Since 1991 Bill Ferguson has established himself as one of the most successful coaches and club directors in the United States. Ferguson, entering his third year as Director of Southern California Volleyball Club, has been the architect behind programs that have earned 27 medals in USA Volleyball National Championship events in eleven years. He has personally been at the helm of eight national championship teams, while earning four silver and 3 bronze medals…sixteen final four appearances in 11 years. In addition to Bill’s success with USA volleyball, he has also coached collegiate and international levels. His players have moved on to play in the Olympic Games, NFL, professional leagues in Europe, NCAA and into the private sector as successful business people. Ferguson not only began his own legacy, but carries on another.

Bill Ferguson comes from a long tradition of volleyball success. His father, Tom played for the legendary, Burt Degroot at Santa Monica College in 1961 and ’62. Both seasons, SMC went undefeated, beat UCLA in the Far Western Regionals, and won the college National Championship (then played through the USVBA). Tom earned All American honors both years as an outside hitter. Tom and Bill’s mom, Susie, later began Palisades Boys Volleyball Association, where, Bill began his career as a player in 1983 and finished at the 1988 Junior Olympics. Bill’s older brother, Bob played on PBVA’s 1984 National Championship 17 & Under team that went on to represent the USA at the Pacific Rim Tournament in Taiwan. There they earned a bronze medal, the best a USA team has ever finished in that tournament. PBVA produced Olympic Gold Medalists Eric Sato and Scott Fortune, won numerous USAV National Championships and was one of the blueprints for the way competitive volleyball clubs are run today.

Ferguson went on to play at then, powerhouse, Palisades High School where he was a setter on two Junior Varsity championship teams and the 1988 CIF City Section, Championship team. In his three years at Pali, Bill’s teams lost a total of four matches. Bill also began a competitive surfing career that he pursued after high school. Bill was a member of the 1991 & 1992 United States Surfing Federation, USA National Team. He earned 10th place at the 1991 O.P. Junior and 12th at the 1991 U.S. Amateur Championships and competed on the Bud Pro Tour from 1991-1995. During that time he began his coaching career.

In 1991 Bill began his coaching career as a coach at SMBC for his former coach, Mike Normand (Normand had taken over the PBVA program from Tom in 1989 and changed the name). Bill assisted in coaching the 14-1 team to the Silver Medal at the Junior Nationals in Tampa, FL that was led by future UCLA and NFL star Danny Farmer. Ferguson returned in ’92 to assist with the 16-1 team, where he helped guide the team to a National Championship at the 1992 Junior Nationals in Albuquerque, NM. Urged by his players and their families, Ferguson began his own program in 1993.

In 1993 Bill Ferguson started his career as a Club Director, reviving his father’s old PBVA program, garnered corporate sponsorship from Reebok and formed Reebok Palisades. Aided by his father and Olympic Gold and Bronze Medal coach, Gary Sato, Bill started off with two teams…and started off with a bang. Bill coached Reebok Palisades 16’s to the 1993 16 & Under Gold Medal at the Junior Nationals in Kansas City, MO, led by MVP, Freddy Robins (UCLA), Danny Farmer (UCLA) and Patrick Klein (Stanford). Reebok Palisades 18’s won the bronze, led by Mike Lees (CSUN) and Tom Stillwell (UCLA). In 1994, Ferguson coached Reebok Palisades 18 Black to the 18 & Under Gold Medal at the Austin, TX Junior Nationals, featuring MVP, Jeff Cooper (Princeton), Danny Farmer (UCLA), Freddy Robins (UCLA) and J.J. Riley (Pepperdine). In 1995, Bill coached Reebok Palisades 18’s to the Silver Medal in the most talent laden, Junior Nationals ever, in Orlando, FL. That team featured Robins, Farmer, Ryan Millar (BYU) and Gabe Gardner (Stanford). Reebok Palisades 16’s won the Gold Medal that year led by Mark Williams (UCLA) and Brook Billings (USC).

Bill Ferguson was hired in 1996 by The Los Angeles Athletic Club as Junior Volleyball Coordinator to bring back The Club’s long tradition of producing Olympic athletes. At the ’96 Junior Nationals Bill’s LAAC 18’s team turned in, what is to this day, the most dominant performance ever in a Junior Nationals Tournament, by a single 18 & under team. Led by tournament MVP, Brandon Taliaferro (UCLA), Mark Williams and Raoul Williams (CSUN), LAAC 18’s won the National Championship in a runaway, never surrendering more than 11 points in a single game. Ferguson’s program left a deeper mark in ’96 by winning the Silver Medal in the 16 & under division, led by freshmen Curt Toppel (Stanford) and Miles McGann (USC).

After the 1996 Junior Nationals, Ferguson was hired as the Men’s Assistant Volleyball Coach at USC. In his first year, Ferguson spearheaded the # 3 recruiting class in the nation. At the 1997 Junior Nationals, Ferguson coached Toppel and McGann to win the 16 & Under National Championship at Denver, CO. Ferguson then helped USC land the # 1 recruiting class in the nation in ’98.

