Piedmont University Athletics

Sid Feldman just completed his 7th season as the Head Coach of the Piedmont College volleyball program during the 2015 campaign continuing one of the sport’s most illustrious coaching careers.  With close to 500 collegiate victories to his name, the former University of Georgia Head Coach traded his Bulldog colors for Piedmont Green and Gold to continue a winning tradition of Lady Lion volleyball, a task the long-time coach has been more than up to.
 
At the close of the 2013 season which was his fifth in Division III (the required minimum number of years to be counted into NCAA Division III statistical coaching records), Feldman’s career coaching numbers placed him amongst the winningest coaches in the nation.  The coach ranked 32nd in total wins (453) and 45th in winning percentage (.670) amongst the winningest active coaches in the country in Division III.

"What they're saying about Coach Feldman..."

"Sid Feldman is a ‘one-of-a-kind’ person and volleyball coach. Clearly, he loves volleyball and his passion for the sport is, at times, overwhelming, but Sid is even more intense about the transformative power of competitive play for young women. His success in winning matches and developing people is not by accident.”      -Kathy DeBoer, American Volleyball     Coaches Association     Executive Director

"Sid Feldman is one of the finest coaches in the country. He has had tremendous success at every level; high school, club, Division 1 and Division 3. Sid is passionate about the game of volleyball and without question is one of the reasons that volleyball is one of the fastest growing sports in the United States. Every athlete that has had the privilege of being coached by Sid has had her life changed in a positive way."     -Jenny McDowell, Emory University     Head Volleyball Coach

"Sid has creatively made a difference over the last 4 decades to east coast volleyball in a way few have, despite his being 'vertically challenged,' to players’, coaches’ and parents’ lives."     -John Kessel, USA Volleyball     Director, Sport Development

 
Feldman’s career is truly one of volleyball’s best amongst the collegiate ranks as he has coached more than 700 matches in now 20 years with three different institutions with experience at the NCAA Division I and III levels as well as the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). 

In his seven years on campus at Piedmont, the head coach has tallied 153 wins earning his 400th career victory while pacing the sidelines of the Cave in his third year with the program.  Feldman’s Piedmont squads have collected 18 All-Conference awards, 51 All-Academic honorees (through the 2014 season), and a trio of All-Freshman selections.  Additionally, Feldman also mentored back-to-back conference Freshman of the Year honorees and produced four conference Libero of the Year award winners in his first five seasons with PC.
 
Feldman’s Piedmont teams have posted two conference runner-up finishes and claimed a conference title as well while his 2013 squad put up perhaps one of the best seasons by any Lady Lion volleyball team with a 28-win year, the most in any single season in the program’s close to 20-year history. 
 
In 2014, Feldman’s Lady Lions posted yet another 20-win season, the program’s 10th straight such season with six of those coming under the watchful eye of one of the game’s legends on the sidelines.  Two Lady Lions were named All-Conference selections while Kaitlin Norman became Piedmont’s first-ever two-time Capital One Academic All-American selection earning the honor at the end of ’14.
 
His 2013 team went 28-9 on the year posting a program-record 13-match winning streak as the squad also got off to the best 16-game start in program history as well dropping just one of those decisions on the way to a 15-1 mark out the gate.  Feldman’s squad would pick up a win in the USA South’s Championship Tournament defeating William Peace 3-1 in the quarters before falling in the semifinals to Averett University. 
 
2013 saw a trio of Lady Lions take home All-Conference honors while Katie Faith was honored as the league’s Libero of the Year marking the 4th time in five seasons that a Piedmont player has claimed that honor, but the first since PC joined the USA South in 2012-13.  Faith also was honored as a Capital One Academic All-District along with two of her teammates in Ashley Fannon and Kaitlin Norman. 
 
Norman went on to earn Capital One Academic All-American honors becoming just the second Piedmont student-athlete ever to earn the distinction and the first of four such honorees in the 2013-14 academic year alone.  Norman was also one of 13 Lady Lions to take Academic All-Conference honors on the season, the most ever in a single season for the Green and Gold as Piedmont placed nearly 200 student-athletes total on the list on the year, the most of any member institution one year after finishing 2nd in that category.
 
In the fall of 2012, Coach Feldman led his team into a new era as the Lady Lions began play in the USA South Athletic Conference after a 12-year affiliation with the Great South Athletic Conference.  Piedmont finished the year with a 21-12 overall record making an appearance in the league’s championship tournament to mark the 13th straight year that the Piedmont volleyball program made a post-season conference tournament appearance.  More impressive than his team’s on-the-court accomplishments was his squad’s academic success as 11 student-athletes were honored on the 2012-13 Academic All-Conference Team for carrying above a 3.0 GPA in both semesters of the academic year. 
 
The 2011 Piedmont volleyball team gave Feldman his second conference runner-up finish in his first three seasons at the helm posting a 22-14 overall mark for a .636 winning percentage.  Additionally his team claimed two of the conference’s top three individual awards with a Freshman of the Year (Jennifer Opper) and Libero of the Year (Paige Eslinger) both coming from the Piedmont Lady Lions while eight players were named All-Academic honorees.
 
