Adriano de Souza enters his third season as an assistant coach with the Miami volleyball program. de Souza's day-to-day responsibilities include assisting with practice design and development along with season planning and assessment, scouting opponents, editing film and preparing reports for the team. He has been instrumental in working with Miami's strength and conditioning coaches in blending team practices on the court with different strength and conditioning phases. He also assists with team travel and recruiting.

In his first year with the Miami program, the RedHawks recorded the most wins since the 1998 MAC Championship team went 27-8, posted a second-place finish in the Mid-American Conference East Division standings and had four players earn various All-MAC awards.

"Adriano has a wide range of experiences in the areas of education and competitive sports," says head coach Carolyn Condit. "He enjoys every opportunity to teach young people how to learn and compete. He is a pure educator with a unique style of teaching that is both effective and enjoyable. His game knowledge and strategic approach to the game mesh well with my coaching philosophy."

With a coaching resume that spans two continents and boasts stints at various levels, de Souza brings a diverse volleyball background to the program. de Souza was a volunteer assistant with Kent State during the 2003 and '04 seasons while earning a master's degree in sports pedagogy, which he completed in August of 2005. Prior to his time at Kent State, de Souza spent two years as the head women's coach at Union College (KY), where the Bulldogs placed fourth in the Mid-South Conference in 1999, recorded a second-place conference finish and made the program's first NAIA regional appearance the following year He also served as an assistant coach with the boy's volleyball team at Stow High School in 2004 and was the head coach of the Club Q Sport 17's team in 2004-05.

Internationally, de Souza spent 2001-03 as the volleyball coach and manager for two men's teams in the city of Rio Claro, Brazil. His under-21 men's team was the regional runner up all three years, while his under-19 men's team was the APV League Champion in 2001 and posted a runner-up finish in 2002. In 1999, de Souza mentored the under-21, under-19 and under-16 women's programs at Clube Regatas in Campinas, Brazil. He also served a three-year stint as the head men's volleyball coach at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), where his team won sectional championships in 1996 and 1997, finished second at the Metropolitan Championships in 1995 and 1996 and placed third in 1997.

Additionally, de Souza spent two years (1993-94) as the head volleyball coach of the UNICAMP Medical School Women's Team for ages 17-23, while serving as the second assistant coach for an under-19 men's club team at Clube Regatas in Campinas in 1993.

Since 2001, de Souza has assisted head coach Antonio Rizola and his staff in a project for the individual and team tactics development with the elaboration of instruments to enhance players game intelligence and game problem solving for the Brazilian Junior National Team.

In addition to coaching volleyball, de Souza has served as an interpreter and liaison for various international teams, including the USA National Women's Volleyball Team, competing in Brazil. A native of Brazil, de Souza earned his bachelor's degree in sports science in 1997 from UNICAMP in Campinas, Brazil, and his licensure in physical education from UNICAMP in 1996.