Born and Raised in Imperial, MO, Ahna played softball for 8 years as a pitcher and first baseman. One of the hardest decisions she ever made was driving by those softball fields on that first day of high school tryouts. She went to the volleyball gym instead and said it was the best decision she ever made. “Volleyball is the best sport. And the passion I have for the game shows in the way I coach,” Ahna says.
She played on the varsity at Seckman High School for three years (JV freshman year). After high school she went on to play at Central Methodist University. Ahna has played middle, right side and outside. Ahna has coached for 9 years, including the freshman boys and girls teams at Seckman and this will be her 8th year with Team Momentum. Currently Ahna is a Volleyball Coach at Seckman.
Currently working as a TA in Earl Early Childhood, Ahna one day plans to teach physically impaired children just like the amazing children she works with now.
Coaching Philosophy: “Your team is your family. They are the one’s who will be picking you up during the game and when you are feeling down on yourself. You must play with as much intensity, energy, and love for the game as you feel for the game or you won’t have a successful outcome. I love this sport and I hope to pass on a little bit of my passion for it on to my players.”
Contact Information: littlebaechle@gmail.com
Alex grew up in Wildwood, MO, and went to Lafayette High School. Alex describes himself:
“I played baseball for 8 years before ultimately switching to volleyball. I instantly fell in love with the game and the fast-paced action. After my first season, I joined the Missouri Thunder club team. I’ve played numerous positions including middle, right side, and setter. After high school, I went onto Mizzou and received my bachelors of elementary education. I decided I wanted to start coaching after college and this is now 7th year as a coach for Team Momentum. Alex is also coaching at Fox High School. Teaching has helped me to better motivate and get the most out of the players on our team. I am the youngest of three with an older brother and an older sister. I love watching the Cardinals, Blues, and NFL football.”
Alex’s Coaching Philosophy: “In order to help players grow you must start by building a strong relationship.”
Contact Information: alexmk1016@yahoo.com
Caitlin grew up in St. Louis where she attended and played volleyball at the Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School (MICDS). Caitlin played right side and outside while in high school and collected many team, district and conference accolades. She played club volleyball for nine years; six of those years with Team Momentum. Caitlin continued her academic and volleyball career at Lawrence University; she was a six rotation outside and had the opportunity to be team captain her junior and senior seasons. After graduation in 2021 she moved to Philadelphia, PA to begin her career at Boeing. Caitlin is moving back to St. Louis in July and currently works as a financial analyst.
Contact Information: caitlin.w.chambers14@gmail.com
Wendy grew up in Indianapolis, IN where she was a standout volleyball and basketball player. She attended Miami University where she had the opportunity to continue playing volleyball on a full athletic scholarship. While at Miami she won two Mid-American Conference championships and played in the first ever NCAA women’s volleyball tournament. Wendy coached in the Gateway region for many years until she decided to take a step back and embrace her new role as a volleyball mom. Wendy is an advocate for women’s sports and serves on the Athletic Director’s board at Miami. This past year marked the 50th anniversary of Title IX; Wendy was asked to give a presentation to all of the current female student athletes at Miami on the importance of Title IX and the impact it had on her life. Professionally Wendy currently works at Edward Jones where she is a Director in Digital. She and her husband Craig have been married for 27 years.
Contact Information: wwchambers14@gmail.com
Heather is the Club Director of Team Momentum and one of the area’s top coaches and athletic trainers. Entering her 19th year coaching club and her 17th year with PlyoCity, she has trained thousands of athletes. Many of the athletes she trained have achieved significant successes in their sport, including earning awards in high school and awards and scholarships at the collegiate level.
Most recently, in 2016 her 13s won the Northern Lights Qualifier and earned a bid to play in the American Division at Nationals.
Heather is an accomplished athlete in her own right. As captain all four years at Tennessee Martin she lead the team won two conference titles in the OVC. Heather attended Westminster Christian Academy and was an All-State swimmer and volleyball player.
As varsity coach for Westminster Christian Academy, Heather led her 2007 team to the finals of the Missouri State High School Championship and won a state championship in 2012.
Her responsibilities as General Manager of PlyoCity include overseeing a staff of coaches and trainers to provide speed and agility training for many elite teams and players in St. Louis and around the country. Heather has personally trained Saint Louis University’s conference championship women’s volleyball team, University of Alabama’s women’s volleyball team and other top club and high school teams in the St. Louis area.
Contact Information: heatherkea@yahoo.com
Joe is originally from Charleston, South Carolina. His first experiences with coaching started in basketball, baseball and soccer at the YMCA, where he was the assistant athletic director. He had two championship appearances through baseball and basketball.
This will be Joe’s 9th year with Team Momentum. He has coached the 11s, 13s, 14s and 17s age divisions. His Momentum teams have made two national appearances, including a 3rd place finish at nationals. In 2016, his 13s finished 13th at the national division in Indianapolis and won the Northern Lights Qualifier. That qualifier earned his 13s a bid to play in the American Division at Nationals.
