Colorado Springs, Colo. (June 8, 2021) – USA Ultimate, the national governing body for the sport of ultimate in the United States and proud member of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, is excited to announce the assistant coaches selected to help lead the men’s, mixed and women’s national teams competing at the 2022 WFDF World Beach Ultimate Championships (WBUC).
Tyler Kinley (Ann Arbor, Mich.) will support Head Coach Bryan Jones with coaching the men’s team, Ken Porter (Indian Trail, N.C.) will assist Head Coach John Groess with the mixed team, and Sean McCall (Houston, Texas) will join Head Coach Samantha Broaddus in leading the women’s team.
Kinley has left his footprint on several major levels within the ultimate community on and off the field of play. Known for his prowess as a handler and top defender, Kinley has competed on the national and world championship stage with the club men’s team Seattle Sockeye, and also has extensive experience at the beach world championship level, serving as a captain, leader or team manager for three consecutive gold-medal-winning teams. Transitioning to the sidelines as a head coach, Kinley has led the Michigan MagnUM college men’s team to multiple Great Lakes Regional Championships titles and D-I College Championships berths, as well as led the Michigan High Five club team to multiple National Championships appearances. Additionally, in 2015, he spent two weeks in the Philippines running 10 coaching and leadership clinics teaching the importance of having a unified team culture and identity, where the biggest takeaway was how even the toughest and most competitive players primarily valued being part of a team culture where they could be vulnerable and feel supported.
As a former two-sport D-I collegiate athlete walk-on, and someone who has coached and played ultimate in North Carolina at all levels, Porter provides the mixed team with a breadth of coaching experience and knowledge. He has been the head coach of the D-III college men’s team at Davidson College since 2014, leading them to two D-III College Championships appearances and placing second overall in 2017. Outside of Davidson, Porter has also coached at NC State and UNC-Charlotte, as well as local youth teams Charlotte Flight (youth club) and the ultimate team at Cardinal Gibbons High School, the latter of which won a state championship during his tenure.
McCall rounds out the group of assistant coaches and brings over 20 years of international beach ultimate experience to this year’s WBUC Women’s National Team. His career in beach ultimate began in the 90s participating in the Texas Beach Ultimate Fest (TBUF), where he went on to organize the event’s competitive divisions well into the 2000s. He has also organized and captained the mixed team No Tsu Oh, one of the most decorated and spirited beach ultimate teams who have finished among the top-4 mixed teams at every USA Ultimate Beach Championships. Additionally, similar to Kinley, McCall has been a part of three consecutive gold-medal-winning national teams at the beach world championship level, serving as a team manager in 2015 and 2017. Outside of coaching, McCall has competed extensively on the national and world championship stages throughout his 27-year career, almost half of the time serving as team captain or in another leadership capacity.
The 2022 World Beach Ultimate Championships are tentatively set for next spring. The location for the event is yet to be announced, but WFDF anticipates about 120 teams to attend the 8-day event.
Applications for all teams representing the U.S. attending the quadrennial event, including tryout information for men’s, mixed and women’s national teams, will be made available at a later date.
