Jonathan Girten has been named the next men’s volleyball head coach at Concordia University Irvine. The Eagles won a national title at the NAIA level in 2013 and have transitioned into a NCAA Division II program. Coach Girten has his hands full coaching in the competitive MPSF conference. Luckily he has great experience in this conference. Girten was the Interim Co Head Coach of GCU this past season. Sadly GCU cut their program at the end of the 2025 season and Concordia scooped him up to run their program moving forward.
Girten grew up in San Diego and started playing in middle school. He started having success while playing on the varsity team at Mt. Carmel and played club at San Diego VBC. After high school, Girten took his talents as a middle to play two seasons at Palomar College, a junior college in north San Diego. After Palomar Girten got into coaching.
Girten’s mentor and high school coach, the late Mike Bird, encouraged Girten to get involved in coaching. From 2007 to 2017 Girten coached at his alma mater, Seaside 2011 to 2020, WAVE from 2020 to 2024, and Arizona Fear from 2024 to 2025. At the college level, he made stops at UC San Diego as an assistant from 2017-2024 and from 2024 to 2025 as the Interim Head Coach at GCU.
During Girten’s coaching journey, he has been mentored by some of the best: Kevin Ring UCSD, Matt Werle GCU, Brad Rostratter UCSD, Mike Bird Mt. Carmel, Patsy Malta Mt. Carmel, and his club coach Darrell Dilmore. All are household names in the boys’/men’s volleyball community.
“Coach Girten is an amazing person that has great balance of passion, work and joy. This is how he goes about each day in the gym and in the office. Pairing that with his character will prove to have a positive impact on the Concordia community,” said Coach Brad Rostratter, of UCSD.
Concordia stood out to Girten for a number of reasons. (His ties to San Diego attracted him come back to coach high level volleyball in Southern California). He wanted to coach high level volleyball in Southern California and he has ties to San Diego. “Getting to compete in a marquee conference like the MPSF, which provides some of the best levels of competition in the country is going to be really fun. I have been really impressed so far by the tight knit community that exists here at Concordia. Everyone that has been helping me get going has been incredible, and the response from the community has been amazing,” said Girten.
The hope is that Girten will improve the team’s entries into the win column, but there is so much more to coaching for him. “For me, it’s the relationships that get formed through this community. It’s amazing to help young athletes achieve their goals, but it is even more rewarding to see them enjoy what they do and end up wanting to give back to the younger generations. In my years of coaching club volleyball, I’ve been lucky enough to have quite a few of my former players come back and want to coach with me. Those kinds of relationships are the most fulfilling for me,” said Girten.
Over the past five years there has been a lot of turnover for the Eagles. Transitioning into the MPSF is no easy task. There is optimism with Girten because he is from Southern California, has been a head coach in the league and is connected with a good amount of clubs in the Southern California/Arizona region.
When asked what the Concordia admin team, athletes, parents and community expect? Girten responded with great enthusiasm and passion,“they can expect that I am going to do whatever I can to provide an amazing experience while they are here at Concordia. My main role is to coach volleyball, and I intend to do that at as high of a level as possible, but there are also so many aspects that go into the student-athlete experience. I want our players to be well-rounded young men that are great volleyball players, family members, students, and members of the volleyball and Concordia community.”I have had the pleasure of knowing Girten for nearly 10 years. We have coached club together, I have been on the phone with him about recruits and I am excited that he is working a camp with me this summer. He has a great opportunity at Concordia. It is in a beautiful location and some of the best boys’ volleyball clubs in the country are in Concordia’s backyard. It will be exciting to watch Girten guide the Eagles to soar to greater heights. I wish him the best of luck!
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About The Author
Kevin Pratte has enthusiastically been involved in volleyball for over 23 years. Pratte started playing in middle school and was fortunate enough to play NCAA Division 1 volleyball at The University of the Pacific. After his playing career Pratte got involved in coaching volleyball. In 2009 Pratte was the graduate assistant coach for the University of Nebraska women’s volleyball program. Later in his career Pratte made coaching stops at University of the Pacific, multiple community colleges and coached at WAVE Volleyball Club for seven years. Currently Pratte is a physical education teacher in the San Diego Unified School District and is head boys’ high school volleyball coach. Along with coaching, Pratte is a college volleyball recruiting coordinator. He has helped numerous athletes earn roster spots at multiple universities. “I am extremely passionate about volleyball. I got into coaching and teaching because my parents instilled in me at a young age to give back. My parents and coaches helped shape my life through the sport of volleyball. I am grateful that my parents are board members of The Kevin Pratte Foundation. We are on a mission to help raise funds to help high school boys all across our country to help pay for club volleyball fees,” said Kevin Pratte
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