Avery Drost - Varsity Head Coach
Coach Avery Drost is entering his fourth season as head coach of the Mustangs Boys Volleyball Program. Building on a first season which saw the Varsity team win a Bay League title and reach the quarterfinals of the CIF playoffs, his goal remains to compete at the highest level of High School Volleyball in the country while developing a program culture that serves the whole community. Avery graduated from Westmont College in Santa Barbara where he played indoor volleyball for the Warriors and developed as a beach player at East Beach. In 2010 he relocated to the South Bay, and has called it home ever since. He has played professionally on the AVP Tour since 2011, and with the USA Beach National Team since 2012 – competing around the country and across the world. Prior to joining Costa indoor, Avery has served as an assistant and now head coach for the Costa Boys Beach Volleyball team, and coached boys club volleyball with Pac6 Volleyball Club in Pacific Palisades and with local club MB Surf. As a coach, Avery’s philosophy is built around teaching and mentoring players to take ownership of their team and their play on the court. He believes in creating a culture of challenge and growth supported by brotherhood and trust. The expectation of every player is to play with joy, and to compete for one another. Avery and his wife Alyson have been married since 2012 and have two children, Blake (5) and Micah (3).
Coach Avery Drost is entering his fourth season as head coach of the Mustangs Boys Volleyball Program. Building on a first season which saw the Varsity team win a Bay League title and reach the quarterfinals of the CIF playoffs, his goal remains to compete at the highest level of High School Volleyball in the country while developing a program culture that serves the whole community. Avery graduated from Westmont College in Santa Barbara where he played indoor volleyball for the Warriors and developed as a beach player at East Beach. In 2010 he relocated to the South Bay, and has called it home ever since. He has played professionally on the AVP Tour since 2011, and with the USA Beach National Team since 2012 – competing around the country and across the world. Prior to joining Costa indoor, Avery has served as an assistant and now head coach for the Costa Boys Beach Volleyball team, and coached boys club volleyball with Pac6 Volleyball Club in Pacific Palisades and with local club MB Surf. As a coach, Avery’s philosophy is built around teaching and mentoring players to take ownership of their team and their play on the court. He believes in creating a culture of challenge and growth supported by brotherhood and trust. The expectation of every player is to play with joy, and to compete for one another. Avery and his wife Alyson have been married since 2012 and have two children, Blake (5) and Micah (3).
GREG SNYDER | ASSISTANT VARSITY COACH
This is Greg’s fourth full year with the Varsity squad as an assistant coach. In his time with the squad he has helped teams reach the CIF Southern Section and Regional Finals twice and winning it all in 2021. In a shortened 2020 season, the team was ranked #1 and won the Best of the West before the season ended prematurely. Greg is known for finding flaws in teams. He knows how to expose other teams’ weaknesses and also finding the holes in our own teams and how to correct them. This ultimately gives Costa its best chance to succeed. Coach Snyder also led the Frosh/Soph team the five years prior with tremendous success. Coach Snyder returns to Mira Costa where he was a standout volleyball and soccer player in the early ‘90s. Greg was a starting outside hitter on a strong 1993 squad coached by Mike Cook, with their only match loss being in the CIF semi-finals. With solid fundamentals and stellar defense, Coach Snyder was one of the few rated beach players in the 1993 class. Turning down scholarship offers from smaller east coast schools for volleyball, Greg attended LMU where he played Division I soccer. Greg lives in Hermosa Beach with his wife, Trixie and son, Jaxon (8).
This is Greg’s fourth full year with the Varsity squad as an assistant coach. In his time with the squad he has helped teams reach the CIF Southern Section and Regional Finals twice and winning it all in 2021. In a shortened 2020 season, the team was ranked #1 and won the Best of the West before the season ended prematurely. Greg is known for finding flaws in teams. He knows how to expose other teams’ weaknesses and also finding the holes in our own teams and how to correct them. This ultimately gives Costa its best chance to succeed. Coach Snyder also led the Frosh/Soph team the five years prior with tremendous success. Coach Snyder returns to Mira Costa where he was a standout volleyball and soccer player in the early ‘90s. Greg was a starting outside hitter on a strong 1993 squad coached by Mike Cook, with their only match loss being in the CIF semi-finals. With solid fundamentals and stellar defense, Coach Snyder was one of the few rated beach players in the 1993 class. Turning down scholarship offers from smaller east coast schools for volleyball, Greg attended LMU where he played Division I soccer. Greg lives in Hermosa Beach with his wife, Trixie and son, Jaxon (8).
Mike Cook - Assistant Varsity Coach
Coach Cook retired from the rigors of head coaching varsity, in addition to organizing the entire volleyball program, after the 2008 season. But he has stayed on coaching the junior varsity and assisting as asked at the varsity practices. So the paterfamilias, for the thirty-sixth season is again a fixture in Fisher Gymnasium with six rings on his fingers, twenty-five varsity league championships under his belt, and a 627-93 varsity match record at Mira Costa.
