Preston Beverly
Assistant Coach
A former Division I player and a veteran Division III coach, Preston Beverly joins the Nyack staff for the 2010-11 season. A two-year captain at Virginia Military Institute, Beverly was one of the top rebounders in the Big South Conference during his career. He graduated with a degree in Computer Science and a minor in Psychology and Math, reaching the rank of S-6 Lieutenant.

From 2007-2010 Beverly served as an assistant at Bowdoin College in the highly competitive New England Small College Athletic Conference, which boasts two National Champions in the 2000 era. During his time with Bowdoin he aided the Polar Bears to a school-record 22 victories, their first Conference Finals appearance, an NCAA Tournament bid (the first since 1999) and a second round NCAA finish. In addition, Bowdoin earned one First Team All Conference player, additional players on the second and third teams and had several team members named All-State. The National Strength and Conditioning Association selected one student-athlete as an All-American.

During the 2006-07 season, Beverly served as the assistant coach at SUNY New Paltz, handling several aspects of recruiting, scouting and practice planning for the Hawks. He also returned to the court as a player in 2007, playing forward for the semi-pro Hudson Valley Hawks. Beverly was the leading rebounder and second leading scorer for the Hawks in the National Professional Basketball League. The team won the League championship that year.

Beverly hails from an extremely athletic background. His father Randy was a long-time NFL defensive back who starred with the New York Jets in their Super Bowl III victory, making three interceptions. His mother Sharon, played collegiate basketball at Queens College, enjoyed an extremely successful collegiate coaching career and currently is the Director of Athletics & Physical Education at Vassar College.

Beverly is currently pursuing a Masters degree in Organizational Leadership.

 Eric Brand
Assistant Coach
Eric Brand begins his second season as an assistant coach at the college level with the 2010-11 season. Coach Brand was an integral part of the staff in his first year and is looking forward to improving himself and the team in his second year. Coach Brand has been a successful coach with both boys and girls at the high school level for several years. He has had several players go on to play at the college level. Coach Brand coached most recently at Valhalla High School where he guided the Girls’ team to their first league title and final-four appearance in over 10 years. Before that he rebuilt a struggling program at Kennedy Catholic High School and led his teams to league titles and a final four appearance in the sectional playoffs. Prior to that Coach Brand lead several successful teams at the Junior Varsity and Freshmen Level compiling a winning record at each stop along the ways as well as several county titles in Bergen County, NJ. Among Coach Brand’s numerous on-court basketball accomplishments is the number of academic all-stars and academic team awards that his teams have won.

Coach Brand has taught High School English and Social Studies at numerous places in Bergen County, NJ: Rockland County, NY and in the New York City schools. He has been an Assistant Principal and is currently the English Department Chair at Ramapo High School in Spring Valley, NY.

Coach Brand has an undergraduate degree from Brandeis University a Master’s degree from City College of New York and a Doctorate from St. John’s University. Coach Brand graduated from Bloomington High School South in Bloomington, IN. There he played Basketball, Soccer, Tennis and ran Track.

Coach Brand attributes much of his success as a basketball Coach to the fact that he was forced to spend so much time watching the game from the bench. Coach Brand was a contributor to very successful teams in practice during his basketball career.

Brand has an 11 year old son, Eli, and a 13 year old daughter Leah. He is also a volunteer Fireman with the Nyack Fire department.

Valiant Jones
Assistant Coach
Valiant Jones returns to the program after graduating from Nyack College in 2009. In his two year career, he played in 56 games, scored 634 points, collected 190 rebounds, and dished out 175 assists. In his senior season, Jones served as Team Captain and averaged over 15 points and 5 assists per game. Jones was one of the best on-the-ball defenders in the CACC and a great rebounder from the guard position averaging over 4 rebounds per game.

He finished the 2008-09 season as a CACC Honorable Mention All-Conference Player, NCCAA 1st Team All-Region, NCCAA 2nd Team All-American, NCCAA All-Tournament, and Most Valuable Team Player.

