Kelly Mills launched her volleyball career at the age of 12 as a captain for her team at Great Bridge Junior High School. At 14, as a freshman, she earned a starting position as an outside hitter on the Great Bridge High School Varsity squad. In 1983 and 1984, as a team captain, Kelly led her team to two District championships. She was a three-sport standout in volleyball, basketball and softball. As a member of the National Honor Society and many service clubs, in 1985, Kelly became the only athlete who had ever graduated from Great Bridge High School with twelve (12) varsity letters. In 1989, Kelly Mills was named high school volleyball player of the decade by the Chesapeake high school coaches.

After high school, Kelly continued to demonstrate her athleticism by playing three sports (volleyball, basketball and softball) at Lenoir-Rhyne College in Hickory NC. Majoring in Pre-Engineering, as a freshman at Lenoir-Rhyne, Kelly earned a starting position as a middle blocker on the varsity squad. As a captain in her third year, Kelly was named to the All Carolina’s Conference and District 26 Tournament teams as she led her volleyball team to the NAIA National Championship tournament.

When coaching, Kelly draws from her many years of playing experience to teach girls the importance of confidence and control. She believes the athlete with a great work ethic, a positive attitude, a sense of team alliance, and a bit of athleticism will always be prevail. Kelly strives to teach her athletes to learn every position on the court to develop competent all-around players.

In 2008, Kelly coached the TVA 12-1 Shocking Shockwave. The team compiled a very impressive record with several regional tournament wins and brought home the championship trophy from the Capitol Hill Classic in Washington, D.C. Furthermore, they were the first 12&Unders girls’ team to represent the Old Dominion Region at the USA Junior Olympic Girls' Volleyball Championships.

Kelly has been working in the land development field since graduating from Lenoir-Rhyne College and Old Dominion University with two undergraduate degrees. Kelly is currently employed by the City of Chesapeake as a Civil Engineer. She is a member of the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA). Kelly is the Head Coach for the Girls Volleyball team at Salem High School in Virginia Beach. This will be her third year coaching 12 & Unders with TVA.

Bryon Eayrs started playing volleyball after he joined the U.S. Navy at the age of 18. Immediately after he was posted to Naval Air Station Keflavik, Iceland, Eayrs started to play on the base NATO volleyball team that traveled throughout Iceland, playing numerous city teams. While playing on the NATO team as an outside hitter, he was recruited to play for a local city team upon completion of the NATO season. Eayrs was posted to Royal Air Force Base, St. Mawgan, UK, and was recruited to play for a local club team, the St. Austell Spikers.

An avid member of Tidewater Volleyball, Eayrs continues to play on numerous A level men’s and coed championship teams. After assisting with the TVA Middle School Preparedness League, the West Kempsville Red Aces 12U recreation team, he remains active with the Junior Program, which includes a successful Assistant coaching stint for the TVA 12U team last season. His love of the game, and desire to continually improve, will enable him to continue on his way - hopefully becoming a head coach in the near future. His experience will be a definite asset to the TVA juniors program.

Originally from Revelstoke, British Columbia, Katy Tyler moved to Virginia Beach with husband, Tim, in January 2007. While growing up in Canada, Katy played four years of high school varsity volleyball, trying every position along the way. She earned team captain honors her junior and senior years while also working as an assistant coach for the Boys Middle School program.

A year-round athlete, Katy also had great success as 4-year ranked provincial thrower in four track and field events: Shotput, Hammer, Javelin and Discus. She also found time to coach while earning All-State honors on the Varsity Throwing Team. After High School, Katy joined the Navy and served on the USS Fletcher (DD-992) out of Pearl Harbor. While assigned to the Fletcher, she spent her free time playing for the ship's volleyball and softball teams, actively competing as the only woman on either team.

Katy plays Women's 4's, Women's Open, and Coed A for TVA. Her enthusiasm, natural coaching abilities and willingness to learn have captured the attention of the TVA Coaching Staff. TVA expects Katy to continue developing her coaching abilities under the guidance of our veteran coaches.

Amy Ackerman begins her second year as a juniors coach with TVA. Ackerman graduated from Great Bridge High School, where her senior squad finished fourth in State playoffs as well asplaying for Great Bridge’s three-time state champion softball team.

After high school, Ackerman played volleyball and softball at the University of Mary Washington and later transferred to Old Dominion University to pursue a Bachelors degree in Recreation and Tourism Studies Management. Ackerman graduated summa cum laude in 2004 and continued to graduate with a Masters degree in 2006.

Ackerman quickly moved from a volunteer assistant at her alma mater, Great Bridge High, to the Junior Varsity Women’s Volleyball Team in 2004. Ackerman earned a national coaches certification from the American Sport Education Program taught by VHSL. For the past two years Ackerman has been continued playing in TVA leagues as well as coaching within TVA’s youth clinics. She also coaches for YMCA’s youth clinics and softball at Great Bridge.

Ackerman is currently employed with Elite Food Company as a Sales and Market Analyst – a sales, marketing, and distribution company that supplies perishable products to commissaries and exchanges.

Gina Bissmeyer (Technical Coach)