Coach Cook has countless treasured memories of his twenty-nine year stint as head varsity coach. Of course, CIF Championships are always the most special, each unique to Coach’s heart:
High school boys’ volleyball was founded as a club program in the spring of 1972. Coach Cook was one of the pioneer coaches (at that time employed by Serra High School in nearby Gardena) and is the only one active today. After that initial twelve team club league in ’72, the club program expanded to about 35 teams in ’73; then, so many new programs came aboard in ’74 that the CIF picked up the sport for that spring and organized leagues and playoffs from that year forward.
Prior to coaching at Mira Costa, Mike coached at the aforementioned Serra High where he developed a reputation for building strong teams without the benefit of beach talent, while winning four consecutive Camino Real League championships from 1974-77. Coach Cook has a master’s degree in English from USC, his teaching credential from Loyola-Marymount, and, though retired, still teaches two classes of Latin at Mira Costa which include four different levels (courses) from beginners to translators of Vergil.
Coach Cook is dedicated this spring to once again mentoring the junior varsity—physically, mentally, and morally—into varsity champions for 2017-18. These players are most fortunate to be associated with one of the legends of high school coaching, the only volleyball coach thus far to be inducted into the prestigious California Coaches Association Hall of Fame (2005).
Coach Cook retired from the rigors of head coaching varsity, in addition to organizing the entire volleyball program, after the 2008 season. But he has stayed on coaching the junior varsity and assisting as asked at the varsity practices. So the paterfamilias, for the thirty-sixth season is again a fixture in Fisher Gymnasium with six rings on his fingers, twenty-five varsity league championships under his belt, and a 627-93 varsity match record at Mira Costa.
Coach Cook has countless treasured memories of his twenty-nine year stint as head varsity coach. Of course, CIF Championships are always the most special, each unique to Coach’s heart:
- 1984 – the first one: 22-0, rallying back in the finals from a 1-2 games deficit;
- 1990 – an undefeated (22-0) juggernaut that lost only two games in its entire match and tournament play, a team deemed by almost all volleyball pundits to be the best high school squad ever;
- 1996 – this 23-0 crew swept Capistrano Valley in the finals allowing only 16 points in the three games – a CIF record that still stands;
- 2001-2002 – back-to-back CIF Champions, the first time in school history, combining for a 57-1 match record.
- 2008 – THE COMEBACK: never has a team rallied from a 0-2 deficit to win a Division I CIF Championship.
High school boys’ volleyball was founded as a club program in the spring of 1972. Coach Cook was one of the pioneer coaches (at that time employed by Serra High School in nearby Gardena) and is the only one active today. After that initial twelve team club league in ’72, the club program expanded to about 35 teams in ’73; then, so many new programs came aboard in ’74 that the CIF picked up the sport for that spring and organized leagues and playoffs from that year forward.
Prior to coaching at Mira Costa, Mike coached at the aforementioned Serra High where he developed a reputation for building strong teams without the benefit of beach talent, while winning four consecutive Camino Real League championships from 1974-77. Coach Cook has a master’s degree in English from USC, his teaching credential from Loyola-Marymount, and, though retired, still teaches two classes of Latin at Mira Costa which include four different levels (courses) from beginners to translators of Vergil.
Coach Cook is dedicated this spring to once again mentoring the junior varsity—physically, mentally, and morally—into varsity champions for 2017-18. These players are most fortunate to be associated with one of the legends of high school coaching, the only volleyball coach thus far to be inducted into the prestigious California Coaches Association Hall of Fame (2005).
RYAN OLSON - FROSH/SOPH COACH
Ryan Olson joins Costa this year as the program’s Frosh/Soph Coach. Coach Olson was a high school stand out. He was the three-time Varsity MVP at Redondo Union High School as well as Bay League First Team three straight years and All-Area First Team two years. As part of the MB Surf Volleyball Club, Coach Olson’s team won a medal at Junior Nationals four of five years, and he was named to the All-Tournament team three years. He went on to be a starting D1 Outside Hitter for Grand Canyon University and earned his AAA rating on the beach. He coached for Evolution Volleyball Club and is the Manager of the City of Manhattan Beach Parks and Rec’s adult beach volleyball classes.
Ryan Olson joins Costa this year as the program’s Frosh/Soph Coach. Coach Olson was a high school stand out. He was the three-time Varsity MVP at Redondo Union High School as well as Bay League First Team three straight years and All-Area First Team two years. As part of the MB Surf Volleyball Club, Coach Olson’s team won a medal at Junior Nationals four of five years, and he was named to the All-Tournament team three years. He went on to be a starting D1 Outside Hitter for Grand Canyon University and earned his AAA rating on the beach. He coached for Evolution Volleyball Club and is the Manager of the City of Manhattan Beach Parks and Rec’s adult beach volleyball classes.
