"Working with Metro brings a level of competitiveness and experience that prepares athletes for the next level.  I love working with these students that seek to challenge themselves to be their best."

Patti Westenberg is the Central Region Director and 18 Central Head Coach for Metro Volleyball Club in Washington D.C. 

Patti serves at the Head Coach for Montgomery College in Rockville Maryland, since 2023.  She was the Head Coach at Frederick Community College in Frederick Maryland 2017-2022 and currently serves as the MDJUCO Volleyball Coaches Association President and MC Student Life Club Volleyball Advisor.  During her career coaching volleyball she worked for 9 seasons at Michigan Elite Volleyball Club.  She also was an assistant coach for NCAA DII Wayne State University in Detroit MI.  While coaching at Cousino High School in Warren Michigan she was awarded the Macomb Area Conference Coach of the year (2005-2006). 

A graduate of Warren Mott High School, Westenberg was an All-Region Player and Team MVP at Macomb Community College (Warren, MI) as a middle hitter/blocker. She transferred to NCAA Division 1 Oakland University (Rochester, MI) to finish her playing career. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History with a minor in French and completed her Master's Degree in Secondary Education. 
 
Westenberg lives in Rockville, Maryland, with her husband, Eric, and their two daughters Charlotte and Salem. 

"Coaching for Metro this season is a full circle moment. As a former Metro player now turned coach, I have the opportunity to not only athletically develop players but also make the positive impact (on and off the court) that Metro was for me."

Jacqueline joins Metro this season as the 18 Central Assistant.  From 2021-2022 Jacqueline was an assistant coach under Patti Westenberg at Frederick Community College. Jacqueline's collegiate volleyball accolades include 2x NJCAA 1st team all region, 2x 1st team all Maryland JUCO award, and 2x most valuable player, as an outside hitter at Frederick Community College. After Frederick Community College, she continued her collegiate athletic career on to the University of California, Davis, NCAA Division I equestrian team. Due to covid, Jacqueline graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park.

"For me, coaching volleyball is about more than teaching skills; it's about inspiring confidence, teamwork, and a lifelong love for the game. I am driven by the passion to help young athletes build their foundation and discover their potential, watching their love for the sport grow with every play!"

Rachael is entering her third season as a Metro coach. During her time with Metro she has served as an assistant coach for 12 & 16 Central.

Rachael began playing volleyball in 6th grade and quickly fell in love with the sport. She made the varsity women's volleyball team as a freshman in high school and was a starter in every varsity high school match of her career. She helped her high school team to win four Maryland 4A State Championships as the libero for 2 seasons and an outside hitter for 2 seasons.

Rachael joined the Metro family her junior year of high school on the Metro 17 Travel roster. She finished her final club season on Metro 18 Travel and went on to play Division 1 volleyball at American University in Washington, D.C. Her freshman season, the American University Eagles won the Patriot League conference and competed in the NCAA Division 1 Volleyball Tournament. After her junior year, Rachael was offered the opportunity to play volleyball overseas on the U23 Team BIP in the Global Challenge in Pula, Croatia. She was starting libero and helped her team win gold in the tournament.

Rachael graduated from American University in 2023 and is currently continuing her education through an online certification program for UX/UI design.

"Coaching at Metro Volleyball Club has given me an exciting opportunity to reconnect with the volleyball community and share my passion for the game after my collegiate playing experience."

Lara, originally from Naperville, IL, brings her passion and experience to Metro Volleyball Club. She played club volleyball for the prestigious Sports Performance Volleyball Club, which was consistently ranked among the top in the nation and held the title of the #1 volleyball club in Illinois.

Lara continued her volleyball career at Georgetown University, where she earned a full athletic scholarship and played D-1 volleyball for four years in the highly competitive Big East Conference, earning Big East All-Academic Team honors. Before joining the collegiate ranks, Lara built an impressive high school and club volleyball resume. She was named Honorable Mention All-DuPage Valley Conference and led Metea Valley High School to a conference championship in 2017, as well as finishing fourth place in the 18 Club division at AAUs in 2017 with Sports Performance. 

A proud graduate of Georgetown in 2022, she now resides in Washington, DC, and is an Analyst for an international consulting firm, headquartered in the DC area. 

“I am honored to work alongside and learn from some of the most elite coaches in the DMV. I look forward to sharing my passion for volleyball and helping young athletes reach their goals.”

Teresa joins Metro this season as the 15 Central Coach. Teresa comes to Metro with previous club coaching experience for both 16U & 17U teams as well as assistant coaching the girl's Varsity team at National Cathedral School in DC.

She started playing volleyball at Benjamin Banneker Middle School and continued to playing throughout high school as an OH/DS at Paint Branch HS in Burtonsville, MD.  She also played club volleyball during high school, including for Metro American in 1992.  Teresa continued playing as an adult playing for Mid Atlantic Volleyball, Women’s Rec in Rockville and City of Gaithersburg.

