About Coach Jess

Experience & Background

Coach Jess brings elite playing and coaching experience to J’s Beach Volleyball Academy as a former Division I Beach Volleyball athlete at Florida International University, USA Beach Volleyball National Team member, and professional competitor with over 40 AVP and CBVA tournament appearances.

At Florida International University, she was a founding member of the university’s first-ever beach volleyball program and helped lead the team to a 5th place national finish at the AVCA/NCAA National Championships in Gulf Shores, Alabama during her senior season.

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As a developing athlete, she trained under some of the top names in the sport, including Olympian Rita Crockett and longtime USA coaches Anna Collier, Patty Dodd, and Mike Dodd experiences that helped shape her approach to training and high-level performance.

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As a head coach, Coach Jess has compiled a 73–39 career record, building championship-level programs and developing nationally recognized athletes at both the collegiate and high school levels. During her 5 years as Head Beach Volleyball Coach at Webber International University, she led the program to the 2022 AVCA NAIA National Championship, multiple Sun Conference Championships, and earned Sun Conference Coach of the Year honors in 2021 and 2022.

She has also worked within USA Beach Volleyball’s High Performance program in Los Angeles as a Program Coordinator, helping guide the U.S. Girls team to a 4th-place finish at the FIVB U19 World Championships in 2018. Most recently, she served as Head Varsity Coach at Liberty High School (Iowa), leading the program to a 24–11 record and a Top 10 statewide ranking in her first season.

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In addition to her coaching background, Coach Jess has been a certified personal trainer for over 10 years, specializing in volleyball-specific performance training, including strength development, speed and agility, and vertical jump performance.

Her passion for performance training began in high school, where she trained under private performance coach Aaron Larmore. Through consistent training, she saw a major increase in her athletic performance especially in her explosiveness and vertical jump. By her senior year, she developed a 34-inch vertical jump, allowing her to touch over 10 feet the height of a basketball rim something that directly translated to stronger, more dynamic play on the court.

Coach Jess is passionate about helping athletes experience that same transformation building confidence, improving performance, and reaching their full potential through structured training that carries over directly to the game.

A member of both the Iowa High School Volleyball Hall of Fame and Track & Field Hall of Fame, she is also a 12-time Iowa State Champion in Track & Field.