Entering her first season as a volleyball coach, Jaylenne Jacquez is simply looking to start building a program that can have some staying power.
“I just want the team to grow as individuals and as a team, as well,” she said. “I want them to build a bond that they’re there for each other.”
The goal, the Coronado coach said, is to be a role model for the players and show that they can achieve success no matter their background.
“I want to show them that even though we’re a small school, anything is possible,” Jacquez said.
It’s not been easy for the Lady Leopards, who have not had the same coach in consecutive seasons for almost a decade.
That’s a tough challenge.
But Jacquez, a Coronado 2020 alum, is looking to change that because she plans on sticking around her hometown for a while to give the girls some continuity. During her final volleyball season in 2019, the Lady Leopards had a 21-game winning streak and were the program’s last team to make the state tournament.
“This year, I just want to build a foundation and grow the team since I’m working with such young girls,” she said. “They’re young, but they have such potential. And next year, I can see us really putting in the work. This year, it’s just working on building the foundation and growing as a team.”
The team has just one senior, but five freshmen and possibly even an eighth grader, so there is plenty of room for growth as they gain experience, Jacquez said.
“I just want to show the community what these girls are made of and their potential because we’re always talked down on,” she said. “We’re a small town and not many students in general, so when it comes to competition, we’re always going up against bigger schools. I just want the girls’ potential to be shown and proved. I want to build a program.”
To do that, Jacquez is looking for strong play and leadership from sophomore Mia Gallegos (5’7” MB/OH), sophomore Melody Chacon (5’0” S) and junior Chastelyn Jaramillo, (5’5” OH).
Gallegos, who attended an Adams State volleyball camp in the summer, said she can see the potential in the team.
“I want to see more improvement, being such young a team,” she said. “And we’ve never really kept the same coach so it’s been kind of different every year. But I think it’s very special, seeing her (Jacquez) come back to where she graduated and to find a way to help us out. I remember being at the games watching her and her being my coach is very surreal.”
Having Jacquez as their coach is a major bonus for the players.
“I think it’s important for us, because we all feel comfortable and we feel like she has the experience as one of us,” Chacon said. “I just feel like she’s a really good coach and she helps us keep better confidence and makes sure we put effort in and she puts effort into us.”
Jacquez has given Chacon the freedom to be a leader on the court.
“I just feel like I need to keep my team hyped and so we all keep up our confidence,” she said. “I think it’s important to make sure the team stays together and we all have the same mindset.”
Having the hometown girl return makes the team feel like they can accomplish what Jacquez did, Jaramillo said.
“That’s really important to know that she went to state whenever she did play so we have more confidence for her teaching us now,” she said. “I really like her. She’s been teaching us a lot of new things.”