Head Coach: Dinu Dan (718) 488-1532, ddan@liu.edu

Assistants: Radu Petrus, Agnes Godos

ABOUT COACH DAN
An impressive resume precedes first-year coach Dinu Dan. He has won conference championships, appeared in the NCAA Tournament, competed internationally and helped run a business.

The latest challenge presented to him is the task of being LIU’s fourth women’s volleyball coach. But the chance to guide a team that has not finished higher than seventh in the Northeast Conference the last four years is a welcomed opportunity.

“What’s going to be different is a sense of working within the team in a different environment,” Dan said. “I want to establish a foundation for the future of LIU’s women’s volleyball program and have the student-athletes regain their confidence and self-esteem.”

Dan arrives in downtown Brooklyn from Pace University, where he built a powerhouse with a 148-58 record over six seasons. At the Pleasantville, NY school, he guided the Setters to four straight Northeast-10 Conference championships (1997-2000).

In 1998 and 2000, Pace was the NCAA Division II Northeast Region champions and advanced to the national quarterfinals. For his effort, Dan was named Northeast-10 Conference and AVCA Division II Northeast Coach of the Year both seasons.

Division I is not a new experience for Dan, having served as an assistant for the men’s volleyball team at Rutgers from 1991-92 and again last spring. Dan also was the coach of the men’s team at Hunter College from 1997-98, posting a 23-28 record.

He guided the women’s squad at the College of St. Elizabeth (NJ) in 1995 and was an assistant with the women’s team at Montclair St. in 1991.

As a player, Dan competed in his native Romania from 1978-88 and also participated in European volleyball tournaments in nine different countries.

That knowledge of the international game has led Dan to bring in three players from overseas. These athletes have invaluable experience on the club level and are sure to make an immediate impact for the Blackbirds.

Dan also competed in the marathon at the 1990 Goodwill Games in Seattle and is a certified instructor of volleyball, tennis, gymnastics and karate.

Dan’s talents are not relegated to sports. He served as the coordinator of Body/Mind Empowerment Therapy in Bloomfield, NJ the last 10 years. Dan planned and implemented therapy programs for such disabilities as spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, strokes and cerebral palsy.

“In 1992 I created a program primarily designed for neuromuscular conditions, but these techniques also can be used on able-bodied people,” Dan said. “These techniques will help the student-athletes empower themselves to become more productive during practices and games.

“The principles will help the student-athletes get in touch with themselves. Their will, spirit and the ability to overcome any mental, physical and emotional limitations will be the key to turning around LIU’s women’s volleyball program.”

Dan received a Bachelor’s Degree in Administration Recreation from Kean University in 1996. He also earned a Diploma of Engineering in Romania in 1981.

Dan, who is fluent in Romanian and French, lives in Bloomfield, NJ.

ABOUT COACH PETRUS
Radu Petrus enters his first season on the collegiate level in America as the top assistant to head coach Dinu Dan.

Petrus arrives after serving as head coach of the men’s volleyball team at Oradea High School in Romania from 1983-2001. He guided the team to three appearances in the Junior Men’s Playoff, including a third-place finish in 1999. Petrus also helped five players make the national team and six qualified for the junior national squad.

From 1997-2001, Petrus coached Oradea in the Romanian Professional Second League and was responsible for all aspects of the team including budget management and travel. The club finished as high as third during his reign and he helped promote three players to the first league.

Petrus’ expertise also extends to beach volleyball as coach of the Nando Oradea club. He helped promote teams and players on the national circuit and his club captured the 2000 national championship. Nando Oradea traveled to Canada in 2001 for the “Jeux de Francofonie,” earning a fifth-place finish.

Petrus competed in the Romanian Professional First League while attending the University of Oradea, where he earned a degree in Physical Education in 1981.

Petrus resides in Glendale, NY.

ABOUT COACH GODOS
Agnes Godos begins her second season as a member of the Blackbirds’ coaching staff.

A former First Division volleyball player for Wulkan AZS Politechniks in Czestochowa, Poland, Godos will be instrumental in skill development and will help in many other aspects of the program.

A graduate of the Center of European Languages with a B.A. degree in American Literature in 1998, Godos is close to completing her Master’s Degree at Czestochowa Technical University.

A native of Skierniewice, Poland, Godos speaks four languages and resides in Brooklyn.