On the way to a GSAC tournament championship in 2010, the Lady Lions also boasted both the conference Libero of the Year (Paige Eslinger) and Freshman of the Year (Kat Knarr) again as PC claimed the GSAC’s top defensive individual honor for the second straight season.  A half dozen Lady Lions were placed on the GSAC All-Academic team, a number that led the league in that category, while his squad was also honored with the Team Academic Award from the AVCA for carrying above a 3.30 cumulative GPA during the academic year.
 
The 2010 championship team also gave Feldman another berth in the NCAA postseason to add to his record after having already taken the University of Georgia to a pair of NCAA tourney appearances.  Piedmont’s NCAA showing was the second such appearance for the Lady Lions overall and came just three seasons after the program’s NCAA postseason debut in 2007 under then Head Coach Katie O’Brien.  Ironically enough, Feldman’s 2010 Lady Lions matched up against the nation’s #1 team that season in the Emory Eagles, a squad coached by Jenny McDowell who played for Coach Feldman while he was the head coach at Georgia.

Feldman’s first team in 2009 continued an established tradition of excellence posting a 24-9 overall record including a 6-1 mark in Great South Athletic Conference play. In his debut season with the Lady Lions, Feldman oversaw a career record-breaking performance at the setting position while also mentoring the GSAC Libero of the Year (Jen Granlund) and three additional All-Conference selections. His squad’s accolades were not limited to the court as five netters were recognized for their work in the classroom as GSAC All-Academic honorees.

Feldman began his head coaching career at Yorktown High School where he remained from 1971-1977 totaling a 91-17 overall record for an incredible .841 winning percentage. His teams also laid claim to four regional championships in just six seasons with Feldman as the head coach.

After his initial coaching stint at Yorktown, Feldman then moved on to serve as the first head coach in the history of the volleyball program at the University of Georgia. From 1978 to 1988, Feldman was a presence on the Lady Bulldog sidelines amassing a 318-135 overall record over 11 seasons making him the all-time winningest coach in UGA Volleyball history in both number of wins and win percentage. Feldman’s teams set 16 school records still holding many of those to this day including the marks for longest winning streak having taken 25 consecutive matches in 1982 and best home record in a season going 16-1 in 1985.

During his tenure at Georgia, Feldman was voted the Southeastern Conference’s (SEC) Coach of the Year and led the Lady Bulldogs to two conference championships (1985 & 1986) to go with one tournament title (1985). Feldman also guided the UGA volleyball program to its highest NCAA post-season finishes in the program’s history with a pair of Sweet 16 appearances in 1985 and 1986. For his efforts, he was named the American Volleyball Coaches Association Regional Coach of the Year in 1986.

His most recent college head coaching experience prior to arriving at Piedmont came at NAIA member Brenau University during the 1996 and 1997 seasons. In his two seasons at the Gainesville, GA school, he totaled a 20-30 record highlighted by a 17-15 overall record in 1997 marking one of the school’s first-ever winning seasons.

In addition to his coaching pedigree, Feldman also has an administrative background in volleyball as he created and coordinated the Junior Olympic programs throughout the Southern Region of USA Volleyball. He spent a decade as the administrator of the Georgia Juniors, a registered Junior Olympic program, coaching several teams at varying age levels. Feldman has also served as a member of the NCAA Division-I Regional Volleyball Committee and was the author of the original Volleyball Statistics Manual still used today across the sport at all levels.

Feldman resides in Athens, GA with wife of 30-plus years, the former Martha Harriet Few. The two are proud parents of a daughter, Kara, and also have a grandchild, Myles.
 

Season	Record	Pct.	School Name
2015	18-15	.545	Piedmont
2014	20-13	.606	Piedmont
2013	28-9	.757	Piedmont
2012	21-12	.636	Piedmont
2011	22-14	.611	Piedmont
2010	20-14	.588	Piedmont
2009	24-9	.727	Piedmont
1997	17-15	.531	Brenau
1996	3-15	.167	Brenau
1988	24-12	.667	Georgia
1987	20-14	.588	Georgia
1986	33-8	.805	Georgia
1985	37-7	.841	Georgia
1984	28-11	.718	Georgia
1983	22-10	.688	Georgia
1982	41-12	.774	Georgia
1981	46-16	.742	Georgia
1980	31-11	.738	Georgia
1979	19-15	.559	Georgia
1978	17-19	.472	Georgia
Totals	491-251	.662	3 Schools

Coach Feldman Coaching Record by School (1978-Present)

School Name	Seasons	Record	Winning Pct.
Piedmont College (2009-2015)	7	153-86	.640
Brenau University (1996-1997)	2	20-30	.400
University of Georgia (1978-1988)	11	318-135	.702

Coach Feldman Career Milestones
400th Career Victory - October 15, 2011 at Wesleyan (3-0)
300th Career Victory - September 17, 1988 vs. Auburn (3-2)
200th Career Victory - November 5, 1984 at Clemson (3-0)
100th Career Victory - November 3, 1981 vs. North Georgia (2-0)
1st Career Victory - 1978 vs. Furman (2-0)