Meet the Team Behind MDC VOLLEY: Passion for Volleyball and Community

Denis Zhukov

Volleyball Experience and Coaching Background


Early Beginnings:

Started playing volleyball at the age of 9 in a club in Kazakhstan.


University Achievement:

Studied and played at the University of Calgary, Canada. Achievements include being named MVP and Volleyball Player of the Year for the CIAA (Canada's NCAA), as well as Athlete of the Year for University Athletics.


Professional Career:

Played professionally for clubs in:

  • Athens, Greece
  • Toulouse, France
  • Lausanne, Switzerland
  • Samara, Russia
  • Istanbul, Turkey
  • Baku, Azerbaijan
  • Jakarta, Indonesia

National Team Leadership:

Served as team captain of the Kazakhstan National Team for the majority of my 10-year tenure. Participated in multiple international tournaments, including two World Championships (Argentina 2002 and Japan 2006). 


Outdoors Experience:

Competed in AVP qualifications, achieving 5th place at the Vancouver Open, 3rd place at Seaside Open, and multiple wins at AVA tournaments.


Coaching Experience:

  • Conducted children’s camps and clinics at the University of Calgary for 4 years.
  • Led regular development clinics for young players throughout my professional career.
  • Served as Assistant Coach for the Kazakhstan Junior Girls' National Team for 2 years.
  • Coached the Oregon City Trailsend Volleyball Club U18 Girls for 1 year.


Coaching Philosophy:

My goal is to teach athletes the effective techniques and exercises I learned as a professional athlete. I am committed to sharing my knowledge and experience to help each athlete improve, one step at a time. 

Natalya Zhukova

Volleyball Experience and Coaching Background

Early Beginnings:

I began my volleyball journey at the age of 9 in my home country, Kazakhstan.


National Team Experience:

By the time I turned 16 in 1996, I had earned a spot on the National Team of Kazakhstan, representing my country in various international tournaments and championships until 2010. As a member of the National Team, I competed in prestigious events such as:


  • Olympics 2008 in China
  • Asian Games in 1998 (Thailand), 2002 (South Korea), 2006 (Qatar), and 2010 (China)
  • World Championships in 2006 (Japan) and 2010 (Japan)
  • World Grand Prix in 2007 and 2008
  • Asian Championships in 1999 (Hong Kong), 2003 (Vietnam), 2005 (China), 2007 (Thailand), and 2009 (Vietnam)
  • Asian Cup in 2010 (China)


Professional Career:

Following my international career, I played professionally for clubs in;

  • Riom, France
  • Baku, Azerbaijan
  • Istanbul and Ankara, Turkey
  • Moscow, Russia
  • Athens, Greece
  • Jakarta, Indonesia


Coaching Experience:

In terms of coaching, I have contributed to the development of volleyball talent as follows:

  • Coached the U18 Girls team at Oregon City's "Trailsend Volleyball Club" for 1 year
  • Assisted at Newberg High School for 1 season
  • Conducted camps and clinics for children with Trailsend and various clubs in California and Oregon


Coaching Philosophy:

My mission is to leverage my extensive volleyball experience and leadership qualities to mentor and inspire athletes, helping them achieve their full potential both on and off the court.

Ivan Konkin

I started playing volleyball my Senior in High School. One of my best friends called me and asked if I wanted to play Beach Volleyball after school. The whole day leading up to playing I thought we were driving to the beach to go play “Beach” Volleyball. I mean why else would I think different? Turns out there is a place in SE Portland 10 minutes from where we lived called Woks Up that offered 4 beach courts right in our back yard.


After my first time playing I knew that volleyball was going to be more than just a sport for me, but a lifestyle. I quickly became obsessed and used volleyball as an outlet to help me in other challenges I was facing in my life. My first AAA partner was Roman Onishchenko. Roman became my coach and taught me everything he learned from the pros where he lived in Huntington Beach California training and competing with the top athletes.

That year we teamed up we won some big local tournaments and placed in a top three in some of the biggest tournaments in the northwest.


I was one of the fortunate ones and had a chance to be coached and played against some of the best players in the AVP (Professional beach league) as well as some players from the FIVB (International pro league). Some of those names include Dana Camacho, Derek Olson, Paul Lotman, Jeremy Casebeer, Avery Drost, Nick Lucena, Jake Gibb, and recently Todd Rodgers the 2008 Beijing gold metalist who played with his ex partner Philip Dalhausser.


My goal has always been to teach as many people the game with the training that was instilled in me and teaching the correct fundamentals and techniques on how to elevate your skills for beach, grass, indoor volleyball for those willing to put in time and effort.

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