Beam worked with Illinois State’s liberos and defensive specialists during his two seasons with the Redbirds. Under his guidance last season ISU set a new school record of 2,291 digs, finishing ninth in the nation in digs per game and breaking an Illinois State record that was 22 years old. In his first season in Normal he mentored the Missouri Valley Conference Libero of the Year, Ashley Grubb, who led the league in digs per game. During Beam’s two seasons at Illinois State the Redbirds had a combined record of 35-25 (.583).

Prior to Illinois State, Beam earned rave reviews as a recruiter, scout, administrator and strategist at Wright State. During Beam’s five seasons in Dayton, Ohio, the Raiders ranked in the top-15 in the NCAA in digs per game three different times: seventh in 2003, eighth in 2001 and 15th in 2002. They also achieved a best-ever win percentage of .750 in 2001.

Beam has extensive club volleyball experience, having coached with both Adversity Volleyball Club and Dayton Juniors. His 2002 Blue Angels age 17 team took third in the Open Division at the Junior Olympic National Championships. He also served as Master Coach for the 16-18 age groups and wrote “Principles for a Competitive Practice,” a guide to be used to help develop the club’s coaches.

A native of Sycamore, Ill., Beam was an assistant for both men’s and women’s volleyball at Quincy University from 1999-2000 before joining the Wright State staff the following year. He was the Raiders’ associate head coach for two seasons prior to coming to Illinois State.

A 1992 Glenbrook South (Ill.) High School graduate, Beam was the 1996 Clarke College Athlete of the Year while serving as captain of the volleyball team. While completing his bachelor’s degree in philosophy in 1996, he coached high school volleyball at Dubuque (Iowa) Senior High School.

Beam has also been a leader with the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) in both service and research. His presentation at the 2001 AVCA Convention entitled, “Maximizing Coverage at the Point of Attack” has subsequently been published in both Coaching Volleyball Magazine and “Best of Coaching Volleyball Volume 2.”