LSU volunteer assistant coach Thomas Amberg will make the jump to Virginia Tech, joining new head coach Jill Lytle Wilson‘s staff as an assistant coach.
The school announced the move this week. Amberg will follow Wilson from LSU, as Wilson was the Tigers’ recruiting coordinator before taking the head coaching gig at Virginia Tech this offseason. Amberg coached at LSU two seasons: 2013 and 2016. He’s also an accomplished player, having competed at the professional level in France for three years.
Wilson continues to round out her staff after hiring John Wasielewski away from ACC rival Duke just a few days ago.
The full Virginia Tech press release on Amberg’s hiring:
February 3, 2017
BLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech head volleyball coach Jill Lytle Wilson has named former UCLA men’s volleyball standout and LSU volunteer assistant Thomas Amberg as an assistant coach, Wilson announced Friday.
Amberg spent the 2013 and 2016 seasons on the bench in Baton Rouge between playing professionally in France for three years. Amberg is Wilson’s second hire as head coach of the Hokie volleyball program after tabbing former Duke associate head coach John Wasielewski to the same position on Thursday.
“After working with Tom at LSU for two seasons, I have no doubt that he will be a great fit as an assistant and a role model for our student-athletes,” Wilson said. “He will bring great energy into the gym and a knowledge of the game after his outstanding collegiate and professional career. I am thrilled to welcome him to our team and the Virginia Tech family.”
“Jill’s passion for the sport is contagious and I am humbled to have this opportunity at Virginia Tech,” Amberg said. “I chose to join Jill because she is a strong leader with an unstoppable drive for success. I am most looking forward to assisting Jill and her vision to take Virginia Tech volleyball to the next level. I’m also excited to meet the people who make Blacksburg and Virginia Tech so special.”
A native of El Cajon, California, Amberg also has experience coaching boys and girls at the club level with Club Pacific Volleyball in East San Diego after graduating from UCLA. Amberg had a decorated four-year career in Westwood that was capped with consensus first-team All-America honors from the AVCA and Volleyball Magazine as a senior. He was also voted first-team All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation that season after leading the conference with a .486 hitting percentage and finishing fourth with 1.43 blocks per set.
He ended his career as a Bruin with his name in the top 10 all time in several statistical categories including blocks (sixth, 466) and hitting percentage (eighth, .404). In the summer of 2010 entering his sophomore campaign, Amberg played several matches with the USA Volleyball Junior National Team that competed in India.
While an undergraduate, Amberg completed internships in the UCLA Athletics finance office and the campus career center. He graduated in 2012 with a degree in sociology.
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