Alex is a dedicated volleyball coach, player, and youth sports advocate. She firmly believes the game is not just a physical sport, but also an opportunity to strengthen a player’s mental game and positive attitude. Alex is passionate about setting achievable expectations for athletes to drive development, learning, and improve performance. She strives to provide her athletes with a path for success as individuals, so they can contribute to a stronger team.

This is Alex’s second year with NPJ (previously head coach of 15 Elite and assistant for 18 Elite), and her 11th year as a coach. She has a bachelor's degree in biology from Whittier College in Southern California and is currently pursuing nursing in pediatric oncology. Her favorite phrase is: “So what, now what?”.

Gwen started playing volleyball at 11 years old. Her skills were recognized through her 3 years of high school at Kent-Meridian. A varsity starter all throughout high school and MVP twice, Gwen also received NPSL 2nd Team her first year in 2003, and then NPSL 1st Team in ’04 and ’05. She played majority of her volleyball club years under Coach Kyle Densley (also NPJ coach) and also played for him at Green River Community in 2006, where they led an undefeated streak and took the West Region Championship. She received NWAAC Second Team that year. Then she made her comeback in 2012 and made NWAAC First Team and was awarded the West Region All-Star Player.

She has coached for about 18 years starting right out of high school along side with Coach Kyle and other clubs during her journey. Her coaching came to a halt in 2019, where she focused on her kids and family. Although there was gap from coaching, volleyball itself never left. She continued to play women’s volleyball competitively throughout the years and was cheered on by her 2 teen kids and loving military husband, who also is her personal trainer. Outside of volleyball, Gwen enjoys spending time with her family, and they all enjoy working out together and compete in game nights.

This is Gwen’s first year with NPJ and she is excited to share her knowledge and experience with the next generation. Her goals as a coach are to pinpoint her player’s skills and then work with them on precision and technique to advance those skills.