BIO for Larry Sparkman
Associate Director
Coach Sparkman assists with the general organization and management of PSVA. He is also the clubs webmaster, maintaining and updating the website as needed.
He began his volleyball coaching career in 1992 and has served as a Club Director and Coach over the last 33 years with several clubs in the Tallahassee Area. Coach Sparkman has also coached at the high school level for 22 years since 2003.
Coach Sparkman held head coaching positions at John Paul II Catholic HS (JPII) for six years and at the Florida State University High School (FSUS) for five years. During his 11 years as head coach his teams won 8 District Championships, 2 Region Championships, competed in the State Final Four playoffs twice and had one State Final Four Runner-up finish in 2009. Coach Sparkman was also voted the All Big Bend Coach of the year in 2009 and was the AVCA Region 1 – 4a Coach of the Year in 2013.
In 2016, Coach Sparkman accepted the position as the JV Coach and Varsity Assistant at Chiles High School, is in his tenth year, and is also currently coaching for the Prostyle Volleyball Academy.
Coach Sparkman’s playing career started at Florida State University where he played Outside hitter for the FSU Men’s Club Volleyball team from 1973 to 1982 and was a member of the 1978 Florida USAV Region Runner up team. He also played on several USVA travel teams until 1996, when he retired from competition.
Coach Sparkman’s professional career began as a PE and Math teacher in the 70s but eventually moved into the computer industry in the 80s. He worked as a Systems Engineer and Technical Manager for EDS, Computer Associates, Keane Federal and held many consulting positions as a Project Manager for over 40 years. He ended his IT career working for the State of Florida as a PMO Manager and retire in 2021.
Coach Sparkman’s passion, second to volleyball, is playing the guitar and singing soft rock music. You can learn more about coach Sparkman by checking out his website at www.larrysparkman.com .
Larry and his wife Beth celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 2023. They have two children, Lisa, and Scott, and are grandparents to Laney, who is 19 years old, and Bayleigh who is 9 years old.