This is our 12th year of hosting volleyball camps at Emory University and we are very excited to for another great summer! 

We believe in the total camp experience experience for our campers!  This includes teaching, coaching, and training our campers in a positive, fun, and rewarding enviroment.  We strive to make sure each camper meets their individual volleyball goals for the week and that she has a wonderful time doing so!

Our staff includes college coaches from around the country, outstanding collegiate athletes and experienced club coaches.  Not only are they great coaches but they are outstanding people!!

I hope you will come join us this summer for another great week of volleyball. 

Jenny McDowell                           

Emory Head Volleyball Coach

Jennifer McDowell has elevated the Emory University volleyball program to national prominence, including its first-ever Final Four appearance, since taking over in the spring of 1996.

She has guided Emory to 11 consecutive appearances in the NCAA Division III national championship tournament, advancing to the "Sweet 16" round nine times. In 2003, McDowell and the Eagles reached the NCAA Final Four for the first time in school history, finishing fourth in the tournament.

Her Emory record now stands at 337-99 for 11 seasons. Entering the 2006 season, McDowell ranks third among active Division III coaches for best career winning percentage. She has been honored as the regional Coach of the Year by the American Volleyball Coaches Association for the 2004 and 2005 campaigns.

Every year since 1997, Emory has ranked among the top 10 teams in the nation in every weekly poll conducted by the AVCA.

Before McDowell's arrival the volleyball team had 30 wins or more in only one season. In her 10 years, the team has bested 30 wins eight times.

The Eagles have finished first or second in the University Athletic Association championship in seven of her 11 seasons. In 2005 Emory captured its first conference championship with a 3-0 sweep of then No. 1-ranked Washington University in the title match. McDowell and her assistants were recognized as the conference "Coaching Staff of the Year" in 1996, 2000 and 2005. 

Prior to Emory, McDowell was an assistant coach at the University of Georgia for five years in which the Bulldogs compiled a 128-41 record and made the NCAA Division I national tournament every year. With primary responsibilities in recruiting, McDowell helped bring in one NCAA All-American, two NCAA postgraduate scholars, two GTE Academic All-Americans, one GTE Academic All-American of the Year, two Southeastern Conference (SEC) postgraduate scholars and 10 all-SEC Scholar-Athletes.

A three-time all-region selection and three-time team captain in volleyball, McDowell received her undergraduate degree from Georgia in 1989 and her master’s in 1990. In 1985, she was selected to compete in the U.S. Olympic Festival. McDowell is the first and only Georgia volleyball player to have her number (16) retired.

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Eric Hawes

Emory Assistant Coach

Eric Hawes joined the Emory coaching staff in Fall 2001. He is a former collegiate player at Hope College (Mich.) and Indiana University.

He graduated from Hope with a degree in business administration and from Indiana with an MBA.

Hawes runs a software consulting company. He remains an active volleyball player, mostly in outdoor leagues..

Sharon Waddell

Associate Camp Director 

Sharon heads up the Worships and Arts Department at New Community Church in Jackson County.  Prior to her position at New Community Church, Sharon assisted in leading worship at Northview Christian Church in Buford.  Sharon has also been actively leading worship over the years for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Athletes in Action. 

Sharon was recruited to play volleyball at the University of Georgia and graduated in 1990 with a Bachelor of Music Degree with an emphasis in voice.  Sharon was a starting outside hitter compiling several all-tournament and most valuable player awards in her career. 

Sharon was an Assistant Coach for the bulldogs from 1991-1993 reaching the NCAA Division I tournament each year.  Sharon also has had the unique opportunity to work closely with four former national team coaches. She is a native from Pittsburgh, PA and as a high school senior she was named to the Fab 50 list for volleyball players. 

Sharon is in charge of activities, staffing, administrative, and scheduling for the Emory Volleyball Camps.  

Amanda Welter

Emory Assistant Coach

Amanda Welter, a former all-Big 10 volleyball player, joined the Emory staff in Fall 2001.  She is the head clinician for the Emory Camps.

Welter was a three-year volleyball starter at Division I Indiana University where she was voted to the Big 10 all-conference team her senior year (2000). She graduated in ninth place on the school's all-time list for career kills, second in career hitting percentage, second in career total blocks, third in career assisted blocks and fourth in career solo blocks.  Welter helped the Hoosiers to consecutive appearances in the NCAA national tournament, a first in school history. 

She was a team captain her senior year.  She graduated from Indiana in 2001 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Sports Management.

Welter is a native of Cincinnati. As a high school senior, she was named to the state's Fab 50 list for volleyball players.

Justin Hart

Emory Assistant Coach

Justin Hart joined the Emory Volleyball staff in the summer of 2007 as a volunteer assistant. His previous volleyball experience includes time coaching for the JJVA club in Jacksonville, Florida and the Georgia Juniors club in Athens, Georgia. While in Athens, Justin also coached for Athens Academy and the Women’s club team at the University of Georgia.

Justin played men’s club volleyball at Northland in Dunbar, Wisconsin where he graduated in 1997 with a degree in Education. He attained an MA in English in 1999 from Bob Jones University and a JD from the University of Georgia School of Law in 2006.

He is married to Courtney Shealy Hart.