WC Elite Coaches
David Elkins
Coach David has been coaching volleyball for White Cross for over 16 years and has been co-commissioner of the rec league for the last 15 years. In 2018, he and Coach Ari co-coached the first ever White Cross Elite JVC team. David is from White Cross and has played in many co-ed leagues over the years as well as outdoor tournaments. White Cross used to have a super competitive co-ed adult league. David is also the Co-Club Director.
​
Coach David is married and has two children. He, along with Coach Warren organize all youth sports for the Rec Center. David coaching one of our 14u team and our 16u Boys team (3rd ever!) this season and assists with other teams.
Warren Ray
Coach Warren has been coaching volleyball for over 16 years and has been co-commissioner of the rec league for the last 15 years. In 2018, he helped organized and create the White Cross Elite JVC. Warren is from White Cross and has played on many co-ed leagues over the years, as well as outdoor tournaments. White Cross used to have a super competitive co-ed adult league. Warren is also the Co-Club Director.
​
Warren is married and has two children, He, along with Coach David organize all youth sports for the Rec Center. Warren is coaching our 16u team this season and assists with other teams.
Asha Barnes
Coach Asha began coaching at White Cross Recreation in 2019 and continued coaching with WC Elite JVC as the 12U coach for the 2020 season. Asha is from Mebane, NC and was a 4-year varsity player at Cedar Ridge High School. In addition to playing for her high school, Asha played travel volleyball for 10 seasons.
Fun fact about Coach Asha? Her favorite movie is “Superman: Into the Super-Verse”. She enjoys repeatedly listening to the Hamilton soundtrack (who doesn’t right??), traveling to new countries and learning how to play instruments. Asha is a floating resource coach for us this season and assists a lot of our teams.
Lindsay Thompson
Coach Lindsay joined the White Cross Elite staff for the 21-22 season. This is Lindsay's 4th season coaching for White Cross Elite. She grew up in White Cross and started playing volleyball in elementary school for WC! Lindsay played for Cape Fear Community College as a DS and also played at Cedar Ridge High School for 4 years. Lindsay has previously coached at East Coast Volleyball Club and AIM Volleyball. She was also the coach of Gravely Hill Middle School Coach in the 2019-20 season.
She play many years of Club Volleyball for Jammers VBC. Welcome home Coach Lindsay! Lindsay is a resource coach for us this season.
Eric Dumain
Eric hails from Buffalo NY and started playing indoor and sand volleyball in the early 1980’s. He captained his AAU gold medal team in high school, and played setter, outside hitter and middle blocker throughout his college seasons at the University of Rochester.
​
Eric coached at the Chapel Hill Area Volleyball Club (CHAVC) from 2012-2017, primarily coaching 15’s and 16’s National teams. Eric has also coach 2 seasons of Rec Ball at White Cross. This is Eric's 5th season coaching for White Cross Elite. Watching young athletes become students of the game is one of the rewards of being a coach. Eric is a coaching one of our 17u teams this season.
Macy Henry
Macy started playing rec volleyball at White Cross in elementary school and continued playing throughout high school for school and club volleyball teams as a setter. Now, she likes to play recreationally on indoor and sand volleyball teams. Macy has coached rec volleyball and summer camp with White Cross for years , and she is excited for her first season head coaching club!
When not playing volleyball, Macy likes to practice pottery, go for runs, and cook. She will be coaching one of our 17u teams this season.
Lizbeth Woodby
Coach Lizbeth is currently working as a geospatial analyst, but she is about to start back up at UNC again this fall to pursue a masters in City and Regional Planning. Lizbeth fell in love with volleyball when she was in middle school. She played club and for school as a setter until she graduated high school. Lizbeth is currently playing club volleyball at UNC. A fun fact about Lizbeth is that she is a puzzle enthusiast and can’t start a puzzle without finishing it in the same day!
Coach Lizbeth is coaching our 15u this season.
​
Izzy Sheppard
Coach Izzy started playing rec volleyball at age 11 and then travel at age 15. She played with Carolina Edge for 15 & 16u. She then played middle for Coach David on White Cross Elite 17u and Coach Warren for 18u. She played middle school volleyball at Gravelly and then for Cedar Ridge High School. She was head coach of our 12u team last season and is currently the JV coach at A.L. Stanback Middle School.
Fun fact: Izzy is a State 3A Volleyball champion for Cedar Ridge back in the 21-22 season!!
Izzy is coaching one of our 14u teams this season.
Rachel Alverson
Coach Rachel started playing volleyball when she was 11 years old. She played for her middle school, A.L Stanback, and continued playing throughout high school for school and club volleyball at CHAVC. She was always a setter, and loved eveything about that position! She began giving private lessons through White Cross during the summer of 2024 and loved the culture and mission of White Cross. She is currently a sophomore at NC State and is studying Elementary education and Linguistics. A fun fact about Rachel is she played with Coach Izzy when they won the State Championship Game back in the 21-22 season! She is an assistant coach for us this season.
Abby Nichols
Coach Abby has been playing recreational and travel volleyball since age 11. Her love of volleyball outweighed her love for softball and it has been nothing but volleyball since! Abby was a member of the first WCE Travel Ball Team in 2018, playing under Coach Aria and Coach David. Abby won MVP in the Carolina Region East Championship, Division 4, 17u in 2019.
Abby has coached both recreational and travel volleyball at White Cross for multiple years.
Fun Fact: Abby is a dog mom to Bailey and enjoys spending time with family and friends and playing volleyball. Abby is a preschool teacher and enjoys working with kids everyday . She is coaching one of our 17u teams this season.
Aria Henry
Coach Ari has been coaching with White Cross Recreation since 2012. In 2018, she and Coach David co-coached the first-ever WC Elite JVC team. Ari is from Chapel Hill, NC and played middle blocker and outside hitter for her high school, Cedar Ridge High School, and for a travel volleyball club. After high school, Ari continued to play volleyball on several co-ed teams including intramurals during her time at UNC-CH and sand volleyball tournaments (and even won a couple of Championships with Coach Kylie!).
Fun fact about Coach Ari? She is a huge animal lover! Most days you can find her at the barn with her horse, Odin and her dog, Thor. (Extra points if you get that reference!).
Karleigh Johnson
Coach Karleigh is in her third year coaching with White Cross. She has been playing volleyball for 7 years and is also a former player with White Cross! She loves sharing her passion for the sport with younger athletes. Karleigh's favorite part of coaching is seeing her players grow in skill, confidence, and teamwork both on and off the court. Karleigh is coaching our 12u team this season.
Fun fact: She is a proud chicken and duck mom to Betty Jean, Reba Laverne, June Pearl, Doc Franklin, Darla Ruth, and Daisy Mae.
Addie Reid
Addie is currently a student at North Carolina Central University where she is majoring in Kinesiology and plays Division 1 volleyball. She is from Hillsborough, NC and graduated from Cedar Ridge High School in 2024. She played at White Cross during her senior year and also played varsity volleyball, basketball and soccer at Cedar Ridge. Addie started playing rec volleyball at age 9 and started travel ball at 12. She is currently in her 11th year of playing volleyball.
A fun fact about Addie is that she can place all 50 states on a map and name all of their capitals. She is an assistant coach for us this season.