Michael Soylular
Laguna Beach Club Director
Email: michael@lbvbc.com
From Europe to the United States, from the East Coast to Southern California, Coach Michael Soylular's volleyball career spans countries, languages, and decades, achieving success at every step along the way. Throughout his time as a player and 38 plus years as a coach, Coach Soylular has continued to hold true to his belief in the importance that solid fundamentals, a strong work ethic, and one's strength of character plays in one's success. As Club Director or LBVBC for the past 30 years, Coach Soylular continues to emphasize these values in his coaching staff and players.
Coach Soylular began playing volleyball in Turkey at the age of 13. With hard work he went on to play for one of the top professional volleyball clubs in Europe, Eczacibasi, based out of Istanbul. During his time with Eczacibasi the team won two consecutive Turkish National Championships and Coach Soylular had the opportunity to play with and against some of the best players in the world. Along the way he garnered numerous All-Tournament, All-League, and MVP honors.
Coach Soylular's coaching career in the United States began at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock where he served as the Women's and Men's Head Volleyball Coach from 1982-1986. With the Women's Team, Coach Soylular accumulated an overall record of 124-25, garnering NAIA District Coach of the Year honors twice (1985 & 1986). Meanwhile, the Men's Team compiled an impressive record of 27-7 and won the Trans-American Athletic Conference Title twice (1985 & 1986). Coach Soylular then moved on to Wichita State where he served as an Assistant Coach with the Women's Program (1986-1987). Coach Soylular continued on to the West Coast where he was the Head Coach of the Men's Volleyball Team and Assistant Coach for the Women's Team at Cal Poly Pomona. While at Cal Poly Pomona, the team was ranked in the top 15 in National Polls and qualified for the NCAA playoffs twice. From there he became an Assistant Coach at the University of Virginia where he oversaw recruiting, scouting, and game management.
As Coach Soylular moved on from the college game, he continued to find success at the high school and club levels. As Head Coach of both the Boys' and Girls' Volleyball Teams at Laguna Beach High School (1991-1996) he helped guide his teams to two CIF Championships (1991 & 1996), nine league titles, and numerous other CIF and State appearances. In 1997 Coach Soylular returned to the collegiate volleyball scene as the Head Women's Volleyball Coach at Cypress College (1997-2000) where he guided his team to the State Finals twice (1998, 1999) and garnered Orange Empire Conference Community College Coach of the Year Honors (1999). In all, during his collegiate coaching career Coach Soylular accumulated a overall record of 185-57, developed nine All-Americans, and 14 All-Region players.
Since Coach Soylular was named Club Director, LBVBC has captured eight National Championships (1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2002, 2007, 2008, and 2019). As a coach, he has coached players, male and female, of all ages and skill levels, both indoors and on the beach. Over 100 of his club and high school players have gone on to play at the collegiate level. Of those, a number of players have continued on to play professionally and at the National Team level. Most recently, Coach Soylular has led his last five 18-1 teams to one National Championship, three bronze medals (2015, 2017, 2018) and one silver medal (2016) at the USAV Junior National Championships.
Coach Soylular received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Liberal Arts from the University of Arkansas, Little Rock (1983) and his Master's Degree in Management and Administration from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (1989). He currenly resides in Laguna Hills with his wife, Carolyn, and two daughters, Kara and Sara.