Valiant holds a Bachelors of Science/Liberal Arts degree from Nyack College. He is originally from Los Angeles, CA and also holds a degree from Los Angeles Community College.

Alena Kush
Assistant Coach
Assistant Coach Alena Kush is entering her 3rd season with the program. During her 2nd year as assistant coach she helped assist the 2009-2010 team to its first regular season conference championship with a 13-6 record. The Warriors then went on to win their conference tournament, which they received their first automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Alena attended SUNY Oneonta from 1998-2003. Coach Kush was a part of the Lady Dragons Women's basketball team from 1998-2000, 2001-2003. Her junior year she started and played all 26 games, averaged 10.3 ppg (points per game) and 8.3 rpg (rebounds per game). Her senior year she played and started all 28 games, averaged 9.9 ppg and 7.1 rpg. Alena Kush has lived in Nyack, NY for the last four years with her husband Michael Kush and their two daughters Shy'anne and Savana Kush.

Ethan Smith
Assistant Coach

Ira Webbe
Assistant Coach
Ira Webbe returns back to his alma mater Nyack College as a Peak Performance Coach on the Lady Warriors basketball staff. Ira earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Nyack College in May of 2002 where he majored in Psychology, continued his education two years later in California and received his MBA with a specialization in Sport Psychology from John F. Kennedy University in May 2008. He has been mentored by professional sport psychologists who currently help continue to grow the field of Applied Sports Psychology on all levels of sport. Ira's work experiences are in the personal development field where he coached and counseled at-risk youth to achieve their life's goals through developing their mental skills. Ira believes that athletics, movies, and music are the three most important cultural artifacts that distinctly shape our youth for the future. So in 2008, Ira started his own company, Mental EJ(edge), that focuses on motivating and developing team leaders and peak performers within the athletic environment using mental training.
Ira has worked with high school football, volleyball, JV & Varsity baseball, marathon & cross country runners. He has also spoken at juvenile detention facilities as a life coach and with female young adults coming out of foster care. "Working with the Nyack College Lady Warriors basketball team, a team that has new personality and personnel dynamics, will be a challenge I'm sure the entire coaching staff and team is up for. Go Warriors!"
Ira resides in North Brunswick, NJ.

Rashidi Aikens
Asssistant Coach
Assistant Coach Rashidi Aikens is entering his 14th season with the program and his 11th as an assistant coach. As the first assistant he holds the responsibilities of being the strength and conditioning coach for the team. He holds a certification through (AFAA) Aerobics and Fitness Association of America, as a personal trainer, and he is a (NSCA) National Strength and Conditioning Association member. Rashidi is also a (WBCA) Women's Basketball Coaches Association member. He also coordinates the film exchange program and does on and off campus recruiting. Rashidi has been a major part of Nyack's first four championship teams. During the 2009-2010 campaign he helped assist Nyack to its first regular season conference championship with a 13-6 record. The Warriors then went on to win the conference tournament with a 45-43 win over the #14 ranked Holy Family University Tigers. This successful season helped the Lady Warriors become the institutions first automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Another great milestone during the 2009-2010 season was the 21 wins combined, which led to the programs first 20 win season. Rashidi has also been a part of two NCCAA East Region championship teams as an assistant coach. The first was when the team won the 2001 NCCAA East Region and went on to the NCCAA national tournament. Eight years later the 2009 squad also went to the NCCAA national tournament. Rashidi was hired on September 1st 2006 to a full-time position in athletics as the strength and conditioning coach for athletics, and the fitness center manager. Rashidi also served as the first assistant for the Warriors softball program from 2002-2010. During his tenure as assistant coach for the softball team, he helped guide the team to the most wins in the program history with 17 wins during the 2002 season. He also served as head coach during the fall 2008 season and guided the team to an undefeated record. With all his experience, he aspires to be a head coach as the next challenge in his career. Rashidi institutes the physical portion of Nyack College's Wellness Program, in which he teaches classes for faculty and staff. He is a 2001 graduate of Nyack College, and he currently resides in Nyack, New York with his wife Mandy and their daughters Madison and Elise.