Volleyball
Garrett Bitter
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
Garrett Bitter was announced as Mississippi State's newest assistant coach on April 26, 2017, coming to Starkville after spending the 2016 season as an assistant with the Stony Brook Seawolves. In his year at Stony Brook, Bitter helped produce a pair of America East All-Conference honorees, as McKyla Brooks was named All-America East First Team and Maria Poole earned All-America East Rookie Team laurels. The Seawolves finished the year second in the America East in hitting percentage (.197), total assists (1,274), total kills (1,382) and total attacks (3,736).
“It’s an honor to be able to join the Mississippi State volleyball staff and have the opportunity to coach in such a dominant league like the SEC,” Bitter said. “I’m thankful to athletic director John Cohen, coach David McFatrich and the entire administration for this opportunity to be a part of the MSU family. I am also extremely grateful for the leadership and teachings of my previous mentors and coaches. Their knowledge, leadership and character were key in leading me to Mississippi State. This volleyball program is certainly on the rise and I am excited to become a part of this family and help take it to even greater heights.”
A star setter in his own playing days, Bitter was responsible for the growth and development of star Stony Brook setter Morgan Kath, who finished the season second in the league with 926 assists and third with 9.65 assists per set. Kath wrapped up her sophomore campaign standing fourth on the school’s all-time assists per set list and seventh on the total assists chart.
Three years before heading to New York, Bitter served as an assistant at IPFW. While with the Mastodons, Bitter worked primarily with the program’s setters while also overseeing offensive gameplanning, scouting, recruiting and video analysis. In his first season in 2013, IPFW setter Madison Spence led the Summit League with 11.01 assists per set. In 2015, Bitter coached freshman setter Madison Jaqua to a Summit League All-Freshman team honor.
Coaching experience for Bitter dates back to 2007 when he first started working with the Sports Performance Volleyball Club in his hometown of Aurora, Ill. He most recently served as the head coach of the boys 16 and 14 Runbirds after serving as an assistant coach for the boys 17 Mizuno's for two years.
Bitter has been involved with multiple camps throughout his volleyball career, including Attack/Pass, Boys All Skills, Setting Academy, 1st Contact Academy, Middle Blocker Academy and Collegiate Setting camps. He also spent five years as the head coach for the Boys Summer Program of the Sports Performance Volleyball Club.
On top of working with the Sports Performance Volleyball Club, Bitter also spent time at Waubonsie Valley (Ill.) High School, where he coached boys' volleyball in the spring of 2013. He was an assistant coach for the varsity program and was responsible for training setters as well as working with liberos on defensive strategies. Bitter also coached the Geneva (Ill.) High School girls squad.
As a player, Bitter began his volleyball career at Waubonsie Valley High where he was a four-year letterwinner and a two-time team captain. Bitter was an all-conference selection at the setter position and he also led his team to a conference and regional championship in 2006.
His career continued at IPFW while also participating on multiple teams at the Sports Performance Volleyball Club. He was a 2010 MIVA Academic All-Conference selection as a Mastodon and a two-time team captain on the club scene.
Bitter holds both a bachelors and masters degree from IPFW, graduating in 2012 with a bachelors in mathematics teaching before gaining his masters in educational leadership in 2015.
“Garrett has a very good mind for the game of volleyball, which has immediately helped us in the gym,” McFatrich said. “He sees the game well and has a great teaching manner. He does well in both individual and group training session and also has strong recruiting ties, which will help us greatly in that regard.”
“It’s an honor to be able to join the Mississippi State volleyball staff and have the opportunity to coach in such a dominant league like the SEC,” Bitter said. “I’m thankful to athletic director John Cohen, coach David McFatrich and the entire administration for this opportunity to be a part of the MSU family. I am also extremely grateful for the leadership and teachings of my previous mentors and coaches. Their knowledge, leadership and character were key in leading me to Mississippi State. This volleyball program is certainly on the rise and I am excited to become a part of this family and help take it to even greater heights.”
A star setter in his own playing days, Bitter was responsible for the growth and development of star Stony Brook setter Morgan Kath, who finished the season second in the league with 926 assists and third with 9.65 assists per set. Kath wrapped up her sophomore campaign standing fourth on the school’s all-time assists per set list and seventh on the total assists chart.
Three years before heading to New York, Bitter served as an assistant at IPFW. While with the Mastodons, Bitter worked primarily with the program’s setters while also overseeing offensive gameplanning, scouting, recruiting and video analysis. In his first season in 2013, IPFW setter Madison Spence led the Summit League with 11.01 assists per set. In 2015, Bitter coached freshman setter Madison Jaqua to a Summit League All-Freshman team honor.
Coaching experience for Bitter dates back to 2007 when he first started working with the Sports Performance Volleyball Club in his hometown of Aurora, Ill. He most recently served as the head coach of the boys 16 and 14 Runbirds after serving as an assistant coach for the boys 17 Mizuno's for two years.
Bitter has been involved with multiple camps throughout his volleyball career, including Attack/Pass, Boys All Skills, Setting Academy, 1st Contact Academy, Middle Blocker Academy and Collegiate Setting camps. He also spent five years as the head coach for the Boys Summer Program of the Sports Performance Volleyball Club.
On top of working with the Sports Performance Volleyball Club, Bitter also spent time at Waubonsie Valley (Ill.) High School, where he coached boys' volleyball in the spring of 2013. He was an assistant coach for the varsity program and was responsible for training setters as well as working with liberos on defensive strategies. Bitter also coached the Geneva (Ill.) High School girls squad.
As a player, Bitter began his volleyball career at Waubonsie Valley High where he was a four-year letterwinner and a two-time team captain. Bitter was an all-conference selection at the setter position and he also led his team to a conference and regional championship in 2006.
His career continued at IPFW while also participating on multiple teams at the Sports Performance Volleyball Club. He was a 2010 MIVA Academic All-Conference selection as a Mastodon and a two-time team captain on the club scene.
Bitter holds both a bachelors and masters degree from IPFW, graduating in 2012 with a bachelors in mathematics teaching before gaining his masters in educational leadership in 2015.
“Garrett has a very good mind for the game of volleyball, which has immediately helped us in the gym,” McFatrich said. “He sees the game well and has a great teaching manner. He does well in both individual and group training session and also has strong recruiting ties, which will help us greatly in that regard.”
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