By John Raffel
It’s never easy taking over for a legend.
But that was the task this season for St. Louis volleyball coach Jennifer Jaeck. She replaced Gary Stanglewicz, who retired last season after a 30-year career as volleyball coach. He’s only the second one in the history of the program.
His win total is 1,254. The Sharks were Division 3 state runners-up in 2010. They won the title in 2001 with a 15-13, 15-8 victory over Suttons Bay.
Prior to the current divisional format, St. Louis won the Class C state title in 1999.
Jaeck had been an assistant under Stanglewicz for the last six seasons.
“It was taking over what he had already created,” Jaeck said. “He and I are very smilar in the things we do. Both of us are special ed teachers and both are very passionate about volleyball. We have a lot of similarities. Working and learning everything from him the past six years, it was [interesting] taking over the system.”
Coaching styles might vary. One newspaper report indicated Jaeck might be more relaxed when it comes to coaching emotions. “I don’t know if the girls would necessarily agree with that,” she smiled. “It seems like we might have our own areas of focus.”
But systems and philosophies between the two coaches appear to be very similiar.
Jaeck indicated that it was a smooth transition.“The girls and I were kind of bonded in the fact that we missed him being part of the program,” Jaeck said. “We decided to work together to fill the void he left. That worked out well. We got through that transition together. I was transitioning, too, used to having him running the show. Now, I was expected to step up and do the organizational stuff that was done by him.”
As of Sept. 24, the Sharks were 18-9-2 overall and 2-0 in the league.
“Overall, the best part of this team is they really enjoy being around each other,” Jaeck said. “You feel the fact that they like playing with each other. They like to compete. They truly enjoy playing together on the court. It’s fun to watch.”
Jaeck likes this team’s potential. “If they continue to play together and work together, then nothing is impossible,” she said.
Jaeck said Stanglewicz had been coming to the gym and watching the team at various times. “I really enjoy having him in the gym, so I can ask him things like, what are you seeing that I’m not seeing,” Jaeck said. “He’s still very helpful for our program.”