MEET THE 2005-2006 COACHING STAFF
Ron Anderson
Coach Anderson is in his 6th year as a Kirkwood Assistant. Last year the Kirkwood Eagles captured the NJCAA II National Championship. He has been avidly playing and coaching volleyball for many years. His playing experience includes playing USAV volleyball for 16 years. He has coached seven years at the high school level, most recently at Prairie High School in Cedar Rapids. In addition, he has coached club volleyball for seven years. During the spring 2000 club season, his Rapid Spikers 18-and-under team finished 2nd in the State at the Iowa Regional tournament. Coach Anderson continues to take an active role in the Rapid Spikers club program.
Rick Blackwell
Has coached volleyball since 1989. He was the head volleyball coach at Xavier High School, coached 6 years as the sophomore coach at Kennedy High School and was head sophomore/ass't varsity coach, spent several years as a middle school coach at Springville and Regis and a year as the junior varsity coach at Springville. Coach Blackwell has coached USAV for 15 years with Cemar, Club Cougar, Xplosion, and the Rapid Spikers. This is Coach Blackwell's 31st year of coaching. Recently, Coach Blackwell was selected for admission into the Kennedy High School Hall of Fame. There is a scholarship at Kennedy High School given to a member of the wrestling team called the Rick Blackwell Leadership Scholarship. Coach Blackwell's daughter, Raven was an outstanding athlete at Kennedy High School, participated with the Rapid Spikers her senior year and was awarded a full volleyball scholarship at Indian Hills Community College. Following a very successful season at IHCC, Raven transferred to UNI where she walked on to the soccer team and earned a scholarship. Coach Blackwell is not only a good source for how to play volleyball, but a great source for athletes and parents regarding the recruiting and college selection process. Coach Blackwell is the principal at Regis Middle School in Cedar Rapids.
Tim Burton
Will be posted soon!!
Travis Bulter
Coach Bulter is in his 2nd year with Rapid Spikers and is the assistant 17-2 coach. He works in the wireless industry as a purchasing manager and general manager for New Corp Jazz. He enjoys playing volleyball and the company of his dog, Kinnick and a cat, Nikoli. Travis brings a lot of spirit and enthusiasm to his coaching. His style will be a perfect match with Coach Brunow.
Von Kennedy
Von played competitively at USVBA 's (now USAV) "AA" and "A" level with local club teams for 10 years before retiring at age 30 to raise a family. Von has coached high school and club teams for the last 8 years including Marion Magic teams (U15-U17) for three years prior to joining Rapid Spikers 2 years ago and coaching our U17-1 and U14-1 teams respectively. Von has 5 children ages 10 to 18. Currently, two of his daughters (Makenzie & Madeline) play on Rapid Spikers teams.
Click here to meet the rest of coaches! (Coach with the last names M-Z)
