Julie Jones has been coaching volleyball at her alma mater of Savannah Christian for 29 years and built one of the programs in the state of Georgia.
On Thursday, she was recognized before the Raiders match with McIntosh Academy on Thursday, Oct. 1, for notching her 900-career win last week ― becoming just the second high school coach in state history to reach the mark, joining John Frederick of St. Pius X in Atlanta.
Jones has led the Raiders to six State finals appearances, 12 Final Fours and reached the 30-win mark in 11 seasons.
She was able to coach her daughters, Landon and Logan, who both went on to play at Georgia Southern. Logan is now an assistant coach under her mom at Savannah Christian, while Landon is set to make Julie Jones a grandmother
for the first time next week with the birth of her daughter.
Her daughters and their husbands, along with Jones’ husband Jeff, were on hand to see the veteran coach feted on Thursday.
“I was super excited to have my family here to celebrate this with me today,” Jones said after the short ceremony. “The kids are the ones who keep me coming back each year – they are the reason I do it. I get teary eyed thinking about it, but they are special to me and like an extended family. I get great support from the parents, and the kids are pretty awesome. I’m blessed every day to say this is the job I get to do.”
Junior libero Avery Ritzert has blossomed into one of the top defensive players in the state under Jones and said playing for her is a privilege.
“Playing for coach Jones has been super fun, she makes playing volleyball so enjoyable,” Ritzert said. “She has an impact on and off the court with the players. Off the court, she’s always supportive and is there when we need her for anything. It’s super special to play on her team and be part of her reaching a record like this.”
Savannah Christian improved to 40-3 this season with wins over MCA and Woodville Tompkins Thursday and the Raiders are currently ranked 4th in the state in the Private School classification.
The Raiders had three All-Greater Savannah first-team picks returning this season in Ritzert, Kamila Salinas and setter Carinne Cason and then added another first-team selection via transfer when 6-foot-1 outside hitter Myla Shippy made the move to join the squad from The Habersham School.
Jones' squad has the talent to make a run at a state crown.
Landon Jones is at every match to cheer on Savannah Christian and is so proud of everything her mom has accomplished.
"She cares a lot about her players and is so good at developing her players on, and off the court," Landon Jones said. "She cares about each and every one of them. Sometimes, you look at one of her teams at the beginning of the season and might thing it's not going to be a good year. But by the end of the season, her teams are always playing well. She always get the best our of her teams and her record speaks for herself. She's a great coach ― I was super lucky to play for her ― and she's a great mom."
Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah Christian volleyball coach Julie Jones reaches 900-win milestone
