Interview with Jenny Sims

An Interview with Jenny Sims

Get to know our new varsity beach volleyball coach, Jenny Sims.

WORDS and PHOTO by FRANCES CARLSON

Q: What first inspired you to become a teacher? A: I was born into an athletic family in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of Asheville, North Carolina.

My grandfather was drafted as a left handed pitcher by the Boston Red Socks and my grandmother coached my aunt to the 1972 Munich Olympics in swimming.

My mom is a two-time Hawaiian IronMan finisher and currently holds the national title of second fastest female triathlete in her age group and still competes at age 70; my older sister was a three-sport highschool player and varsity college volleyball athlete.

I attended a small private school called Carolina Day School pre-k through 12th grade and I always played three sports: volleyball, basketball, and soccer.

I fell in love with team sports at a young age and felt most like myself at practice after school.

In fact, the highlight of my day was always after school sports! I eventually got offered a scholarship to play Division 1 volleyball at UNC-Asheville my senior year of high school.

Unfortunately, my freshman season got cut short due to needing to take time to focus on my mental health.

As much as I loved playing volleyball for the Bulldogs, my mental health came first.

I decided to take a gap year to travel, work, and heal.

That’s when I first got into coaching and I fell in love with it.

That was 10 years ago and I’ve been working with kids and coaching all levels of volleyball ever since! Q: How would you describe your coaching style? A: Coaching is definitely a passion of mine. It challenges me constantly, pushes me outside my comfort zone, and makes me strive to show up everyday as my very best for my team.

My coaching style has evolved in many ways over the past 10 years, but two things have always stayed the same: I emphasize “Effort over Perfection,” and I strive to make great teammates.

I care about each player I coach, and what matters most to me is the relationship I create with them. I want to be a role model to my girls and for them to feel I am always in their corner.

I believe sports give you so much more than just an activity to do after school. I believe you learn how to be a better person through sports.

You learn how hard work can pay off. You learn how to set goals and meet them. You learn how to be someone others can rely on. You learn how to push through learning a new, difficult skill and perseverance. You learn how to encourage others and work through hard times together. You learn to put others’ needs above your own and you learn responsibility and accountability.

These skills are invaluable for athletes and it’s what makes my job so important to me.

Q: How has your background as a volleyball player shaped your view of how to coach? A: As a player who started with indoor volleyball and has fully transitioned to the sand, I understand the challenge my girls are facing this season. Most of my team at Laguna has never played on an organized beach volleyball team before.

They are currently learning an entirely new sport that is vastly different from what they are used to indoors.

As a student of the game myself, it’s an awesome thing to see my team start to make new connections and really buy into my knowledge of the sport, because that’s exactly what I had to do with my coach. I train at least four days a week with my coach, and I always gain such valuable knowledge I can turn around and teach my girls. I’m constantly thinking of ways to better myself and my team—it often keeps me up at night!

Q: Did you have a specific coach who impacted your view on volleyball/life? If so, how? And how do you want to pass down those lessons, traditions, or goals onto this team? A: I’ve had three coaches in my life that have been incredibly impactful and have shaped everything I know about being a great athlete, teammate, and coach.

When I think of these coaches who have touched my life in such immense ways, I feel tears come up, because that’s how powerful their influence still ripples out in me to this day.

Coach Joe Carrington was the first coach who showed me a whole new level of team organization, preparation, and grit. He was my sophomore year basketball coach. He believed in me as an athlete and cared deeply for his each of his players. While playing for Joe, to

this day, I got to be a part of some of the toughest practices I’ve ever been through.

Morning practice, weekend practice, tournaments on the weekend, you name it, we did it, and we worked harder than we thought was possible for that man because we respected him and loved him so much.

Some coaches you would just about die for and he was one of those. But it showed me how hard work, tried and true systems, and preparation translates to a team of winners—he won eight state championships for our school. His leadership changed everything I had known about athletics up to that point in my life.

The second coach who impacted my life was Coach Raquel Miotto. She was my indoor volleyball coach my junior year. She played libero for the Brazilian junior national team growing up and I have no clue how I got that lucky to have her in Asheville, NC, but she was a godsend.

She was the first coach to tell me I had the potential to play division one, she was the first coach to teach me how to be a leader on the volleyball court, and she was the first coach to come to my house to check on me when I had a bad day.

She showed me how to be creative on the court and shared her extensive volleyball knowledge with me every chance she could get. I liked volleyball before Coach Kel (Rachel), but, after her influence, I was absolutely hooked on volleyball. She was the only reason I had any shot at Division 1 volleyball. And she did that through just one year of coaching me. She still means the world to me and I would still do anything for that woman.

The third coach who changed the trajectory of my life is Coach Mike Maas of East Beach. I first met Coach Mike because he was my SBCC beach volleyball assistant coach to his daughter Sam (who now, side note, happens to be my favorite partner to play with on the sand).

When I came to play for Mike and Sam, I had little-to-no beach vol-

leyball knowledge. I was an indoor player who just wanted to try my luck on the sand. Everything I know now about beach volleyball is from Mike and Sam.

They both really invested in me and took me from an indoor player who knew nothing about the game of beach, to a now competitive beach volleyball player and competent beach volleyball coach in a matter of three years.

Mike was there for me through good days and bad days. He’s seen me at low points and high points of my life and he’s patiently guided me through both.

He has truly became like a father figure to me. He coaches me at least 4 days a week now and I question how I got so lucky to have someone like him in my life who gives so much to me everyday and asks for nothing in return. Great coaches are more than just people who can teach you a sport, they put the relationship first and care about the person first. Mike has always done that with me. He’s given me something no one can ever take away, and that’s confidence on and off the court. The person I was before I met mike and the person I am today are night and day, he’s truly made me better in every way. That’s how I want to be as a coach, I want to leave my players as better people than before you met me. Q: What has been your favorite part of the season so far? A: My favorite part of the season, is seeing my teachings “click” into place. The girls are sometimes skeptics of what I know they are capable of, and it’s an awesome feeling when they start to see and believe the results are possible. I can’t wait to see more of that!

Q: What are your goals for the rest of the season? A: My goals remain the same. I want my athletes to be great teammates and learn how to dig deep and lift others up. I hope to be half the coach all three of the previously mentioned coaches are and I should be in good shape!