"I had a profoundly negative experience with this coach. Despite an impressive resume, their actual knowledge of volleyball seemed surprisingly limited. A concerning pattern emerged as their tenure at the school was brief, and it's regrettable that the athletic director didn't address the athletes' expressed concerns sooner. The coach failed to honor promises, which significantly damaged my confidence. There was a lack of concern for injuries, and academic priorities were disregarded. The coach often came across as arrogant, frequently comparing athletes to himself and insisting they emulate his own playing style. Normally this would be okay because I think that is what coaches are supposed to do. But he would do it say he wished he had a jersey and could play over us. Insisting he would do a better job I'm not one to leave negative feedback lightly, and I believe that at heart, this person has good intentions. However, their approach to volleyball coaching is clearly ineffective. I hope this review serves as a warning to other athletes. This experience was the worst I've ever had, but I'm grateful to have rediscovered my love for the sport. If you're considering playing in college and this coach is an option, please take this as a serious caution."

"I am not trying to insult Danny. I believe he is oblivious of the fact that coaching is not for him, sadly. My only intention is to ensure that no one else’s experience with volleyball is affected by a poor coach. Under Danny’s coaching, we did the same exact practice plan every single day. Which was not successful considering our losing record, even though he was handed a team that a knowledgeable coach recruited. We had the talent to be a decent team, but we had zero game plan. Never once did we discuss blocking schemes, accurate serving zones, nor an accurate defensive scheme. Our scouting sessions were SILENT. The only time he spoke would be to read their height, hometown, number, and name out loud, maybe their hitting percentage too, which is completely irrelevant to an affective game plan. In timeouts, he was silent. Our graduate assistant would have to step in. He does not push you to be your best, he does not know how to motivate, he does not know how to be a leader or enforcer. I don’t know how to give an example of the lack of these qualities because they are simply nonexistent. I cannot express this enough. From what I am aware, he has never corrected anyones form above an elementary level. The one time I can recall a correction was to toss the ball higher when I serve. His advice when our offense was struggling was to “aim at their faces” or “just don’t hit into the block.” Disregarding the idea that it would be a lot easier to not hit into the block if we had any form of an offensive scheme. The lineup practically rotated every set if he didn’t know what he needed to change/fix. Whether you were being pulled or being put in, there were often times that both parties were confused. He would swap the defensive specialist when we lost offensively, or swap the middles when we struggled with serve receive. His reasoning simply made zero sense even when he had the right people in. It’s just blindly changing the lineup to say he is trying something different. I could go on and on. This whole season was a JOKE. Additionally, his credentials of working with Kevin Hambly from Stanford is a joke. Danny joined a nonprofit organization for women in sports where Kevin Hambly joined afterwards. Danny’s volleyball IQ is in no way a reflection of his coincidental involvement with Hambly. I feel like this credential gets him these jobs that he is not truly built for. He also will claim to love volleyball. But when you love something, you naturally want to dedicate time and energy to better you understanding of that thing or person. Danny did not do this. As I have mentioned, he has zero advice to offer. He has zero understanding of the philosophies and schemes of volleyball above the elementary level. I have spent plenty of time around coaches and teammates that love volleyball, and PRODUCTIVE conversation naturally flows. Our film sessions did not reflect an ounce of passion or love. Film sessions are specifically dedicated time to remove the physical stress of the sport, to grow your mental understanding of the game/opposing team. It is incredibly frustrating when the “leader” of these film sessions has nothing of substance to offer. If you can only offer 30 minutes of SILENCE when surrounded by something you claim to love, I would argue you do not love that thing. Not to mention we would sometimes watch film as late as the day of or the day before a match. When I love something I do not want to shut up about it. It felt like Danny found any reason to avoid talking about volleyball because he has no answers. The only reason he was hired is that our head coach moved to a better job right before season so we had no time to find a coach, and he was our assistant coach the previous year. Which we were all fine with him as an assistant because of how knowledgeable our head coach was. He did not have many obligations that year besides being a practice player. This may be naive, but I do not believe Danny is trying to be a bad person. It would be giving him too much credit to say he is capable of comprehending the myriad of ways he has wasted so much time and potential. I truly think he is ignorant and oblivious to his lack of knowledge and leadership skills. This does not change the fact that he is not capable of running a program. He has negatively affected my ENTIRE team from ULM last year. All of this to say, he is an unfit coach at a level higher than a junior varsity team. "

" This is honestly pathetic what is happening right now. It is gross and sick he is not a good person nor a good coach. He will mentally make u quit on yourslef and does not care about your well being. He does not want to get to know you as a person, he doesn’t care about academics, he doesn’t care about injures. He should never and I mean ever be a coach over both males and women. He didn’t care about his staff as well other than one person he tore down many people along the way. It is disheartening to many athletes that he has affected. I hope these reviews all us athletes and parents have put out there are actually put into consideration so no one else goes through what we had to. "

"He should never be a coach and in a leadership role when it comes to both male and females ever. "

"Not experienced, ranking athletes on who is the favorite one, no equal opportunity, not knowledgeable about sport "

