Dan Mickle is in his eighth season as the head coach of the Spartan volleyball program in the fall of 2024. He heads into the season with a career record of 99-73 overall and a 26-23 mark in conference play.
York returned to the Commonwealth postseason in 2023 as they capped off the year with an overall record of 17-12 and a conference mark of 4-3. The Spartans put together a stellar record of 11-2 at home and are 25-8 on their home floor in the last three seasons. A trio of Spartans were honored on the all-conference teams with Abby Diehl earning a first-team selection, and Gianna Krinock and Morgan Nolte earning honorable mentions.
The Spartans went 12-15 in 2022 including 4-4 in the MAC Commonwealth. The Spartans got off to a quick start as they were 6-1 to begin the campaign. York got to 9-5 before dropping eight of their next nine. The Spartans narrowly missed a Commonwealth playoff berth. Senior Abby Diehl and junior Megan Rizzi earned MAC All-Commonwealth honors for the Green and White.
After the 2020 season was wiped out by COVID, the Spartans got back on the floor in 2021 and produced a record of 17-10 including a 6-2 mark in the Commonwealth. The Spartans were the number three seed in the post-season tournament before falling in the tournament semifinals on the road. Sydney Wilber, Abby Diehl and Tyler Williams were recognized as MAC All-Commonwealth players.
In 2019, the Spartans had a year that was derailed by injuries to key players including All-CAC middle hitter Madyson Whitcomb who was lost in early October. The Spartans struggled down the stretch but were able to get valuable playing time for a group of younger players who will provide a strong core in the fall of 2020.
In Mickle's second year, he led the Spartans to a 20-win season for just the second time in seven years. York posted a 20-9 record in 2018 advancing to the semifinals of the conference tournament losing a tight match 3-2 to Christopher Newport. He coached three all-CAC performers with senior Alexis Harbold earning first-team honors while senior Brooke Krebs and junior Madyson Whitcomb both earned second-team accolades.
In Mickle's first season as head coach, he coached two second-team all-CAC performers. Mickle also led the Spartans to the CAC tournament in his first season of work.
Mickle joined the Spartan volleyball staff as an assistant coach in 2013, under then head coach Sue Dumars, where he served as an assistant until taking the program over in 2017. Prior to joining York College, Mickle was the head coach of the Harrisburg Area Community College Men’s’ volleyball program for five years where he compiled over 100 wins. Mickle was also the head coach of the Red Land Boys’ volleyball program for 15 years where he helped the program achieve over 100 victories.
Currently, Mickle serves as a head coach for the USA Volleyball Beach Paralympic teams which won gold and silver in the 2019 World Championships in Pingtan, China. Mickle also serves as a Coaching Accreditation Program (CAP) cadre member with USA Volleyball. Mickle also works as a consultant with numerous professional beach and indoor players across the globe.
As a player, Mickle is a former MACVC All-Conference selection, and was inducted in to the H.A.C.C. Hall of Fame in 2015. Mickle also won a USA Volleyball Beach National Championship in 2000. Most recently, he has won back to back USA Volleyball National Sitting Volleyball Championships in 2018 and 2019. Mickle continues to play both indoor and outdoor volleyball.
Mickle holds a B.S. in Sports Management and an M.S. in Sports Psychology, both from California University of Pennsylvania. Mickle also hold a M.S. in Learning Technologies from Harrisburg University of Science and Technology. Mickle is currently pursuing his PhD in Performance Psychology. Mickle is a published author as well as a regular speaker and presenter at numerous conferences worldwide. Mickle is the founder of Soul Performance Academy, a company aimed at providing performance psychology services to all levels of athletes, performers, and corporate work forces.
Mickle resides in New Cumberland, Pa. with his wife Teri; two daughters Morgan and Lily, his son John.
Year by Year Results
Updated: 9/24/24
