Gabriel Gardner from San Diego, California... Now calls Sacramento home. Attended San Clemente (Calif.) High School and was the goalkeeper on the water polo team. He continues his passion for water polo with his boys who attend Rio. He also enjoys surfing, beach volleyball, playing the guitar and coaching Volleyball. He currently is the Head Coach at Rio High School for the Boys Varsity team.
Oh, and he's also played a bit of Volleyball… (see below for all his accolades) He is the guy you can't miss in the gym, but it's not his 6 foot 7 build that he is know for, it's his Olympic Gold Medals. That's right, he represented our National at the Olympics and brought home not 1 but 2 Gold Medals. So, needless to say he is good. And he LOVES sharing his experience and knowledge with the kids! He is pretty RAD.
COACHING BACKGROUND
- 2022- Current Rio Boys Volleyball Varsity Coach
VOLLEYBALL BACKGROUND
- MAJOR INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION 2012: FIVB World League (Silver Medal).
- 2012: Was an alternate on the 2012 U.S. Olympic men's volleyball team
- 2012: Competed in seven World League sets, scoring 7 points on 7 kills.
- 2011: FIVB World League.
- 2011: Part of the 2011 FIVB World League preliminary roster. He played 10 sets in four matches in Poland and Puerto Rico and did not score.
- 2008: Olympic Games (Gold Medal)
- 2008: FIVB World League (Gold Medal)
- 2008: Four Nations' Tournament (Gold Medal)
- 2008: NORCECA Continental Olympic Qualifying Championship (Gold Medal).
- 2008: Finished the 2008 season with 134 kills in 42 sets played (3.19 kills per set). Had a hitting percentage of 0.40. Gabe averaged .12 aces per set, .45 blocks per set and 1.17 digs per set
- 2008: Finished the 2008 Olympic Games with a gold medal and played in matches against China and Japan
- 2008: Helped the U.S. Men win a gold medal at the FIVB World League. Scored 65 points in pool play with 55 kills, eight blocks, and two aces
- 2008: Helped the U.S. Men to a gold medal at the Four Nations Tournament on May 11-13 in Germany
- 2008: Helped the U.S. Men win to qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing by winning the NORCECA Olympic Qualifier in Caguas, Puerto Rico.
- 2007: FIVB World Cup
- 2007: NORCECA Continental Championship (Gold Medal)
- 2007: FIVB World League (Bronze Medal).
- 2007: Moved from outside hitter to opposite at the start of the 2007 season and adjusted well
- 2007: Finished the season as the team's fourth-leading scorer with 329 points. He averaged 3.82 points per set. Averaged 3.27 kills per set
This list goes on for 20ish more lines, but you get it.
He’s awesome.
