About Coach Jess

My Story

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 beach volleyball competitor with more than 40 AVP and CBVA tournament appearances.

While 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.

During her development as an beach athlete, Coach Jess was trained and mentored by several legends in the sport of beach volleyball, including Olympian Rita Crockett, Anna Collier (former USC Beach Volleyball Head Coach and USA Volleyball coach), Patty and Mike Dodd, longtime USA coaches and founders of MB Sand Club in Manhattan Beach California. These experiences helped shape her philosophy and understanding of the highest levels of the sport.

As a head coach, she has compiled an overall 73–39 career record, building championship-level programs and developing nationally recognized athletes at both the collegiate and high school levels. As the former Head Beach Volleyball Coach at Webber International University for 5 years, she led the program to the 2022 AVCA NAIA Beach Volleyball National Championship, multiple Sun Conference Championships, and was named Sun Conference Coach of the Year in 2021 and 2022. Her athletes earned both conference and national recognitions including AVCA National Pair of the Year.

Coach Jess has also worked within USA Beach Volleyball’s High Performance program in Los Angeles, CA as the High Performance Program Coordinator and helped 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 Volleyball Coach at Liberty High School, guiding the program to a 24–11 record and a Top 10 Iowa 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 more than 10 years and has extensive experience in the athlete performance industry, training volleyball athletes in strength development, speed and agility, and vertical jump performance. 

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