Joel Rudd

During my 6 years with Coach Darren I have grown not only as an athlete, but as a man. The skills that he taught me from a young age created a strong base on which I could develop as an athlete and a volleyball player, while his tactical knowledge helped me to think about the game in a deeper way. His understanding and confidence in my ability would help me improve no matter what, and were a significant help in getting through tough years of injury. His positive and intense demeanor always creates a competitive atmosphere, while his passion for the sport is contagious. Without Coach Darren, I wouldn't have the same passion that has brought me success in high performance environments. Through thoughts of the day, he inspired me to focus on becoming not just a great volleyball player, but also a great man. His focus has always been for his athletes to improve both as a person and as a volleyball player. And despite the successes in sport that he has helped me achieve, the most important thing that I have gained from years of knowing Darren is the inspiration to be the best man that I can be, regardless of my success in sport."

2x Youth National Team 2014 & 2015 | Starting Leftside for Queen's University 2016/17 | OUA All-Rookie Team selection 2016/17

Kelsey Veltman

I was lucky enough to have Darren as my coach in the early stages of my beach career, not only have I learned a lot from him technically, but also mentally. He has helped me with many aspects of my beach game that could also be transferred to my indoor game, helping me become an all round better athlete.

2016 Adult National Champ | NORCECA Athlete (NorthBay and Puerto Rico) | U21 Worlds Participant | 3X OUA West Player of the Year | 3X All-Canadian

Tomas Sorra

I had the privilege of being under the guidance of Darren O'Neil over the past three years through the Ontario provincial beach volleyball team. Darren was also one of my coaches at the U19 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships this past July in Cyprus. His insightful eye and meticulous attention to detail makes him a very effective coach and trainer. His perspective, both as a coach and athlete has provided me with a great variety of tools for tremendous success in this sport. Hence my partner and I have recently qualified as Canada 1 for the U21 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships in China. I thank Darren for all his past and continued support.

2013 14u beach volleyball Canadian National silver medalist  | 2014 15u beach volleyball Canadian National champion | 2014 Ontario Summer Games (beach volleyball) silver medalist | 2014 Ontario Winter Games (indoor volleyball) gold medalist | 2016 18u beach volleyball Canadian National bronze medalist | 2016 U19 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships athlete | Team Ontario beach volleyball athlete from 2014-2015-2016 |

Lukas Kaufman

Over the 4 years of playing for Darren O’Neil my love for the game of volleyball has grown to bring me to where I am today. And his love for the game is just as strong as it was when he told my 14u team that we were good enough to compete with anyone. His message never changed over my career as an OVA competitor. I used to think he was crazy, being an undersized team from the Kitchener Waterloo area. But as I got older I realized that he put his belief in every one of my teammates, including myself, that we could do anything we put our mind to, and not just in the sport of volleyball. His message to us was that he not only wanted to make us good volleyball players, but good men, and I believe that by example, he has led us all to reach that goal of his. Whether it was missing practice to study for an exam, or wanting to change positions (more than once), Darren always had my back and helped me as much as he could. Darren is truly a great coach, and he has helped me become the volleyball player, and man that I am today.

18u tier 2 gold at Nationals 2016 | Starting libero for Queen’s University 2016/17 | OUA All-Rookie Team selection 2016/17 |

That first summer, I remember saying "our daughter will play beach volleyball to keep her skills up for indoor". How wrong I was! It was only a brief matter of time before I was saying "beach volleyball catapulted our daughter's skill to new levels" But how? League play. Skill development. Participation in weekend OVA and satellite tournaments. AND another essential factor....coach Darren O'Neil! It was an honour for our daughter to receive coaching from Darren who is a highly skilled, knowledgeable and dedicated individual. Above all else, Darren emphasized several important messages that remain with us today "I want to see you smiling and having fun just as you were during warm up" "when conditions seem to be against you--remember that they are the same conditions faced by everyone on the court" and "each point...individually--one at a time". Thanks Coach Darren O'Neil!

Kathy (parent of competitive Beach Volleyball player)

As a parent of a young daughter who loves volleyball I was so happy to find a coach such as coach Darren. He has coached my daughter for the last 3 years and it's because of his attention to detail and caring ways, that my daughter has developed into a well rounded beach player. Coach Darren would come to the girls tournaments and have conversations before, during and after the matches. I would highly recommend coach Darren as a beach volleyball coach.

Crystal (mother of 15U beach volleyball athlete)