Our Mission
At Aspiring Athlete, our mission is to support high school athletes in pursuing their goal of playing post-secondary. Through year-round quality training, competitive environments, and strong mentorship, we help athletes build the skills, habits, and mindset needed to compete at the next level. We don’t promise shortcuts or easy paths—just honest, high-level development for those willing to put in the work.
The Founders
We’re Nikki and Maleki Harris, a couple passionate about guiding young athletes to reach their full potential. With our professional sports backgrounds, we’ve seen the gaps in training and support available to aspiring athletes and their families in BC. Our mission is to share our expertise and help athletes navigate their sports journeys with confidence and the tools needed to succeed.
Coach Cornwall (Harris) is a BC native and former USPORTS athlete who played her collegiate career at Trinity Western University. During her time there, she helped lead the team to its first-ever CanWest and National Championships, earning accolades such as First Team All-Canadian, Tournament MVP, and the Ray Lepp Scholarship. Following her university career, she trained with the National Excellence Program and the Senior National Team, and captained Team Canada at the FISU Universiade Games. She also played professionally in Germany and Finland, competing as both a setter and an outside hitter.
As a coach, she brings a wealth of experience from across the high-performance volleyball world. She has coached with Team BC, served as an assistant coach at UFV and SFU, and most recently worked with the National Excellence Program in 2024. She now serves as the Team Lead for Team Canada U21 ahead of the 2025 World Championships in Indonesia. Passionate about youth development, Coach Cornwall is committed to helping the next generation of athletes reach their full potential both on and off the court.
Our Coaches
Coach Harris is a former NCAA Division I (South Alabama) and professional football player who has since dedicated his career to training and coaching the next generation of athletes. Growing up in the South — where football is a way of life — he excelled at every level, ultimately playing five seasons in the CFL: four with the Calgary Stampeders, where he became a Grey Cup champion, and one with the BC Lions. His years competing at the highest levels have given him a deep, firsthand understanding of what it takes to succeed at the next level.
Today, Maleki channels that experience into helping athletes across all sports reach their full potential. He focuses on developing strength, refining technical skills, and building mental toughness, with a proven track record of guiding athletes toward post-secondary opportunities. On the football field, he specializes in defensive positional training, bringing elite-level knowledge to every drill and session. His mission is simple: to give every athlete the tools, habits, and mindset needed to dominate in competition — and thrive in life beyond the game.
Coach Julio joins us from Argentina, where he most recently coached the Women’s Junior National Team. An FIVB Level 2 Coach with over 25 years of coaching experience, he has led professional teams across Europe and brings a high-performance and long-term development mindset to everything he does, always pushing athletes to strive for excellence both technically and mentally. Known for fostering a deep love of the game, he emphasizes effort, precision, and a commitment to continuous improvement as the foundation for success.
Since joining our team, Julio has played a key role in elevating our training methods, feedback systems, and overall athlete development. He’s widely regarded as our most technically proficient coach, with deep expertise in all skills—passing, attacking, blocking—and a rare ability to develop athletes at every position and level, while also serving as a valued coach and mentor to our own coaching staff. His passion for sharing knowledge and his unwavering commitment to athlete growth make him an invaluable presence on the court, inspiring players and coaches alike to discover new limits.
Learn More about our University Prep Programs and Athlete Advancement
WHY THE BLACK BEAR?
Black bears are native to B.C., they embody the values we hold at Aspiring Athlete. Unlike animals that rely solely on size or power, the black bear thrives through preparation, intelligence, and hard work. It's a symbol of adaptability and resilience-qualities that we aim to instill in the athletes we train. We push our athletes to embrace the same mindset, helping them become strategic, tough, and committed to continuous growth.
Just like a mama bear who fiercely protects her cubs, our coaches are fully dedicated to the well-being and success of our athletes, both on and off the volleyball court. We challenge our athletes to give their best, be competitive, and rise to every challenge, all within a supportive environment focused on progress and improvement.
We know the value of rest, but we also celebrate those who choose to train when others are taking a break. It's this extra effort, the choice to push through when it's not required, that turns good into great. And at Aspiring Athlete, we're here to guide and support those ready to make that commitment.