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Lee Maes, a member of the California women's volleyball coaching staff since 1998, enters his seventh season with the Golden Bears. Maes was promoted to associate head coach after the 2003 season in which he was instrumental in Cal finishing 25-7 overall and advancing to the NCAA Tournament Round of 16 for the first time in school history.
"The promotion to associate head coach was well-earned for Lee," said Cal head coach Rich Feller. "I believe we have one of the best coaching staffs in the country and I wanted to do everything in my power to assure we remain intact as we continue to gain national prominence."
Maes had served as the Bears' head men's volleyball coach from 1997-00, and in his first season (1997-98) led Cal to the NCCVL Conference championship and a national runner-up finish at the NIRSA Collegiate Club National Championship in Austin, Texas. That season culminated in Maes being honored as Coach of the Year as he helped produce a pair of first team All-Americans and a second team All-American. Maes' men's team continued its tradition of success with three consecutive Top 5 national finishes from 1998-2000 as he amassed an overall record of 98-27.
For the past 10 years, Maes has accumulated extensive national and international experience with USA Volleyball. In May, he coached with the National "A2" Team, winning the gold medal at the 2004 US Open Championships in Atlanta, Georgia. He will return to continue coaching the USA National Team at the World University Games in the summer of 2005. In the summer of 1998, Maes was a coach with the USA Girls Youth National Team that won the gold medal at the NORCECA Zone Championship in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. In the summer of 1999, he again coached the USA Girls Youth National Team at the World Championship in Portugal. Maes has filled various roles with the USA national and junior high performance programs. The past four summers, he has led the girls' National High Performance team as head coach in training and competition.
Prior to arriving in Berkeley, Maes spent seven seasons coaching with the Ichiban Volleyball Club, winning five medals at the Junior Olympic National Championships, including capturing the national title in 1996. Two of his former club players, Misty May and Heather Bown, represented the United States at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. In 15 years as a junior club coach for both boys and girls, Maes has coached and trained over two dozen junior and high school All-Americans. Over 100 of his former club players have gone on to play at the collegiate level. Maes currently coaches with the Golden Bear Volleyball Club. Last summer, his Golden Bear 18-Forefront team earned the 18-Open bronze medal at the Junior Olympic Championships. Maes served as the girl's varsity head coach at Lakewood (Calif.) High School from 1989-97. He was also the boy's varsity coach at Edison High School in Huntington Beach for four seasons (1994-97).
A native of Long Beach, Maes graduated from Long Beach State in 1994 with a degree in broadcast journalism and geography. He is single and resides in Montclair.
