Aug. 13, 2012
MADISON, Wis. - Eli Sharping is in his first season as the volunteer assistant coach with the Badgers.
"Eli has been with us as a practice player in the past and we are glad to have him with us now as a coach," said UW head coach Pete Waite. "He has been coaching club volleyball over the last few years and he’s ready to get a taste of the college game. He’s got a good presence in the gym that the players enjoy and he’ll be really helpful in our practices and competitions."
Sharping, who has served a practice player at Wisconsin for the last three years, also played with the UW's men's volleyball club team. The team won the National Collegiate Volleyball Federation (NCVF) Big Ten title in 2009.
As a coach at Capital Volleyball Academy for the last four years, Sharping has aided two of his teams to top-10 national finishes. His 18-open team finished among the top teams at the 2009 JVDA Nationals while the same team finished fifth at the 2010 AAU National Championships. Sharping has coached 16s the last two seasons, winning the 2012 Badger Regional title.
Sharping earned honorable mention all-state honors as a libero at Lake Park (Ill.) High School. He was also an all-conference and all-area pick and also competed with Sports Performance Volleyball Club. A native of Roselle, Ill., Sharping graduated from the UW in May of 2012 with a bachelor's degree in neurobiology, focusing on the basic mechanics of the nervous system and the cellular processing that occurs.
