Although Jason Jonas had played volleyball back in his days as a student at Bethel Park, it wasn’t the sport he initially pursued when he decided to move into coaching.
“I got into coaching during my student teaching at South Park High School. The only opening for a volunteer coach was boys volleyball,” Jonas said. “I tried to coach golf, baseball, or basketball first but decided that I would take the only offer I got for a coaching spot. I fell in love with the game and with being a coach.”
Jonas, who is a math teacher at Clairton High School, has since coached boys and girls volleyball at several local high schools for a few years and at Penn State Greater Allegheny for four years. Now, after his first year as head coach for Baldwin’s girl’s volleyball team, Jonas has been named the Big 56 Coach of the Year in 4A – Section 1.
The Big 56 Award is chosen by coaches from other schools and is designed to recognize the coach who had the biggest impact on their team.
“It was an amazing feeling to be voted by the peers and coaches I have been around for the past 10 years of my coaching career,” Jonas said.
He is proud of the recognition but even more proud of his team and their progress.
“The girls bought into my vision and saw my passion for the game and for coaching, and they have supported me since the first day I stepped onto the court,” Jonas said. “I am very proud of the award this year, but I am more proud of the team and the program and what they showed me during my first season here.”
As a coach, Jonas stresses concepts like “positive thought, positive results.” He doesn’t want the girls to focus on their losses but rather on their improvements.
“I want to show them that we are going to approach things differently here. We are not going to focus on the bad. We are going to shine a light on the positives and the progress we have made,” Jonas said.
Athletic Director Anthony Cherico said this way of thinking has been inspirational for the girls.
“Relationships are everything in coaching,” Cherico said. “The most impressive thing is just the way he communicates with the kids, the relationships he built in a really short amount of time.”
Junior Mia Wyse has been playing for three years on this team. She said Jonas was inspirational during huddles and created a fun, and upbeat environment to play in.
“I remember in some games I was having a hard time, but he told me he believed in me and just made my confidence go back up,” Wyse said.
In just one season at Baldwin, Jonas has built a comfortable environment for the girls.
“On the court, he is definitely a coach, but in practice when we have off-time he is definitely more of a friend, and it is so easy to talk to him,” senior team captain Avery Barrett said.
Though the team did not make the playoffs this season, they finished fifth in the section.
“Starting the year going 8-1 in scrimmages was a great feeling. You could see the girls excited to see some early success and progress and growth,” Jonas said.
Barrett says the coaching award was well earned and thinks Jonas will benefit the team in the long term.
“I think he deserves it because he really grew the program this year with having the youth camp, and just getting out there for the Baldwin volleyball program,” Barrett said. “I think he is going to do great things because we have such young talent this year, and it is going to continue to grow and grow each year with his help.”
Jonas agrees that next year’s team can go even further.
“I would like us to have a winning record next year and qualify for playoffs,” Jonas said. “I know that it is a lofty goal, but I think we have the talent, the drive, and the will to bring this team back to its winning ways and volleyball roots.”
As for the immediate future, Jonas plans to continue working with the team to reach their full potential.
“The bar was raised and is now set high for this next season,” Jonas said. “I’m going to work as hard as I can to meet and then exceed those expectations set in the first year.”
