Volunteer Assistant Dan Georgalas Lands Job at Stephen F. Austin
Jan. 17, 2012
LAWRENCE, Kan. – After five years with the Kansas volleyball program and six years in Lawrence, volunteer assistant coach Dan Georgalas accepted a full-time assistant coaching position with Stephen F. Austin, located in Nacogdoches, Texas, Tuesday morning.
A native of Chicago, Ill., Georgalas was the Jayhawks’ volunteer assistant coach during the 2011 season, helping Kansas to its third-straight winning record. Before being named to the KU coaching staff, Georgalas served as a team manager for four seasons, giving him five total years with the Kansas volleyball program. His last day with Kansas Athletics is Jan. 24.
“My time in Kansas has been a great experience,” Georgalas said. “I’ve learned so much and met a lot of people. I’m proud to have been a part of Kansas Athletics for this long, and now I’m excited to explore new opportunities and meet new challenges. Hopefully, I can help bring some of the success we had here to my next program.”
At SFA, Georgalas will enter his first year as a full-time assistant coach under the direction of head coach Debbie Humphreys, a 23-year coaching veteran. In addition to his coaching and daily operations duties, Georgalas will also teach kinesiology electives for the university. Both of which he will use experiences garnered during his time at Kansas, where he handled all travel arrangements, helped with video operations and was the director of the Jayhawk Juniors Volleyball Club.
“Dan provided a tremendous amount of service and time to our program in various roles,” Kansas head coach Ray Bechard said. “This is a very good opportunity for him in a well-established program with a coach who has been there many years. I think it will be a win-win situation for everybody involved. We hate to see him go, but that’s our mission here. When coaches come in here to be volunteers, we try to get them as much practical experience as possible to get them on to the next level.”
Although he did not start playing volleyball until his senior year of high school, Georgalas earned a starting position at middle hitter halfway through the season. His Buffalo Grove High School team finished fourth in the state, with Georgalas taking home the team’s most improved player award. He went on to to start for the KU men’s club volleyball team for two seasons and helped the Jayhawks qualify for the NIRSA National Tournament in Spring 2010.
Georgalas graduated from Kansas in December 2010 with a degree in sport management and a minor in business.
