This Past week the EVP Eagles Volleyball club was informed of the passing away of one of our beloved coaches, Coach Jo.

Coach Jo was a coach who exemplified everything it means to be part of EVP. She did it because she loved the game and she loved the community. When she was diagnosed, I wanted her to take a break and focus on her health, but she refused. In her own words: "Coaching is the only thing that makes me happy now, and I don't want to lose that, and I don't want to leave my team."

Over the last 10 years, Coach Jo had an amazing story with EVP. She started as a parent of a player, going to every tournament and being an amazing parent rep for her son's teams. While going to tournaments, she started to love the game and everything it was about. She started playing recreationally for the first time in her life and was so happy that now she was not just watching but beginning to play this amazing game. When her son was done playing, it took about 6 months for her to reach out to me and say, "I miss it, I miss going to tournaments every weekend and I miss watching how volleyball helps so many young boys and girls." She asked me something I never expected: "Matt, do you think I could become an assistant coach?" Surprised, my answer was, "Well, you have one of the most important pieces of being a good coach, and that is a love for the game and an appreciation for what the game and a coach can do to help a young athlete navigate this world."

She was assigned to be an assistant coach with Coach Shayne’s team—a coach she looked up to and admired a lot. He was her son's coach and one of our best. That season they went on to win the first provincial boys medal in club history. At the end of the season, Shayne came to me and said, "Coach Jo was one of the best coaches I have ever had. Every time there was an issue with a kid or parent, she turned on her mom mode and fixed the problem." She continued as an assistant coach for a few years before again surprising me when she asked if she could have her own team. I loved the idea and she got her first team. Since then, Jo worked every year to play more, coach more, asked to start helping with house leagues as a coach so she could learn more, and even started up her own community program—teaching kids in her own program for those who could not afford training.

She was one of our best. She exemplified what it means to be a coach at EVP, and we can never thank her enough for how positively she affected all of us. Many of the coaches formed a strong connection with Jo and are hurting now. Thousands of athletes have worked with Jo over the last many years, and I'm sure will also be hurting now. Her presence will be greatly missed and her contributions will always be remembered.

The club will be honoring her at our Rep year-end banquet and will be doing a few other things, including an annual tournament in her honor as well as a larger community event where everyone can pay their respects for an amazing woman, coach, mother, and friend. 

To pay your respects to Coach Jo you can visit the club Instagram and leave a comment @evpcanada