Jess Dembeck Lavelle wanted to finish what she started.
It ended up being a new beginning.
Lavelle is the volleyball coach at Villa Joseph Marie High School in Holland. It’s a promotion from the job she thought she’d take for a season or two when her old job went away.
“Out of college, I was the JV volleyball coach at St. Basil’s,” said Lavelle, who played basketball and volleyball at Basil. “I was coaching with Lisa Breslin and she said she was done. I started coaching for three years through COVID, and then Basil’s closed, which was devastating at the time.
“Following that, I was asking the girls what their plan was, the entire roster was going to Villa Joe. So I had reached out to their coach Doug Campbell and asked if they’d mind having me on for a season or two to see my girls through. He was wonderful about it. He said yes immediately. It was great timing, I was pregnant with my daughter. Nine months pregnant, 2021. He was fantastic the entire time. Then he decided he was going to invest in his family, so he saidm ‘I think I’m done. Do you want the program?’ ”
Yes she did.
The former Basil’s girls weren’t her only girls by the time she spent two years there. The blended family of Villa Joe and Basil became Lavelle’s family. She didn’t just come for a year or two.
She’s now the head coach and is enjoying a lot of success. Earlier this year, she won her 100th career volleyball game. This wasn’t a milestone she was looking to achieve or something she wanted for herself.
It was for her team. Oh, and for bragging rights at home.
“I had no idea that I was even close until we started talking about it, my husband and I are very competitive,” she said with a laugh. “He’s a coach as well. I had to find out what my record is to shut him up. We went back and forth and dug through the archives to find out the record. I had no idea it was close.”
The 100 victories is a huge milestone, but it’s not about the victories. It’s about the relationships she’s made and about all of the players she helped, not just in volleyball, but in any way she can.
“The proudest moments aren’t wins, it’s when an athlete reaches out after the season, after graduating,” Lavelle said. “I’ve coached so many sets of sisters. You get to know the parents along the way who trusted me with their oldest and then their youngest as well. A lot of pressure, but the best kind. A huge part of other people’s stories. Not everyone has positive things to say about high school experience, but I hope I can be the positive experience for the girls.”
For Lavelle, starting at her alma mater and now at her new home makes what she’s doing that much more special. She loves Villa Joe so much, she didn’t come alone.
Her husband, John, coached football at his alma mater, Father Judge. He left a few years back, and took the flag football job at Villa Joe.
It’s the best recruiting Lavelle has done.
“Oh my goodness, I can’t even begin to tell you how great he’s been,” said Lavelle, who teaches at Hancock Middle School. “I knew he was going to be great but to walk into fall season and, there are a lot of his girls who play on my team, so we share athletes. They are all asking, ‘When is coach John coming?’ Coaching is all about the relationships, and he’s done a fantastic job of that. He’s stealing athletes from me.
“During volleyball season, we’re talking about what do we think for this player or what do we think about that player. He gives his two cents. I give mine during football season. He’s so supportive.”
Support is one thing Lavelle doesn’t have to worry about.
When you’re a coach, you can’t do it alone. Not only does she have her husband to help her with their two daughters, Finley, 5, and Collins, 2.
She can also rely on her family.
“My parents have always been super supportive and asking how the season is going,” she said. “I call my dad for tough love and mom to be a cheerleader. And I feel like I can’t imagine not having someone in my corner, everyone has been so supportive. Parents, our families, everyone.”
She also has supportive siblings, including her sisters Mia and Jiana, and brothers Seamus, Aidan and Michael.
“My sister (Jiana) plays for Hubert’s, and that’s who we beat for the 100th,” Lavelle said. “I think Mia will follow her to Hubert, but I would love to coach them. Coaching against them is fun because I want to see them play, but I’m coaching. I love seeing what they’re doing. That’s our family, everyone supports everyone.”
While she likely won’t coach her sisters, she is already getting her daughters involved, and they like what mom does.
“Both of the girls come to our camp at least one day to be around, Right after I had Finely, I came right back to coaching. I had her in the carrier with me every day. That first year, Johnny was coaching at Judge so we were both kind of busy. ‘Who has Finley?’ Johnny has been my biggest cheerleader. If he’s not lugging the girls to the games, he’s home watching it on Hudl. He tells them, ‘Mommy is coaching,’ and they wave. We talk afterwards. They talk about how mommy has to coach.”
The camp is just another piece of the puzzle that makes the family atmosphere at Villa Joe volleyball so special. It’s not a bad home after her alma mater closed, and she’s right where she wants to be.
“It was honestly an honor to coach at Basil’s, especially to move into the head coaching role at Basil’s, that was a dream come true,” she said. “And Villa Joe, it’s been so special. I’m so lucky that Lisa trusted me and then when I got (to Villa Joe), and Doug, he wouldn’t call me an assistant. I’ve been so lucky, I love the girls and the school. It’s been great.” ••
