Meet the Coaches
& Staff

Staff

Ken Li
President

Ken is a co-founder of the club and has served as the president since its inception. He has coached since he was 16 at a variety of levels, from developing young elementary school athletes, to competitive high school and club programs, Team BC zone teams and provincial team ID camps, and had an 11-year stint on the UBC Men’s Volleyball team, as a manager and then assistant coach. He was awarded the Volleyball BC Community Sports Administrator Award in 2010 through his work with Apex, and the Volleyball BC High School Coach of the Year in 2016. He currently teaches and serves as a high school athletic director in Vancouver.

“Apex is a community that prides itself on the relationships. The medals and championships are secondary to the connections that have been formed within our organization. People have met lifelong friends and even life partners as members of our club. Bonds extend to the coaching staff, which is made up mostly of proud alumni wanting to share their experiences and expertise with the next generation of Apex athletes.”

ken@apexvolleyball.com

Chanh Vuong
Vice President

Chanh co-founded the club in 2005 and has served as a vice president ever since. He has coached a plethora of high school and club teams in both genders, and currently works as a high school teacher in Vancouver.

“We see Apex as more than a volleyball club. We aim to build individuals that excel under stress, are valuable members of a fun and successful team, and are leaders on and off the court. That said, Apex has always connected members of the community together and it’s always been a goal that these relationships strengthen and last beyond ‘high school sport’. Apex is like our second family, and we are proud of the connections we build here.”

chanh@apexvolleyball.com

Gabriel Burlacu
Technical Director - Boys

Gabriel comes to the West Coast and Apex via Ontario, where he grew up and eventually played in the CIS/U Sports for the University of Windsor Lancers of the OUA. His high level playing career extended from the hardwood onto the sand, where he represented Canada on the FIVB World Tour for 10 years. More recently, Gabriel coached with the UBC Men’s Volleyball team, where they were 2024 conference and national bronze medallists. He currently serves as the Director of Beach Volleyball with NEWWAVE Volleyball, and as a head coach at Kitsilano Secondary, where he has turned the boys volleyball program into provincial contenders in a few short years. His high level domestic and international experience will serve our club well as we expand our programming under Gabriel’s vision and guidance.

td.boys@apexvolleyball.com

Erick Chou
Technical Director - Girls

Nearing ten years of coaching experience, Erick Chou currently serves as an assistant coach with Simon Fraser University Women’s Volleyball program, the program coordinator at Volleyball Canada’s Burnaby Regional Excellence Program, a provincial team coach with Team BC, and Apex’s lead technical consultant for our girls teams. You’ll often see Erick coaching at camps & clinics as he aims to develop youth of all ages across the provinces both as athletes and as future leaders.

td.girls@apexvolleyball.com

Amanda Nguyen
Administrator

admin@apexvolleyball.com

Susy Ng
Treasurer

treasurer@apexvolleyball.com

Boys Coaches

12U Boys

Eric Zhang
Head Coach

Edgar Dumandan
Assistant Coach

Jin-Sun Cho
Assistant Coach

Kristi Wong
Assistant Coach

12/13U Boys

13U Boys

Edmond Ma
Head Coach

Andy Zhang
Assistant Coach

James Fong
Head Coach

Lucas Xu
Assistant Coach

Justin Nguyen
Assistant Coach

14U-1 Boys

14U-2 Boys

Ben Ricketts
Head Coach

Sandino Dumandan
Assistant Coach

Alexander Harvalias
Assistant Coach

Julian Remedios
Head Coach

Connor Remedios
Assistant Coach

Wil Yang
Assistant Coach

15U-1 Boys

Andy Chung
Head Coach

Mark Soto
Assistant Coach

Gabriel Burlacu
Assistant Coach

James Fong
Assistant Coach

15U-2 Boys

Sadie Bui
Head Coach

Iliana Guci
Assistant Coach

Mark Po
Assistant Coach

Kent Embrado
Assistant Coach

16U-1 Boys

16U-2 Boys

Gabriel Burlacu
Head Coach

Jayme Lepp
Assistant Coach

Sandino Dumandan
Assistant Coach

Rose Houser
Assistant Coach

Artin Jafari-Rad
Head Coach

17U-1 Boys

17/18U Boys

Benny Fu
Head Coach

Billy Chen
Assistant Coach

Eric Zhang
Assistant Coach

Owen Lam
Assistant Coach

Jordan McConkey
Head Coach

Markiel Simpson
Assistant Coach

18U Boys

Gabriel Burlacu
Head Coach

Dan Caverly
Assistant Coach

Cary Manns
Assistant Coach

Kenton Lepp
Assistant Coach

Girls Coaches

12U-1 Girls

12U-2 Girls

Chanh Vuong
Head Coach

Jacqueline Pappas
Assistant Coach

Johnson Yu
Head Coach

13U-1 Girls

Kat Itakura
Head Coach

Alan Lu
Assistant Coach

Ryan Itakura
Assistant Coach

Jeff Ng
Head Coach

14U-1 Girls

James Fong
Head Coach

Erick Chou
Assistant Coach

Justine Vu
Assistant Coach

Kayla Zivkovic
Assistant Coach

14U-2 Girls

Adrian Yu
Head Coach

Ling Lo Yan
Assistant Coach

Byron Fok
Assistant Coach

15U-1 Girls

15U-2 Girls

Selena Tam
Head Coach

Kim Or
Assistant Coach

Alana Leung
Assistant Coach

Tia Mah
Assistant Coach

Michael Borromeo
Head Coach

Marty Routley
Head Coach

16U-1 Girls

Lara Tagulao
Head Coach

Johann Wong
Assistant Coach

Trish He
Assistant Coach

Anisa Mendoza
Assistant Coach

16U-2 Girls

Baris Akbulut
Head Coach

Nick Lee
Assistant Coach

Bianca Campanile
Assistant Coach

Sakae Tanaka
Assistant Coach

17U-1 Girls

Steve Sung
Head Coach

Kim Or
Assistant Coach

Stephanie Sung
Assistant Coach

Isabella Wong
Assistant Coach

17U-2 Girls

Johnny Leung
Head Coach

Aaron Lock
Assistant Coach

Maisie Phan
Head Coach

Olivia Matsui
Assistant Coach

18U Girls

Ashley Steele
Head Coach