18 Navy

This is Catie’s 9th year coaching in the St. Louis area and her 3rd 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: 314-494-3456/ catieward9@gmail.com

Zach is from O’Fallon, and went to Ft. Zumwalt West. He  played all four years for the Jaguars while at Zumwalt West. Rule built  an admiration for the sport of volleyball and continued to play for the  Missouri Thunder Volleyball Club during high school. After high school,  he attended the University of Missouri, where he received his Bachelor  of Science in Education. While attending Mizzou Zach played three years  for the Mizzou Men’s Club Volleyball program. Over the course of his  playing career, Zach has played a variety of positions but specialized  as a Setter/Libero. Rule has learned a lot about the sport and how it  can change from year to year and strives to be a continuous learner of  the game. Zach is currently in his fourth year of teaching at Parkway  West Middle School as a 7th grade science teacher and has coached for a  year for the Parkway West Longhorns and a two years for Team Momentum.

Contact Information: (636)-233-7334 / zachsrule@gmail.com

This is Linda’s 2nd 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: (314) 713-2039/ llsteinmeyer@yahoo.com

 John (JP), from St. Louis, MO, played at Westminster Christian Academy during high school and moved into a coaching role from 2005-2011 and 2017 where he coached the Wildcats freshmen and JV girls’ teams, as well as the JV and varsity boys’ teams. He has also coached at Incarnate Word Academy, Francis Howell and Parkway North.

John has coached for Team Momentum from 2006-2009 and 2012-present. He has coached for St. Louis Elite and Rockwood Thunder as well.  He has had a lot of success with his teams as has finished 1st and 3rd twice at the bid event and 3rd at regionals to qualify for Nationals and taken six teams in total to nationals. His 13 Navy team qualified for the Girls’ Junior National Championships at the KC Qualifier in 2014, his 14 Navy team qualified for the GJNC at the Atlanta Qualifier in 2016 and his 13 Navy team qualified for Nationals at the JVA World Challenge in 2019. John is going into his 16th year of coaching and training. He is a Master Coach at Team Momentum as well as a trainer for PlyoCity.

Contact Information: (314) 398-8187 / johnpowell3@gmail.com

Eva began her volleyball career in the St. Louis area playing for various clubs, including a season with Momentum in 2012. She was coached by JP for three consecutive years from U13 to U15. 

Eva played for Rockwood Mizuno from U16 to U18 where her team won a National Division championship in 2014 and placed 3rd the following year in Open Division. She graduated from Francis Howell Central in 2016 as a four-year varsity letterman - where she still holds the record for career digs. Eva was then recruited to continue her career at Missouri University of Science and Technology where she was a four-year starting Defensive Specialist. Eva will graduate from S&T in May of 2021 with a bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering. 

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.

Roman is the Varsity Head Coach at Parkway North High school.  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 7th season with Team Momentum coaching multiple ages ranging from 11U-17U.  Roman also is a Master Coach with Team Momentum and PlyoCity.

Contact Information: (314) 807-5447 / rom54321@gmail.com