Spending the past year in Switzerland both playing professionally and coaching, Santa Clara volleyball is thrilled to welcome back Bronco alum Emily Burke '11 as an assistant coach. Playing in all but one set her senior year for the Broncos, Burke finished at SCU in the top 10 of career assists and assists average.
In her debut as an assistant coach with the Broncos, she helped lead SCU to its 14th NCAA tournament bid in 2012.
"Emily has gained both knowledge and experience that will be a great compliment to our staff," said Bronco head coach Jon Wallace. "Our three setters who will work with Emily on a consistent basis are really going to enjoy her personality and coaching demeanor."
"I am excited to be back with the Broncos in this new role." said Burke. "It's a great opportunity to get to work with Jon, Aaron, and Matt again. I am looking forward to working with this team and staff to accomplish our goals and get back to the NCAA tournament. I love the new aspects that have been added this spring in regards to athletic assessment and Sparta. I have heard only great things about Sparta and can see the effects in the team."
Heading up the offense, including offensive analysis and practice planning, Wallace said Burke would be instrumental in the development of the setters both on and off the court. "She will be a terrific mentor for our setters because Emily has a lot of experience both in our system and as a professional coach."
Working closely with Wallace in regards to admissions, player monitoring and mentoring, Burke will be helping the continued growth of the whole athlete; physically as well as scholastically and emotionally. Using the athletic assessment implemented in the spring in combination with weekly updates, Burke will be adding to the connection and communication between staff and players.
"What I most admired about Emily as a player was her team-first mentality and her competitiveness. I am thrilled that she is making a life commitment to coaching," said Wallace. "She is eager to learn from not only my coaching staff, but all the great coaches here at Santa Clara."
Understanding today's importance on branding across a wide platform both nationally and internationally, Burke will also work as the team's Social Media Director. She will manage the Broncos' Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook pages.
Travelling throughout Switzerland over the past year, Burke gained valuable coaching experience while playing professionally. Burke was the starting setter for the VBC Fribourg team in southwest Switzerland. In addition, she worked as the team's only coach and also worked off the court as the team's strength and conditioning coach.
Burke also worked as an assistant coach for a National League B men's volleyball team in Lucerne, Switzerland. The men's team made it to the final eight of the Swiss Cup, finishing in the top two of its league.
Burke's primary responsibilities in 2012-13 as an assistant with the Broncos were statistical recording and analysis using DataVolley and video coordination. This analysis of both offense and defense contributed to the success and trip to the NCAA tournament in 2012. "Her role in 2014 will be much greater, but she was a huge asset to our coaching staff's success in 2012," added Wallace.
Burke was honored as the team's Most Inspirational Player in 2009 and was given the Bronco Award in 2010.
Burke averaged 9.21 apg and 2.35 apg her senior year after averaging 7.57 apg her junior year for the Broncos. Her senior year she worked as the setter in 101 of the 102 sets Santa Clara played in. She averaged 2.11 apg and 1.78 dpg her sophomore year at San Jose State after picking up WAC All-Freshman team honors her freshman year when she averaged 11.44 apg and 2.74 dpg.
In 2011 Burke coached at Archbishop Mitty High School as the JV head coach as well as coached club for Vision Volleyball club from 2008-12. She has worked at the Santa Clara summer camps for the past six years.
Burke is a 2011 graduate of Santa Clara University where she majored in Communication. Burke is a 2007 graduate of Archbishop Mitty.
She played club for Vision and was named to the 2007 USA Junior Olympics 18 Open All-Tournament Team.
Burke resides in Santa Clara, Calif.
