Brett Anema Named Volunteer Assistant Coach for Volleyball

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Brett Anema (pronounced ah-nah-ma) was recently brought on as a volunteer coach for the Texas A&M volleyball team, Aggies head coach Laurie Corbelli announced.
 
"Brett brings a huge desire to get into this profession, and it is always fun to work with young, enthusiastic, passionate coaches," Corbelli said. "He brings great experience from being a professional athlete, a collegiate athlete and a top middle blocker in the country. He also brings a maturity beyond his years on what it means to be committed, driven and dedicated to your passion. We can't go wrong with someone like that in the program."
 
Anema played three years of collegiate volleyball at Concordia University in Irvine, California, where he was recruited by current Texas A&M assistant coach Trevor Johnson. A sport management major with a coaching minor, the 6-7 middle blocker from La Mirada, California, was named first-team All-MAMVIC/NAIA National Conference after hitting a team-high .448 in his first season with the Eagles.
 
In 2014, Anema hit .393 and helped Concordia go 28-8 and win the NAIA National Conference Tournament Championship. As a senior in 2015, Anema earned AVCA/NAIA All-America honors after hitting a team-high .444 and averaging 2.32 kills and 0.81 blocks per set.
 
Following his collegiate career, Anema played professional volleyball in Schuttorf, Germany.
 
Anema then returned to Concordia, and while simultaneously coaching volleyball at JSerra Catholic High School and TStreet Volleyball Club, which was the No. 1 ranked club in California, he completed his bachelor's degree as well as a master's degree in coaching and athletic administration earlier this year.
 
"Brett will be invaluable in the gym, not only from a coaching and teaching perspective, but from a demonstration perspective," Corbelli said. "So many of these players are visual learners, and they see and can mimic, so to have Brett and Trevor be able to demonstrate and show what it should look like is really helpful. He'll be learning as well in terms of running drills with the pace and intensity that we like to have in our gym. I know that he is eager to learn, and he will give great value to our practices.
 
"I also love the bridge that his generation offers between players and the older coaches with years and years of volleyball experience. The game has changed a ton, and he brings a lot of the newer philosophies of power volleyball. It's really different and yet he can relate that to the players and relate it to us and be a great bridge. He has a really neat personality, a kind of serious side but also has a playful side, which is kind of what we like in that position. We couldn't be happier to have him as part of our staff, and I know he can't wait to experience the spirit and traditions of Aggieland.
 
Anema married the former Madison Ekis in April.
 
The Aggies open the regular season Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Reed Arena as they play host to Sam Houston State on the first day of the two-day Texas A&M Invitational. Other teams A&M will face during the tournament are Texas State on Saturday, August 26 at 1 p.m. followed by a match against Virginia Commonwealth at 6:30 p.m.
 
Visit 12thMan.com for more information on Texas A&M volleyball. Aggie fans also can keep up to date with the A&M volleyball team on Facebook and on Twitter and Instagram by following @AggieVolleyball.