All American, Bonnie Bright
Bonnie Bright's family was featured in Volleyball Magazine on the list of the top ten families of volleyball. Her volleyball career began early as she was born to volleyball Olympian Patti Bright and Olympian and Beach Volleyball Legend Mike Bright. Please see below for Bright's list of volleyball accomplishments. Bright grew to love volleyball as she was carted around to her parent's tournaments and beach games. She and her mom peppered in the back yard and in the racquetball court at Pepperdine University, and they started playing in beach tournaments together when Bright was twelve. Her parents allowed her to tie a hammock across the back yard to play against friends. When she was old enough, she rode her bike or took the bus to Santa Monica's State Beach to play the seven games a day recommended by her father. State Beach was the home of many volleyball greats those days and Bright had the opportunity to play with and against all of them (Sinjin Smith, Nancy Cohen, Ryan Moos, Elane Roque, Randy Stoklos, Liz Masakayan, Liane Sato, Veronica Sanchez, Sarah Schroeder, Eric Sato, Dain Blanton, Tom and John Ribarich, Tiffany Rochelle Anderson, Monique Oliver, Mary Bailey, Dane Selznick...the list is too long to mention everyone). When Bright got her driver's license, it was off to the beach and open rec every chance she got.
"You can learn a lot from playing with people who have been around the game a while. Sinjin Smith and Randy Stoklos put in hours and hours of game play, always maintaining beautiful form, even when tired. Dane Selznick showed me how to train for beach volleyball with four mile soft sand runs, sit ups and wind sprints. I also ran the Fourth Street stairs several times a week. I played every indoor season on the same team with my mom, Olympian Patti Bright, and my aunt, All American Nancy Canning-Evans. My grandmother, Bertha Lucas, was the team sponsor and sometimes also a player. The women on that team taught me invaluable lessons and gave me life long friendships."
Photos by Jim Jennings 1999
Maile Christine Counts, May 2000
1st Place, Manhattan Beach Surf Festival 1998 (Fun Fact: Brooke Rundle and Brooke Niles also competed on this team. Mike Bright, Larry Rundle and
Video Footage:
Highlights from the USA Volleyball National Championships, #2 in solid red
Footage of Bonnie Playing Beach (Age 44, Purple Bikini)
Bonnie (age 51/days before getting a pacemaker) and Daughter Maile
High School Achievements (Coach, Patti Bright)
College Achievements
USA Volleyball National Championships
2011 US Open, Women's 45's, 1st Place, All Tournament Team and Most Valuable Player
2005 US Open, Women's Silver A, 2nd Place
1998 US Open, Women's 30's, 3rd Place
1999 Westside Volleyball Co-ed Nationals Las Vegas, Sept 23rd, First Place
1999 Westside Volleyball Reverse Co-ed Nationals, Las Vegas, Sept 24th, First Place
Beach Achievements
Footage of Bonnie Playing Beach (Age 44, Purple Bikini)
Bonnie (age 51/days before getting a pacemaker) and Daughter Maile
Bonnie Bright Beach Volleyball
CBVA Beach Volleyball Results:
Competed in CBVA since 1978 but can't find results
9/3/1994 CALIFORNIA CUP Women's Open Manhattan Beach Pier Second Place
4/29/1995 Women's Open Playa del Rey Seventh Place
5/5/1995 Women's Open Santa Barbara Fifth Place
5/13/1995 Women's Open Playa del Rey Fifth Place
7/15/1995 Women's Open Will Rogers State Beach Seventh Place
7/12/1997 WOMENS AAA Will Rogers State Beach Fifth Place
7/26/1997 WOMENS AAA Manhattan Beach Pier Fifth Place
8/9/1997 BLVF-WOMENS AAA Manhattan Beach Pier Third Place
8/23/1997 WOMENS AA Manhattan Beach Pier First Place
7/11/1998 Women's AAA Will Rogers State Beach Second Place
4/10/1999 Women's AAA Playa del Rey Second Place
4/18/1999 Women's AAA Doheny First Place
4/24/1999 Festival-Women's AAA Playa del Rey First Place
5/1/1999 Women's AAA Santa Monica/Ocean Park First Place
6/26/1999 CBVA Festival Women's AAA Santa Barbara Second Place
6/27/1999 Women's AAA/CBVA, Santa Barbara Second Place
7/10/1999 Women's AAA Will Rogers State Beach Third Place
7/10/1999 CAL CUP Coed Open Ventura State Beach Third Place
9/4/1999 Cal Cup Women's AAA Manhattan Beach Pier Fifth Place
4/21/2001 Women's AAA Doheny First Place
5/26/2001 Women's AAA Hermosa Beach Pier Ninth Place
6/2/2001 Women's AAA Ocean Beach Fifth Place
6/30/2001 Women's AAA Santa Barbara Fifth Place
8/11/2001 Women's Open AVA, Santa Barbara First Place
8/18/2001 Women's AAA Manhattan Beach Pier Second Place
6/1/2002 Redsand Ocean Beach Second Place
7/20/2002 Laguna Open Laguna Beach Second Place
7/27/2002 Bud Light Six Pack Open Manhattan Beach Pier Third Place
4/19/2003 CBVA Adult Doheny Third Place
6/28/2003 BUD LIGHT SIX PACK OPEN Santa Barbara Seventh Place
7/19/2003 CBVA Adult Laguna Beach First Place
4/17/2005 Third Degree Open Doheny Fifth Place
8/19/2006 Women's AA Ocean Beach Second Place
3/3/2012 Women's A, Manhattan Beach 2nd Place
4/7/2012 Women's A, Playa Del Rey 1st Place
Other Results Beach Results
4/25/1999 Women's AAA/AVA, Manhattan Beach Second Place
5/13-16/1999 FIVB Huntington Beach 17th Place
6/11-13/1999 AVP Hermosa Beach 17th Place
6/20/1999 Cal King Mixed Doubles, Huntington Beach First Place
7/11/1999 Grass Reverse Coed/CBVA, Ventura Third Place
7/24/1999 Grass Nationals/Women's Doubles, Minden, Nevada Fourth Place
9/30/1999 Aloha Days Draw Tournament, Ocean Beach First Place
2003 Coed Draw, Newport Beach Third Place
10/18/2003 Women's Queen of the Beach, Corona Del Mar Second Place
7/25/2004 BUD LIGHT SIX PACK OPENS Manhattan Beach Pier Forth Place
Coaching History
IMPACT Certified Indoor Volleyball Coach
1985 Kathy Gregory Volleyball Camp
1990's Ran 1-day high school camps with my mom/Olympian, Patti Bright
2010 Local Season- Moonlight Crashers 15's
2010 Pre-season SoCal 12u Elite
2011 SoCal 12u Local
2011 Pre-season 12u
2012 SoCal 12u Local
2012 Head Coach/ Sinjin Smith and Randy Stoklos Beach Volleyball Camps
2012-2013 Carlsbad Juniors 14's
2013 Head Coach/ Sinjin Smith and Randy Stoklos Beach Volleyball Camps
2013 Marv Dunphy Volleyball Camp
2013 Socal VBC Fall Ball 14-1
2014 Wahine VBC 14-1
2014 Head Coach at Mission Vista High School
2014 Assistant Coach SDVBC 15-G
2015 Head Coach SDVBC 16-2
2015-Present Head Coach Bright Volleyball Club
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