Joe has extensive personal training experience, including at Gold’s Gym and PlyoCity. He is an artist full time, certified EMT and Paramedic. In his spare time, he enjoys riding motorcycles, lifting weights, playing golf and hang with his French bulldogs.
Coaching Philosophy: “The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary. I use coaching volleyball to educate young people to have a better understanding of commitment and trust through relationships. I have been blessed to work with young athletes who gain a better understanding of themselves and one another. “
Contact Information: joecumbee@hotmail.com
Rachel grew up in Saint Charles, MO where she attended Francis Howell Central High school. She played on the Varsity Volleyball Team for all 4 years as a Libero/DS and by senior year she had set two records for the FHC Volleyball team. Rachel has played club volleyball since the age of 11 and the majority of her club career was at Team Momentum.
After high school, Rachel went to the University of Missouri - Kansas City and continued her volleyball career there as a DS while studying to earn her PharmD degree. She returned to Saint Louis in 2021 and began her next chapter in the sport as a coach for Team Momentum U11’s while in Nursing School at UMSL and working as a tutor for children with learning disabilities.
Rachel's Coaching Philosophy: “I coach based on the current team’s unique composition and environment. This is the only way to maximize its potential. I work to maximize ability and push each player to be their best and help them realize success follows effort and hard work”
Contact Information: rmezdm@umsystem.edu
Kirsten is from St. Charles, MO, and has played volleyball since she was 8 years old. She started with CYC then moved to club when she was 9 and finished all the way to 18.
Kirsten has been in the Team Momentum family for her U13-U18 career where she won, and placed second in a National Qualifier. She played high school ball at Francis Howell Central, and had the opportunity to experience State her junior year with her team. Kirsten decided to not continue playing collegiately because she wanted to focus on her future career.
She is currently attending St. Charles Community College on academic scholarship, and she is planning to transfer to UMSL after her two years.
This will be Kirsten’s first year coaching and she could not be more excited to help the girls grow not only into a better player, but a better person.
Contact Information: kirlynn@gmail.com
Sydney, from St. Louis, MO, went to Parkway West High School. She played four years as an outside hitter/right side hitter for the Longhorns. She also played on the basketball team at Parkway West. While at Parkway West, Sydney was named the All-Conference team three times. She also was a two-time All-District pick and an All-Region player as a senior. She was named a team captain in her final season. During her sophomore year, she helped her team reach the state tournament. Sydney played club volleyball for Team Saint Louis and Rockwood Thunder VBC. After high school, Reale went on to play volleyball at Lindenwood University as a pin hitter.
Sydney has been coaching club volleyball for the past 15 years. This year will be her 13th year coaching for Team Momentum. Sydney has had much success coaching here at Momentum with multiple trips to the National tournament. Sydney is currently a Master Coach for the high school age groups with Team Momentum as well as the lead for our college recruitment process.
Sydney has worked various camps and clinics around the St. Louis area, including PlyoCity, All American Volleyball, Washington University, Lindenwood and Parkway West Little Longhorn volleyball camps. She has worked with hundreds of young volleyball players around the area training and developing them.
Sydney’s passion for the game is contagious. She is very competitive and strives for success. One of her biggest strengths as a coach is her ability to strategize, see the court and find a way to win.
Atley is a graduate of Lindenwood University with a degree in Business marketing and an emphasis in Event Planning.
Contact Information: sydreale@yahoo.com
Emily is from Saint Peters, MO and went to Francis Howell Central as an outside hitter and libero. Emily played club from 12s to 18s for various clubs in the Saint Louis area and intramurals at MO State.
Emily’s coaching career starting at the Show me games in Columbia, MO when her team won 1st place 5 years in a row. Emily was also the head coach for the freshman girls team to Lutheran High School North and finished with the best record in the school’s program history.
Emily coached two years for Rockwood, two years for Stars, one year for H2 and is so excited to start her 3rd season with the Momentum Club!
Contact Info: emich093@gmail.com
Payton was raised in Festus, Missouri. She grew up playing a lot of different sports such as soccer and gymnastics, however was the first in the family to take on volleyball. She started in the 3rd grade and played club volleyball for 7 years. She stayed at H2 South for a while but realized her 16s year that she wanted to get competitive. She moved on to play for High Performance her last two years.
Payton attended Jefferson R-7 where she played volleyball all 4 years as a middle and pin hitter.
After high school she signed to play college volleyball at Morningside University where she played a season there. Then transferred to Fontbonne University where she is now. At Fontbonne University she is planning on getting her degree in Psychology.
This is Payton’s first year in coaching and hopes to share her knowledge with other players. This will be Paytons second year with Team Moemtnum
Contact Information: payton.siebert@gmail.com
Emma was raised in Florissant, MO. She attended Incarnate Word Academy, where she was a Setter for four years for the Red Knights! She served as a team captain her senior year.
