Coaches
Head Coach: Ernest Rittenhouse
He is the current 2025 High School State of Florida Coach of the Year for the large school division 6A. As a coach of high schoolers, he has coached more than 70 players to college scholarships, including 9 to the relatively new collegiate beach game. Some have gone to become collegiate All-Americans, NCAA National Champions, and even professionals. For both beach and indoor, boys and girls, in 29 years of coaching, he has a record of 674 wins versus 218 losses for interscholastic contests, coaching at the large school division high school level in both California and Florida.
Coach Rittenhouse first began coaching high schoolers at Camarillo High in 1996. At first, it was just a hobby, getting paid to enjoy volleyball. Winning seasons started to turn into championship seasons, with a California Interscholastic Federation Championship in 2003 and a final 4 appearance in 2004.
In 2004, he moved to coach the girls varsity team at Westlake High in Southern California. There were 315 wins in 16 years of indoor coaching with Westlake High. It required averaging 20-win seasons (vs single digit losses) against large school competition in a hotbed of volleyball, Southern California, for more than a decade and a half. For the Westlake beach team (started in 2013), there was an overall win/loss record was 86-9.
Upon moving to Florida in 2021, he accepted the coaching job for the Horizon varsity girls team. As a brand new high school, he embraced the challenge of building a program from scratch. The team has gone 89-29 in the first five years of the indoor program/school existence. There were District Championships in 2022 and 2023, Metro West Champions in 2024, and District Champions again in 2025. They have gone 55-14 in beach interscholastic volleyball for the first 5 years of the beach program, winning back to back District Championships on the sand in 2025 and 2026.
He is certified through the CIF/American Sport Education Program, Impact and SafeSport certified with USA Volleyball, and Double Goal Certified through the AAU and the Positive Coaching Alliance Program. He is a long-time member of the American Volleyball Coaches Association. He has been CPR certified for 30 years. He teaches with Orange County Public Schools. This means he has undergone the requisite background check, CPR/First Aid training, and fingerprinting, along with completion of the Heat Illness, Recruiting, and Concussion (National Federation of High Schools) classes.
Coach Rittenhouse worked as a corporate manager in Los Angeles, coaching in the evening and weekend hours. In Florida, he is teaching at Horizon High School. Back in the day, as a player, he was the first MVP for the inaugural boys’ team in 1989 at Camarillo High. He was a team captain in high school and in college at Point Loma. Many beach tournaments in college also helped to pay some bills. He has been married to Teresa for 33 years and has 3 grown children.
Coach Mia Layman
Born in Romania, Mihaela Layman developed a passion for volleyball at an early age, playing from age eight through eighteen. As a setter and team captain, she developed strong communication, leadership, and teamwork skills, along with an understanding of the game. A highlight of her playing years was helping her team earn a bronze medal at Romania’s national high school tournament.
Following her playing years, Mihaela spent a summer coaching a small group of children in Romania, where she discovered how rewarding it was to share her knowledge and help young players develop their skills. Although her career later took her into logistics, her love for volleyball remained. After years away from the sport, she has returned with renewed enthusiasm and a commitment to teaching the next generation.
Mihaela’s approach to coaching centers on strong fundamentals, building confidence, encouraging teamwork, and developing a lasting love of the game. She aims to create a positive, supportive environment where players feel encouraged to learn, improve, and support one another. Drawing on her experience as both a player and a captain, she hopes to help young athletes grow on and off the court.
Coach Olivia Wegner
Olivia began her volleyball career in middle school, playing alongside a dedicated group of teammates who remained together throughout high school. Together, they achieved success—finishing as Colorado State Runner-Up in their junior year and capturing the Colorado State Championship title as seniors. During this time, Olivia also competed on competitive travel club teams, further developing her technical skills and strategic understanding of the game.
After graduating, Olivia returned to her home club, where she coached for multiple seasons and focused on fostering the growth and confidence of young athletes. Following her move to Florida, she continued to stay active in the sport through adult sand volleyball leagues while earning her degree from the University of Central Florida and working as an Attractions Manager at Walt Disney World.
Olivia is proud to bring her experience as both a player and coach to Western Orlando Volleyball Club. She is passionate about player development, teamwork, and instilling a lifelong love for the game in every athlete she works with.