Gary Hodge finished his 16th season of coaching youth and collegiate volleyball in the Bay area and just finished his fourth at Saint Mary's before being hired at San José State.
In a return to normalcy, the Gaels played a full schedule with Hodge at the helm in 2021, and went 12-11 and snagged some huge wins along the way. Most notably, the Gaels took down 11th-ranked Pepperdine at the Stanford Invitational on April 17, the program's first win over the Waves. A total of five Gaels were chosen for the All-WCC team, including Elena Baka, who went back home to Greece to repesent her country in the CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup.
Saint Mary's won four straight matches under Hodge's leadership before the 2020 season was halted due to COVID-19. Following the abbreviated season, Jasmin Suarez was named to the 2020 Beach National Collegiate team and Elena Baka was chosen to train with Greece for the 2020 Olympics. The team came back from COVID-19 with a 12-11 record in 2021, with Jennifer Laird being named First Team All-WCC.
Hodge enjoyed immediate success with the Gaels in 2019, where Saint Mary's secured a third place finish in the West Coast Conference. Six Gaels landed on the All-WCC team, including Sarah Chase and Lindsey Knudsen, who earned first-team honors. Emily Bible and Lindsey Calvin were named to the second-team, and Selbie Christensen and Chandler Cowell were named to the all-freshman team. The Gaels ultimately fell in the Round of 16 at the USA Beach Volleyball Championships, where Knudsen was named an AVCA All-American Honorable Mention.
His youth teams have enjoyed success on the national stage including his Cal mens’ medal finishes at the 2012 and 2013 NCVF National Championships, and his SandLegs 15s team’s bronze medal finish at the 2017 AAU Beach National Championships. He has spent the last two beach seasons with the University of San Francisco Dons Beach team. The 2019 indoor volleyball season was Hodge's first year as assistant coach.
In addition to his experience in the gym, Gary has received certifications from the NFHS, ASEP, PCA, AVCA, and USAV indoor and beach volleyball programs. Gary is a “cooperative” style coach whose coaching philosophy reflects his passion to develop not only technical and tactical skills, but focus, leadership, stress management, and overall interpersonal skills.
Gary’s playing career began with seven years of indoor volleyball as a setter, where his teams won numerous titles, including reaching the Connecticut high school state championship and New England Regional Club Championship. Gary was a two-time all-state selection at setter for his Glastonbury High School team. After indoor, he competed for nine years on the beach, winning 16 Open titles and twice earning Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Gary graduated from Cal State East Bay with a degree in Sociology. He resides in Oakland with his wife Catherine who teaches high school English.
In a return to normalcy, the Gaels played a full schedule with Hodge at the helm in 2021, and went 12-11 and snagged some huge wins along the way. Most notably, the Gaels took down 11th-ranked Pepperdine at the Stanford Invitational on April 17, the program's first win over the Waves. A total of five Gaels were chosen for the All-WCC team, including Elena Baka, who went back home to Greece to repesent her country in the CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup.
Saint Mary's won four straight matches under Hodge's leadership before the 2020 season was halted due to COVID-19. Following the abbreviated season, Jasmin Suarez was named to the 2020 Beach National Collegiate team and Elena Baka was chosen to train with Greece for the 2020 Olympics. The team came back from COVID-19 with a 12-11 record in 2021, with Jennifer Laird being named First Team All-WCC.
Hodge enjoyed immediate success with the Gaels in 2019, where Saint Mary's secured a third place finish in the West Coast Conference. Six Gaels landed on the All-WCC team, including Sarah Chase and Lindsey Knudsen, who earned first-team honors. Emily Bible and Lindsey Calvin were named to the second-team, and Selbie Christensen and Chandler Cowell were named to the all-freshman team. The Gaels ultimately fell in the Round of 16 at the USA Beach Volleyball Championships, where Knudsen was named an AVCA All-American Honorable Mention.
His youth teams have enjoyed success on the national stage including his Cal mens’ medal finishes at the 2012 and 2013 NCVF National Championships, and his SandLegs 15s team’s bronze medal finish at the 2017 AAU Beach National Championships. He has spent the last two beach seasons with the University of San Francisco Dons Beach team. The 2019 indoor volleyball season was Hodge's first year as assistant coach.
In addition to his experience in the gym, Gary has received certifications from the NFHS, ASEP, PCA, AVCA, and USAV indoor and beach volleyball programs. Gary is a “cooperative” style coach whose coaching philosophy reflects his passion to develop not only technical and tactical skills, but focus, leadership, stress management, and overall interpersonal skills.
Gary’s playing career began with seven years of indoor volleyball as a setter, where his teams won numerous titles, including reaching the Connecticut high school state championship and New England Regional Club Championship. Gary was a two-time all-state selection at setter for his Glastonbury High School team. After indoor, he competed for nine years on the beach, winning 16 Open titles and twice earning Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Gary graduated from Cal State East Bay with a degree in Sociology. He resides in Oakland with his wife Catherine who teaches high school English.