In 1999 Ferguson was then hired full-time by the LAAC. 1999 also marked the first year that Ferguson would enter and coach at the U.S. Open National Championships, something his father had done in the mid-late 1980’s. Led by Olympian and tournament MVP, Tom Sorenson, Bill’s LAAC team took the U.S. Open National Championship in Sacramento. Sorenson was joined on the All Tournament team by fellow Olympians Jeff Nygaard and Brett Winslow, AVP star Canyon Ceman and UCLA great, Paul Nihipali. That May, Ryan Millar, one of Ferguson’s star pupils from his 1995 team, lead BYU to it’s first ever men’s volleyball National title and was named National Player of the Year by Asics and Volleyball Magazine. In New Orleans at the 1999 Junior Nationals, aided by MVP Richard Nelson (UCLA), Billy Strickland (Stanford) and Marcus Gilmour (USC) Bill Ferguson again found himself on the Gold Medal stand with Toppel and McGann as LAAC 18 Gold took the 18 Open Division.

Though he wouldn’t win a National Championship in 2000, it may have been Bill Ferguson’s proudest year of achievement ever. Two setters that Ferguson worked very closely with, would make a big mark in college volleyball that year. Donald Suxho, who Ferguson worked with at USC for 2 years and privately at LAAC for 2 years, was voted the National Collegiate Player of the year by the American Volleyball Coaches’ Association. Brandon Taliaferro, the MVP of Ferguson’s ’96 national championship team, took home the same award as voted by Asics and Volleyball Magazine after leading UCLA to its 18th national championship. At the 2000 U.S. Open in Columbus, OH, with the help of All Americans, Ceman, David McKienzie (Long Beach State) and Brook Billings, Ferguson led his team to the Silver Medal. At the Reno, 2000 Junior Nationals; with “superstars”, Topple & company gone, Ferguson turned in what may have been his best coaching job, ever. Riding the shoulders of David Russell, James Jessen and Nick Gardner, three juniors who would eventually end up playing at UCLA and senior captain, Kelly Caldwell (Long Beach State), Bill led his LAAC 18 Gold team to the final four, winning a Bronze Medal. 2000 was also a statement year for Ferguson as a club director as three other LAAC teams earned Bronze Medals at the 2000 Junior Nationals. Pat Nihipali (UCLA), Matt McKinney (UCLA) and Derek Otte (USC) led the 17’s to the Bronze. Jimmy Killian, Tony Ker and Matt Hillier led the 14’s to a bronze medal. Taylor Hein led the 15’s to the Bronze and also marked Ferguson’s first year coaching girls. With a squad of only six players, LAAC’s “Little Engine That Could” finished 3rd at the Far Western Qualifier, 16 Club Division and came within two points of the sweet sixteen at the 2000 Volleyball Festival. Ferguson was also chosen as an Assistant Coach for the USA Youth National Team which trained in Lake Placid, NY and toured Canada that summer. To finish up the summer, two of Ferguson’s star pupils, Ryan Millar and Mark Williams represented the USA and Australia in the indoor volleyball competition at the Sydney Olympic Games.

In 2001 Bill Ferguson found himself back on the Gold Medal Stand at the U.S. Open in Milwaukee, WI. Ferguson’s open team took the National Championship for the second time in three years behind the MVP performance of David McKienzie and All Americans, Ceman, Nygaard and Sorenson. Bill also worked double-time as he assisted Plyo-City Mizuno to the Women’s Open Bronze Medal, led by All Americans Misty May and Joy McKienzie. Ferguson then went on the coach LAAC’s 18’s girl’s team to 35th at the 2001 Volleyball Festival. 2001 would also prove to be productive at the Phoenix, AZ Boys Junior National Championships. Ferguson Co Coached LAAC 18 Kaepa to the 18 Open Silver Medal, led by James Jessen, Pat Nihipali and Delano Thomas (Hawaii). Lead by Brian Edwards (Pacific), Trent Turner and Robert Curran, Ferguson’s LAAC 18 Silver team earned a silver medal as well. The tournament was finished with a bang when the 15’s team took the National Championship led by Jimmy Killian, Tony Ker and Matt Hillier.

Bill became Director and Co-owner of SCVC in the summer of 2001. Lead by Staci Venski (USC), Brenn Larson (Washington State) and Natasha Nguyen (Georgetown/Cal Bekeley), Ferguson led SCVC’s first ever girls’ 18’s team to a top 5 finish in Southern California and an 18 Open bid at the 2002 Junior Nationals. The girls’ 12’s finished their season ranked in top 5 as well, while the 14’s finished as the top team in Southern California. 2001-’02 was equally successful for the boys of SCVC as well. Lead by All Tournament selections, Jimmy Killian and Tony Ker, Ferguson coached the boys’ 16’s to a bronze medal at the Junior Nationals. The boys’ 18’s also finished with a bronze medal at the Junior Nationals, lead by Bart Kowalski (UCSB), Patrick Nihipapli (UCLA), Derek Otte (USC) and Paul Spittle (UC Irvine). Nihipali and Otte were named to the All Tournament team and Kowalski was named Best Setter.

The momentum carried to the 2002-’03 season for SCVC. The girls’ 16’s lead by Becca Saraceno, Alix Klineman and Kiah Fiers won the bronze medal at the Northeast Junior National Qualifier. Ferguson earned another medal as he coached the girls 18’s to the gold medal at the 2003 Junior Olympic Invitational. Lauren Holland (Saint Mary’s College) was named to the All Tournament team while Bryn Porter earned MVP honors. At the boys’ Junior Nationals in Phoenix, SCVC established itself as the premier boys club in America for the next two years, earning a bronze medal in the 16 Open Division and taking home it’s first National Championship, winning gold in the 17 Open Division. Matt Rawson and Todd Smith were named All Tournament for the 16’s while Tony Ker and Matt Ceran were named to the 17’s All Tournament Team…Jimmy Killian earned MVP honors for the second time in his career.