Benavia Jenkins And Mike Hill Share A Championship Vision For Charlotte Volleyball
Benavia Jenkins won’t be coaching Charlotte Volleyball alone, she’s a collection of her experiences.
Her philosophies have been built through lessons passed onto her by others, molded and formed into how she sees the sport. The pillars of how she’ll create the 49ers’ foundation could be traced back to her time with Michigan Head Coach Erin Virtue. They span further to her tutelage under legendary Florida Head Coach Mary Wise.
Her plans to build up players have plenty of roots from her time on the court at Florida — a Gator connection that formed the early discussions between her and Athletic Director Mike Hill before she was hired to lead Charlotte’s next generation.
“When Mike was at Florida, he saw firsthand what it takes to build a championship team,” Jenkins said. “We share that vision, and we know what needs to be done to get there.”
Take those playing days to the pros overseas, and how Jenkins sees an evolving sport becomes clear. Her five-prong focus — the heart, mind, team, body, and academics — is already in motion as the team undergoes an offseason reshaping, albeit with many familiar faces, even in the team’s coaching ranks.
Jenkins has big plans for the 49ers.
“We’re not just coaching athletes, we’re developing leaders,” Jenkins said. “It’s going to take time to build trust, but once we do, players will start to think and talk just like our coaching staff.
“Our job is to give them the tools, but they’ll be the ones driving their own success.”
Jenkins, Gio Delevry, and Jenna Orner, as head coach and associate head coaches, started the process with conditioning. Finding the value of nuances was the start, and now that practices have expanded, they are continuing the trend.
Pauses are commonplace, and so is the team’s application of messaging.
On any given day, the staff puts a focus on the board. Sometimes it can be more individual-based, and evaluation is key. Coaches pause drills to help perfect their execution. At the end of practice, it’s a self-evaluation process — were the effort and focus right? If not, what can be done to fix it?
Jenkins has a history of success backing her plans.
After a successful stint leading East Tennessee State, Jenkins served as the Wolverines’ associate head coach. A SoCon Coach of the Year nod and a spot on the most recent USA Volleyball National Development Program staff prove her staying power and ability to rise.
Players benefitted too with several all-conference spots along the way.
“Part of Benavia’s gift as a coach is never settling,” Orner said. “That’s something this entire staff believes in—we’re always looking for ways to be better. That mindset applies to both how we coach and how our players develop. It’s how we’ll get the best out of them.”
“A lot more goes into building a championship program than just having elite athletes,” Jenkins added. “I must be a strong leader with a clear vision to the players and coaches.”
It will take a degree of vulnerability from everyone involved: another lesson from Jenkins’ history.
Treating the heart is a pillar for a reason. The staff will do it communally.
“You have to cater how you build a program to fit each athlete,” Delevry said. “That comes from getting coffee with them, team dinners, or just watching how they operate in practice. How they respond to different situations matters, and our job is to create an environment where they can be their best, most honest selves.”
Orner’s most pressing task will be adding players to help lead Charlotte.
Seasoned returners like Jessica Ricks, Kristen Birmingham, and Lauren Nixon were mainstays in last year’s matches. They’ll be joined by reinforcements soon enough.
Just as Jenkins pushes herself to improve, the roster will follow suit. Players will be at home, and the new faces who join them will set them up for success.
“We always want to keep recruiting going, the more talent you can bring into a program, the more it raises the level of everyone in it,” Jenkins said. “Jenna is one of the most hardworking recruiters in the game, and Charlotte has the location and resources to excel. With her history of recruiting, I knew I needed her here to help us thrive.”
The program’s draw for future 49ers was clear to Jenkins when she was on campus years ago.
Being from ETSU, the coach is no stranger to the area — the talent already present in its high schools, the beauty of the campus itself, and the ability to build sustained success on a court and in a classroom at Charlotte.
Selling parents on sending their children to her will be easy, it’s part of why she came. Jenkins’ son Samod is as easy to find at practice as players and coaches. Just as she’d never ask a player to do something she hasn’t before, Charlotte’s new coach wouldn’t ask them to come to a place she didn’t have faith in.
“You always have schools in mind that you’d love to lead, and Charlotte was always a great example for me,” Jenkins said. “I remember running the trails here with a friend years ago and saying, ‘This is a place I could live, it’s somewhere I think anyone could.’ I know how important my family is to me and getting back to those roots.
“I know we can do that for others too.”