MEET OUR BASKETBALL COACHES
MICHAEL RIVERA
Founder
Head Coach - 6th Grade
Coach Rivera is founder of the Virginia Hurricanes Girls Basketball Club. Michael coached the 10U Hurricanes team that finished in 6th place at the AAU National Championship Tournament (Division II) in Orlando Florida in August 2010. Coach Rivera coached several other Hurricanes teams that competed in AAU District Qualifying Tournaments and AAU National Championship Tournaments. From 2012 to 2015, Michael coached Division I Arlington Girls Travel teams competing in the Fairfax County Youth Basketball League. Michael has coached numerous youth sports teams throughout the Northern Virginia area over the past 15 years, including basketball, flag football, baseball and softball. Coach Rivera is dedicated to teaching basketball skills and fundamentals.
KATIE FUDD
Head of Player Development
High School
Katie came to the Hurricanes program with extensive coaching experience as she is the former Head Girls’ Basketball Coach at Potomac School in McLean, Virginia from 2003-2013. Katie is also the founder of Game-Time Skills basketball training program and the GTS Fusion program that competes in the exclusive Girls Under Armour Associate (GUUA) circuit. Over the years, Coach Katie has provided skills training to players from all levels including over 100 collegiate players and several professional basketball players. Coach Katie is a former 4th round draft pick of the Sacramento Monarchs of the WNBA. She graduated from Georgetown University in 2001, where she finished her career with 2,027 points. She led the Big East in scoring for both the 1999 and 2000 seasons. Prior to transferring to Georgetown, she was ACC Rookie of the Year in 1996-1997 at North Carolina State University. She attended James Madison High School (Vienna, VA) in 1996. While at Madison, she set the all-time school scoring record (boys or girls) and a host of other school records, many of which she still holds. In both her junior and senior seasons, Madison finished runner-up in the Virginia Group AAA State Championships. In 2006, Katie was named the #18 all-time athlete, for all sports, in Northern Virginia history by the Connection Newspapers. In 2017, Katie was elected to the Virginia High School Hall of Fame.
LIZ ALTMAIER
Head Coach - High School
Coach Altmaier is the head JV girls’ basketball coach at Marshall High School and was the assistant JV girls’ basketball coach at McLean from 2015-2017. She previously coached McLean Select girls’ basketball in the Fairfax County Youth Basketball League, and has been coaching skills camps since age 15. Coach Altmaier played Division I varsity basketball at Harvard University. During her time at Harvard, her team won two Ivy League championships and made one March Madness appearance. Before Harvard, Liz was a three year starter at Pinewood High School in California, winning two state championships, two Northern California titles, four section titles, and four league championships. Liz was named to the division All-State, all-section, and all-league teams.
GREG RUBIO
Head Coach - High School
Before moving to the area, Greg coached basketball for nearly 15 years at levels from middle school to varsity, including as head Freshman and Junior Varsity and Assistant Boys’ Varsity Coach at Bartlett High School (Tennessee) from 1993-2002. Throughout that period, he worked each summer as a director at Bartlett’s basketball camps, providing instruction to boys and girls from 2nd through 8th grades. In addition to basketball, Greg coached Track and Field at Bartlett for 12 years. Greg played high school basketball in Memphis, Tennessee and ran track in high school and at Rhodes College. Locally, Greg has coached rec and AAU youth teams in Arlington for the past seven years. He co-founded the Arlington Team Dream AAU program three years ago, and began coaching with the Hurricanes in 2016.
BRIAN BURKE
Head Coach - 9th Grade
Brian grew up in the Northern Virginia area and started on his high school team, which went undefeated in its district and won the regional championship before finishing its season in the quarterfinals of the VA State Tournament. He also played on a NOVA AAU team. In college, he played one year on the junior varsity team at James Madison University. He has served as a shooting instructor at multiple basketball camps for both boys and girls, and he coaches a CYO team in Arlington County.
LEAH HURST
Head Coach - 8th Grade
Leah is a former assistant coach for the women's basketball team at Marymount University and this will be her 4th year with the Hurricanes. She graduated from Marymount University in 2018 where she was the starting point guard from 2014-2018. During her senior year she won the Capital Athletic Conference Championship where she was also named CAC Player of The Year, D3hoops.com First Team All-Region, VaSID First-Team All-State and team MVP. Throughout her college career she had 3 NCAA appearances reaching as far as the Sweet 16, was a 2-time First Team All-Conference player, lead her conference in assists during her junior and senior season, is a 1000+ point scorer and had 500+ career assists.
THORA GIBBS
Head Coach - 8th Grade
Thora is currently a senior at the University of Mary Washington where she has played for the past four years. Originally from Arlington, Thora played four years on the Yorktown varsity team and grew up playing for the Hurricanes. This is her second year coaching for the Hurricanes, and her first as a head coach.
