Ricardo Guimaraes enters his first season as an assistant coach on the FIU beach volleyball staff under Head Coach Rita Buck-Crockett.
Guimaraes brings vast national and international volleyball experience to the sand courts this spring, having coached for teams across the United States, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy and Brazil.
This past season, he served as assistant coach for Stetson University’s beach and indoor volleyball teams (2015-2016). The Hatters advanced to the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament for a third-straight year during the indoor season. On the sand, the Hatters posted a 28-9 overall record and finished the year ranked No. 8 in the nation, advancing to their first NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship.
Currently, Guimaraes is the Boys and Girls Under 17 National Coach of the Elite International Team for USA Beach Volleyball. His teams brought home gold and silver medals at the FIVB World Championship in Acapulco, Mexico, in 2014. Guimaraes also serves as a recruiter and evaluator for USA Volleyball and is responsible for training and evaluating U17 through U26 national camps and try-outs.
Since 2014, Guimaraes has served as the head volleyball consultant for Addalyst, who’s primary goal is to teach and share the vision of helping athletes get better and make a difference in their lives.
Before relocating to the United States, Guimaraes spent time abroad, coaching in Spain and the Netherlands. As head coach of the Netherlands Women’s National B Team, he successfully trained eight players that advanced to the national team and his team was crowned champion of the Dutch League in 2009. As an assistant coach, the Women’s Dutch National Team placed sixth at the World Grand Prix in 2005.
In the summer of 2003, Guimaraes served as the head coach for the Brazilian beach volleyball team and the following summer (2004) he served as the head coach for the Netherlands women’s beach team.
In 1998 Guimaraes served as an assistant coach on the FIVB and CBV Brazilian beach teams in Rio de Janeiro. He then traveled to Vicenza, Italy, to serve as second coach and physical trainer for the Minetti Vento Banca Vincenza Volley First Division (2001). During his time there, his squads were the champion of the Copa CEV Minetti Vicenza, International Volleyball Tournament in Greece, and runner-up of the Women’s International Volleyball Tournament in Sanremo, Italy.
Guimaraes’ own experience on the court includes being a starter for the University of Hawaii at Manoa team. Upon graduation he served as a graduate assistant coach in 1993, and he continued to play indoor and beach professionally for the USA, Brazil and the Netherlands.
Guimaraes received a bachelor of arts degree in operational events from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 1995. He received a master of business administration from Escuela de Negocios MBA Business School in Spain in 2003. He is fluent in English, Portuguese, Spanish and Italian.
