received the Coaches Award for indoor track and cross country in 1990, 1991, and 1992.
 
Vance, 38, was born in Portsmouth, Va. and is a previous resident of Henrico, Va. He currently resides in West Orange, NJ. He and his wife, Nicole, are parents on a four-year-old son, Conner, and are expecting their first daughter in February.