JOHN LOMAS
Head Coach - 7th Grade
John is in his 4th year as a head coach for the Hurricanes. He has 10 years of experience coaching girls’ basketball in Arlington, including coaching players in 1st through 8th grades. John also coaches for Arlington Travel Basketball in the Fairfax County Youth Basketball League, and currently is the head coach of the ATB 7th grade girls A team, which, among other things, played up and won the 8th Grade Competitive Division championship at the 2021 Coach Wootten Fall Classic. He previously was the head coach of an ATB 5th grade girls team that finished the 2019-2020 FCYBL season as the undefeated regular season champion and playoff runner-up, and before that, an assistant coach for an ATB 8th grade girls team that went 16-0 to win the regular season and playoff championship during the 2018-2019 FCYBL regular season and playoffs. John's approach prioritizes developing basketball IQ and decision-making with fundamental skills
CHRIS WERTZLER
Head Coach - 7th Grade
Chris joined the Hurricanes program in 2018. Growing up in the capital of the Big Blue Nation, Lexington, KY, he played multiple competitive sports, including two years of college basketball. More recently, he has had many successful years of coaching youth sports, including coaching alongside fellow Hurricanes coaches Greg Rubio, Mike Burns, and Rod Volz.
CREED HALL
Head Coach - 7th Grade
This is Creed’s 3rd year with the Hurricanes program and 2nd as a Head Coach. He is also a Head Coach for Arlington Travel Basketball. In the 2019-2020 ATB season, he was on the coaching staff that won Coach of the Year and advanced to the FCYBL Championship Game. Growing up in Northern Virginia, Creed was a three-sport athlete in high school to include soccer and rugby. He focuses his coaching on enhancing fundamentals and developing core skills.
CURT SMITH
Head Coach - 6th Grade
Curt is in his third year with the Hurricanes. He brings 7 years of experience coaching girls’ basketball in Falls Church. Curt has coached girls teams ranging from grades 2 through 8.
SARAH NORTHWAY MARIA
Head Coach - 5th Grade
Sarah Northway Maria is a 1997 graduate of the University of Connecticut where she played basketball for Geno Auriemma and was a member of their 1995 35-0 National Championship team that reached two Final Fours. Her team was the inaugural inductee into UConn's Huskies of Honor program and she was a two time Big East Academic all-star selection. At Brainerd High School in Brainerd, Minnesota, Northway was a High School All American, two time All State and three time all conference selection as well as a 1,000 point scorer and a finalist for the Miss Minnesota Basketball award. After college, she earned her law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center in 2001 and practiced corporate law in Washington, DC until deciding to stay home full time to raise her four children. She has over eight years of experience coaching AAU, travel and rec basketball as well as individual skills training.
ALEX EISENBERG
Head Coach - 5th Grade
First year with the Hurricanes; 8 years with Arlington Travel Basketball; 2016-2017 FCYBL Coach of the Year for Girls 7th D1; 2 FCYBL Girls D1 Championships; Current Yorktown High School Boys JV coach; Experience at the Recreational, AAU, Travel and High School levels
KENDRA ERVIN
Head Coach - 4th Grade
Kendra played collegiate basketball at Emory University. In addition to being a three-year letter winner contributing to Emory’s women’s basketball program as a point guard/shooting guard, Kendra was an All-American javelin thrower for the Emory track and field team. Kendra grew up in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and played basketball for Norfolk Academy, where she was a three-time first team all-conference selection and a 1000+ point scorer. While in high school, Kendra played for the Boo Williams AAU team. Prior to attending law school, Kendra served as an assistant women’s basketball coach at Virginia Wesleyan College and also was the assistant JV coach at Norfolk Academy from 2002-2003. Kendra also has over 6-seasons of coaching both girls and boys in recreational soccer and basketball.
LIZZ KAUFFMAN
Head Coach - 3rd Grade
Lizz is a native of Philadelphia and played high school basketball at Archbishop Carroll, a powerhouse in the elite Philadelphia Catholic League, and AAU basketball with the [Philadelphia Lady Runnin' Rebels]. She went on to play at the University of Richmond (Division I), where she was a full scholarship athlete, four year letter winner, and [two year] team co-captain. Lizz spent her summers working at Strive/Sports Challenge Leadership Program and is a Positive Coaching Alliance certified coach. She has a B.A. in Leadership Studies from the University of Richmond and a Masters of Teaching from Virginia Commonwealth University. After graduating, Lizz became the head varsity basketball and volleyball coach at St. Catherine's School in Richmond, VA. She was an elementary school teacher for ten years before staying home to raise her three girls. In addition to her experience coaching high school varsity basketball, Lizz has coached a number of elementary and middle school aged teams.
JIM SEDOR
Head Coach - 3rd Grade
A 20-year resident of Arlington County, 'Coach Jim’ has been involved with coaching various youth sports, to include Babe Ruth Baseball, Arlington Travel Basketball, Flag Football, rec soccer and rec hoops. The 2022 season marks Jim's 6th season with the Hurricanes program. Jim’s equation when it comes to youth sports?
Fitness + Fundamentals + Fun = Enduring Love for the Sport.