"I am thrilled to begin coaching with Metro this season. I can’t wait to see the talent this age group will bring out to the court. Looking forward to see how the girls develop in the game of volleyball and grow into athletes with great mindsets."

Janelle joins Metro this season as the 15 Central Assistant.  She competed for 6 years as a club volleyball athlete as well as 4 years as a Varsity athlete at Albert Einstein HS. After high school she has continued her career at Montgomery College on the women's team.

"I am looking forward to starting a new club season and working with talented coaches and athletes. I aim to share my knowledge and experience with young athletes to help them develop into skilled volleyball players."

Meghan has played volleyball for 13 years, and in that time, played club for Metro as well as other clubs in the CHRVA region.  She started varsity all four years at Sherwood High School as an all-around outside hitter. Furthermore, she continued her volleyball career at Montgomery College, finishing her first year as MVP. Due to injury, Meghan is unable to play her second year at Montgomery College but continues to help the team wherever it is needed.

"I am thrilled to be working and learning with other amazing coaches."

Jaynna has played two years at Montgomery College as an outside hitter. She played 4 years at Our Lady of Good Counsel as a setter and played for club MVSA. She enjoys volunteering at her church, Redland Baptist Church, and was a competitive swimmer for 14 years.

"Grassroot volleyball is key to developing skills and character traits young girls need in their development. I am honored to be able to mold these young athletes of the future."

Erik joins Metro this season as the 13 Central head coach

Erik served 5 years in the US Army. While serving, he represented the USA on the Armed Services Volleyball Team in international competition. 

After completion of his military services, he attended George Mason University and played under Coach Fed Chao for three years.  In his first year he led the team in blocks per game and ranked 15th in the nation in blocks per game. The next year the GMU volleyball team ranked in every single CBS College Sports Network/AVCA Top-15 Poll during the season, reaching a high of No. 11 in the final poll. That season they also won the Preview to the Final Four Tournament (Penn State, UC Irvine, IPFW). Erik recorded 11 total blocks against IPFW, tied for the third-highest single-match total in school history during the rally-scoring era. In his final year, his team led the nation in blocks per game. He also recorded the second-highest single match total in school history during the rally-scoring era with 12 blocks against Loyola-Chicago.

After leaving college, he played professionally for one season in Leeds UK for Leeds Metropol. After coming home he served as an assistant coach for Howard University and George Washington University.

Erik currently works as a Sr. Network Engineer. He resides in Washington DC with his wife Johnnel, daughter Zara, and son Zaihre.

"I enjoy coaching young athletes because it's more than just teaching the game; it's about watching young athletes grow, both on and off the court and witnessing their confidence build and teamwork evolve."

Allie started playing volleyball in 8th grade and played 5 years of club as the captain and starting Libero from 14-18U. She helped lead Thomas S. Wootton High school to 3 county championships, as well as a State semi finals. Allie is currently a Freshman on the Montgomery College and plays for the volleyball team. 

"As a coach, my primary goal is to empower athletes to sit in the 'driver's seat' of their own development, while also providing them with the tools and resources they need to be successful and foster a genuine love of the game. I am so thrilled to join such a fantastic team of coaches, families, and athletes at Metro this season!"

Caitlyn joins Metro this season as the 12 Central Head Coach.  She competed and coached volleyball for nearly two decades in Idaho and the Intermountain Region High Performance program with USA Volleyball. As an athlete, her high school team made three state championship appearances and competed for a fourth place finish.  Caitlyn won a state sportsmanship award, and travelled with Idaho club team.

After high school, she attended Boise State University and competed for their collegiate club team within the NCVF. Our program was ranked #13 in the country and we made two appearances at the NCVF national championships.

Over the last 8 years, she has coached a total of 15 teams across the high school, club, and collegiate levels. Out of four high school seasons, she had the privilege of assisting my teams to three conference championships and a 2nd place state championship finish in Idaho. Caitlyn has coached every age level from 13s-18s with an Idaho club team and Boise Ignite Volleyball Clubs.  Most recently, her 15s team with had the highest finish for any Idaho team in our division at the USAV Far Westerns Qualifier (15th out of 90+ teams). 

She also worked with athletes at Boise State University as the head coach of their women's club team, where they finished third in their conference (PIVA) with the National Collegiate Volleyball Federation.

Outside of volleyball, she am a graduate student at Georgetown University working towards a masters degree in Sport Industry Management.  After graduation, she hopes to go back to school for a doctorate (PhD) in Clinical Sports Psychology and work with teams and athletes across all levels of development to manage mental health and performance within sport.

"I am super excited to work with Metro VBC this year to help young players build confidence and improve their skills."

Michael joins Metro for his first season.  He began coaching with Georgetown Day School's volleyball team. Michael has worked as  middle school science teacher at Georgetown Day School for the past 25 years.

He has two grown children working and going to school in the DMV. He loves travel, hiking, photography, and gardening.