Emma started playing volleyball when she was 10 years old. She played her first club season at Team Momentum when she was on 11 Navy. She stayed with Team Momentum all the way through her 18s season.
Emma graduated from Missouri State University, where she was President of the club volleyball program for 2 years and Vice President for 1 year. While on the club team, Emma won MVP of the Midwest Plains Volleyball Conference as a freshman.
After spending 8 seasons at Team Momentum as a player, Emma is excited to be back in the gym as a coach!
Contact Information: emmadunn0711@gmail.com
Sam was born and raised in Chesterfield, MO. He attended Parkway Central High School, where he started as a 6-rotation Outside. Sam held a crucial role in leading the Colts to 2 state championship titles his junior and senior year. His senior year he won post season MVP.
Sam also played 4 years of club volleyball for High Performance.
Sam then continued his volleyball career at Missouri State University on the men’s club volleyball team. He served as Vice President his junior and senior year.
Contact Information: sampannett@gmail.com
This is Catie’s 11th year coaching in the St. Louis area and her 4th year at Team Momentum. Born and raised in St. Louis, Catie attended Bishop DuBourg High School where she played 4 years varsity, was the captain, and earned several athletic and academic awards.
Catie signed with Missouri Baptist University where she played 4 years of collegiate volleyball, earned athletic and academic awards and graduated with her Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science. Catie continued her education and coaching career at Missouri Baptist University where she earned her Master of Science in Fitness Management and was the Graduate Assistant for the Women’s Volleyball team.
After completing her internship at a sports facility in December 2018, Catie landed a job with the City of Town and Country as the Facilities Supervisor for the Parks and Recreation Department in January 2019. As the Facilities Supervisory, Catie completes administrative duties as well as event management, including pre and post activities.
Catie’s Favorite Quote: “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.”
Contact Info: catieward9@gmail.com
This is Linda’s 4th year coaching with Team Momentum. Linda has a wide variety of experience with the game of volleyball. She played at the collegiate level as a setter in the 90s. Her coaching experience started right out of college as she coached at the high school varsity level for 5 years. She coached at the club level in St Charles for 5 years. After stepping out of coaching to watch her own kids continue the love for the game, she is now ready to get back to something she loves and is very passionate about.
Contact Information: llsteinmeyer@yahoo.com
Born and Raised in Imperial, MO, Ahna played softball for 8 years as a pitcher and first baseman. One of the hardest decisions she ever made was driving by those softball fields on that first day of high school tryouts. She went to the volleyball gym instead and said it was the best decision she ever made. “Volleyball is the best sport. And the passion I have for the game shows in the way I coach,” Ahna says.
She played on the varsity at Seckman High School for three years (JV freshman year). After high school she went on to play at Central Methodist University. Ahna has played middle, right side and outside. Ahna has coached for 9 years, including the freshman boys and girls teams at Seckman and this will be her 8th year with Team Momentum. Currently Ahna is a Volleyball Coach at Seckman.
Currently working as a TA in Earl Early Childhood, Ahna one day plans to teach physically impaired children just like the amazing children she works with now.
Coaching Philosophy: “Your team is your family. They are the one’s who will be picking you up during the game and when you are feeling down on yourself. You must play with as much intensity, energy, and love for the game as you feel for the game or you won’t have a successful outcome. I love this sport and I hope to pass on a little bit of my passion for it on to my players.”
Contact Information: littlebeachle@gmail.com
Roman was born in the Ukraine and moved to the United States at the age of 4 and raised in St. Louis MO. He is the third child with 5 siblings, two older sisters and one younger, two younger brothers.
Romans volleyball philosophy is that it is forever evolving. As a player he learned a vital aspect to success. Once the jersey goes on, the individual ceases to exist and the team is everything. Balaban believes that even though the skills and leadership levels vary, each player serves a role that is unique and vital to the success as a whole. As a coach, it is our job to unlock and nurture the potential in each player. Helping them find their role and purpose on the team which will lead to success on and off the court.
Throughout elementary and middle school, Roman played baseball, basketball, and soccer. Freshman and sophomore year he played volleyball and soccer at Eureka High School. Junior and Senior Year he played varsity volleyball and soccer at Parkway Central. In 2007 his varsity volleyball team lost to the eventual state champions, St. Mary’s, in the State Semi-Finals. Roman still plays sand and court volleyball and golfs often.
After graduating from Parkway Central he coached both the boys and girls at all levels. Balabans teams found success with three boy’s state championships in 2014, 2017, and 2018. This will be Romans 8th season with Team Momentum coaching multiple ages ranging from 11U-17U. Roman also is a Master Coach with Team Momentum and PlyoCity.
Contact Information: rom54321@gmail.com
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