Bio

Heath Griffin started playing volleyball in 1992 at the age of 19.  He picked it up with some guys from Shaw Air Force Base and started learning the game of beach volleyball.  Being from Sumter, pursuing beach volleyball was definitely a challenge!  Griffin started getting serious about the game and setting higher goals in 1996 after going to see the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, realizing that is where he wanted to be.  He was lucky enough to train in Myrtle Beach and Deerfield, Florida with 3 future Olympians. Griffin won the American Volleyball Series in 2000, which opened his gateway to play in AVP Qualifiers from 2001-2009.  Throughout his career, Griffin played on several different beach tours, including EVP, East End Volleyball, and Toyota Pro-Am Tour.  He accumulated 23 wins at the top level in grass and beach volleyball.  He was also lucky enough to play in 4 indoor National teams at 4 different positions. Griffin played in the US Open Nationals in Dallas, Texas in 2002 as an outside hitter, US Open Nationals in Denver, Colorado in 2005 as a Middle Blocker, US Open Nationals in Atlanta, Georgia as a Right-Side Hitter, and US Open National in Louisville, Kentucky as a libero. 

Griffin's coaching career started in 1996 as an assistant at Sumter High School.  He then took a head coaching job with a travel program out of Columbia, SC.  His first head coaching job at a high school was with Thomas Sumter Academy in 2004.  He coached there for 3 years, making state playoffs his last 2 years.  Griffin then went to Lee Academy, where they won their Region 3 straight years and made it to the final four in state.  After meeting his wife in 2005 while both playing in a tournament in Asheville, they started working on developing a travel volleyball program in Sumter for girls ages 10-18. The two were married in 2008 and started their program the same year.  Griffin and his wife started out with 12 girls in 2008 and now have over 130 girls attending!  In 2009 Griffin took the assistant coaching job at Coker College (now Coker University). He assisted there for 3 years and became the interim Head Coach in 2011.  He decided to step down and join the Sumter Fire Department in 2012 when his first son, Gray, was born to be closer to home.  Griffin and his wife now have 2 boys, Gray and Gage, 9 and 7 years old. He coaches the 18 Nationals team for his club, Sumter Juniors, and has been over the volleyball program at Sumter High School for the last 3 years.  As of this year, Griffin has gone full circle and returned to Lee Academy to help build the program back to where it once was. Now, He is excited about his new position at USC Sumter and looks forward to building this program and going after a NJCAA Championship in the future!