Readling Rejoins Elon Volleyball as Assistant Coach

ELON, N.C. – Elon head volleyball coach Mary Tendler has announced the hire of Tina Readling as assistant volleyball coach. Readling rejoins the Phoenix after serving as a volunteer assistant at Duke University during the 2011 season. She was a volunteer assistant with the Elon program in 2010 when the team won the SoCon North Division championship.

“First, I praise the Lord for allowing me this opportunity, and I am immensely grateful to Coach Tendler, Dave Blank and the Elon athletic administration for this chance to return to Phoenix athletics,” said Readling. “I eagerly anticipate working with and learning from Coach Tendler, Coach Fry and the other volleyball support staff, as we all have different strengths and personalities to the blend into the program. Based on my previous experience with this group of athletes, I am confident that the team will have a renewed focus through the spring and fall as they continue to work toward building Elon volleyball into a perennial conference championship contender.”

While at Duke under head coach Jolene Nagel, Readling helped coach the team to third in the Atlantic Coast Conference and an NCAA tournament appearance. Readling assisted with scouting opponents, edited match video and worked primarily with the defense and passers. She coached the ACC Defensive Player of the Year in Ali McCurdy and three all-ACC players.

“It will be nice to have Tina back on staff,” said Tendler. “She brings to the program a variety of experience, an endless amount of energy and a willingness to do any task assigned to her. She also knows our players and program really well. The transition will be smooth as we move forward into our off-season training segment.”

Readling spent the 2010 season as a volunteer assistant at Elon when the program went 21-14 and 11-5 in SoCon play, winning its first conference division championship. She edited scouting video and assisted in practices, while also coordinating the team’s alumni weekend, Dig Pink match and senior night events.

Prior to her first role with the Phoenix, she worked as an assistant coach and lead clinician at Carolina Region High Performance. Readling assisted the Carolina Region High Performance Youth Team, which represented the Carolina region in Tucson, Ariz., at the 2011 National High Performance Championships.

Readling has worked as a club coach for the last seven years at Piedmont and Alamance Force Volleyball Clubs, personally helping 22 players move on to play at varying levels of collegiate volleyball. While at Alamance Force from 2005-08, she coached the 17s and 18s teams and served as the assistant club director the last to years. Readling moved to Piedmont Volleyball Club in 2008 where she worked under director Blaine Tendler, the 2010 USAV National Junior Clinician of the Year. She worked with multiple age groups, including serving as the lead coach for the 14s during the 2011 club season.

For the past four years, Readling has been the assistant volleyball director at the Greensboro Sportsplex, one of the largest multisport facilities in the Southeast. In this role, she assisted with the operations of Sportsplex Volleyball Club and the youth development programs. Readling also directed all adult volleyball programming including Greensboro Grass Volleyball tournaments.

Before working at the Sportsplex, Readling taught English and coached at Alamance Christian School in Graham, N.C., for 10 years. She graduated from Bryan College with a bachelor’s degree in English education in 1999. Readling was named the Female Athlete of the Year at Bryan following her senior season with the volleyball team.

The former Tina Johnson, Readling and her husband, Josh, have been married for 10 years and reside in Whitsett, N.C.