"Danny is simply not suited to be a head coach, particularly for a Division I program that demands not only tactical expertise but also a genuine commitment to the welfare of its players, both on and off the court. Unfortunately, his approach to coaching reveals a troubling lack of concern for his players’ overall well-being; his primary focus seems to revolve around what benefits he can derive from them. This self-serving mentality makes it clear that he prioritizes his own interests over those of the athletes he is meant to support and develop. Moreover, Danny's leadership style raises significant red flags. He has a tendency to lie and play favorites, creating a divisive environment that undermines team cohesion. While he held the title of head coach, it was evident that he was merely a figurehead. Most of the crucial decisions regarding team strategy and player development were made by his Grad assistant who, alarmingly, had no prior coaching experience. This power dynamic not only highlighted Danny's lack of initiative but also demonstrated his inability to take charge of the program effectively. In addition to these issues, Danny often resorts to making excuses when faced with challenges, and he tends to take criticism far too personally. This defensive attitude hampers his growth as a coach and prevents him from learning from his mistakes. Furthermore, it’s apparent that his understanding of the game is not as profound as he believes it to be. He fails to adequately scout opponents or prepare his team to compete at a high level, which is essential for success in a competitive environment. Especially at the division I level. On a slightly more positive note, I will acknowledge that Danny is generally a positive person and can be easy to talk to on most days. However, this single redeeming quality does not compensate for the myriad of shortcomings that he exhibits as a coach. Given all of these factors, I cannot in good conscience recommend him for any coaching position. Unless you are looking to see your program flounder and lose its competitive edge, it would be wise to consider other candidates who possess the necessary skills and dedication to truly lead and inspire a team."

"I hope this man is never hired at any other school whether it be D1 he coached at NAIA anything he’s been the same at every school and continues to get worser. If I could rate him a negative rating I would. He doesn’t know how to coach, scout, make practice plans, anything. It is the most repetitive thing you will ever go through and takes a toll on every player mentally. He will show up late to majority of everything and you will sit in silence ,when a real head coach should talk to his players. He relys strictly off having a good team and girls that know the basic fundamentals of volleyball because he won’t help you get better. He only likes girls that are loyal to him. He will gaslight you and contradict everything you say. When you state an opinion or something that you think could help the team he responds with very passive aggressive language. He not once has cared to know any of the girls on a personal level. He does not CARE at all about academics and it would become such a bad thing that finally after numerous girls asking to make classes he would finally change the times we left to do so. I have never met someone that every time something comes out of their mouth it just a lie and you never know if anything he said the whole season was truth. I strongly advise if he is hired anywhere else he will destroy people mentally whether it be the players and coaches on his staff. There hasn’t been one memorable aspect of the season with him. He wants to build a culture yet would rely on the team to plan and do everything. He is pure lazy, a gaslighter, and never has cared once about what people have going on in there life. Last thing if you are hurt or mentally going through stuff he won’t ask why or what’s happening he will try and be “funny” and say things that simply means he does not care. Please this man should never be in charge of coaching athletes. "

"The polar opposite of a “players coach”. Even his best players that never leave the floor and have been NAIA all-Americans say he sucks as a coach if you talk to them privately and confidentially. It’s clear that he was a “low skill, high effort” type of player because you see it in his coaching…. He uses drills in practice that do not translate into success during game situations and he loves to play kids who have HS (or even middle-school) level ball-handling skills, shooting skills, and just a very low-level understanding of game situations like spacing or how to read a ball screen…. but “try really hard”. He NEVER makes adjustments in games and anytime they’re down, his half-time and huddle speeches always boil down to 1 thing - “we need to try harder”. Not the school you want to come to unless you’re minimally skilled and want to play in the same system that Olivet used 30 years ago. The one thing Birkey IS really good and consistent at is sapping a player’s love for the game. Again, this is something you will consistently hear from both his bench warmers and starters alike. "

"Hannah Gardner mentally abuses athletes. She has destroyed many softball careers. Makes athlete play through diagnosed injuries. "

"Coach Danny was an absolutely horrible coach. He is a pathological liar. He wasn't honest about anything. When you first meet him and talk to him he seems charming, friendly, knowledgeable and interested in your daughter's volleyball career. That was all a façade. He plays mind games with the girls, wanted them divided and fighting. He did not promote the mission our university was known for. He promoted trash talking and staring down of the other team, coaches and refs. He is very immature, childish and really does not know how to coach the game. He did not play to win even though he had the athletes to do so. He also told them basically that those that "were loyal to him" would be those that played. He had a handful of girls run his team because that is what he wanted. He was supposed to be the coach, but put it on a young group of girls, and didn't care that it caused division. He mentally and emotionally abused these players. His assistant body shamed the girls often and he did not care. He just was overall a horrible experience as a coach and I cannot believe it took our university so long to take action, especially after so many girls and guys quit their teams along with assistant and GA coaches. I'm relieved that they finally took action, but the damage was still done so this year is a year of healing and rebuilding for our program. I would like him to know that even though he tried to "break" my daughter mentally, he did not succeed, and she is stronger than ever!"

"This coach didn’t know names or numbers of his players because he is that unaware of how to run a program. He stepped into a successful program and ran it into the ground."

"A lazy coach that does not come in until about an hour before practice. Doesn’t understand how create a practice or understand what drill you use for specific training. Does not scout teams to be prepared with a game plan for practices or to win games. He relies only on the talent of players. Cannot comprehend the game in real time. If a problem arises during the game he becomes frantic subbing players. Cannot motivate during a game if the team is in a rut. Rude to players, coaches, and refs. Gaslights coaches and players. Dishonest. "