Eric Duda was named the inaugural head coach of the men's volleyball program on December 11, 2017.
Duda comes to Life U after spending the past two seasons as an assistant coach at Sacred Heart University. At SHU, he helped coach the squad to a school record 15-11 mark last season that included two wins over a ranked Penn State program. In addition his coaching responsibilities, Duda also oversaw the Pioneers recruiting and scouting operations.
Prior to joining the SHU staff, Duda served five years as the head volleyball coach for Redlands Community College in El Reno, Oklahoma. Duda was a key component to the success of the team as he compiled a 70-57 record, and managed to produce an All-American, and four academic All-Americans.
Before his stint with Redlands, Duda spent five years as the assistant volleyball coach at the University of Central Oklahoma. In his time there, he helped take the team to its third and fourth NCAA appearance, and help lead the program to an undefeated regular season.
Concurrently with those two positions, Duda also served as the head coach for Oklahoma Peak Performance Volleyball for 11 years. With Peak Performance, his teams qualified for nationals three times. He also served as the director of small group and private lessons.
Duda began his coaching career with the University of Florida as the Head Club Volleyball Coach from 2000-2005. In his time with the Gators, his team finished ninth in the nation his final year.
In addition to his coaching accolades, Duda is an extremely accomplished sitting volleyball player and a two-time Paralympian (2004, 2016). He has been heavily involved with USA Volleyball for over a decade. Duda is a two-time USA Volleyball Sitting Volleyball Player of the Year (2009, 2014), USA Volleyball Sitting Volleyball All-Time Great Male (2016), a three-time Silver Medalist at the ParaPan Am Games (2007, 2011, 2015), a 2012 Pan American Cup Champion and a member of three World Championship teams (2006, 2010, 2012). In addition to all of this, he was also named the team captain of Team USA's 2012 Men's Sitting Volleyball team.
Duda received his Bachelor's Degree in Sports Management and Sport Science from the University of Florida.
