After four decades of work in Calgaard, Trinity University’s Julie Jenkins has done more than enough to add her name to the list of all-time great coaches. Under Jenkins, Trinity Volleyball has earned a reputation of success, advancing to the NCAA’s Elite Eight in four straight seasons — and five of the last six. In an interview with the Trinitonian, Coach Jenkins reflected on the team’s recent success, the ways Trinity has changed since she came to campus in 1985, and what motivated her to make a 1,500-mile change in scenery from Williamsburg, Virginia to San Antonio.
What made you decide to be a coach?
I went to college at William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, and I really had intended to be a business major. I did not know that I would go into coaching, but sports have always been a huge part of my life. When I went to college, I did go there for tennis, but I ended up playing tennis and volleyball, and I just had two really great coaches. I had some very good coaches in high school, too. I was really lucky. I saw how much they were enjoying coaching for a living, and I thought, ‘Man, maybe this is something I can do.’
As a player, you had a lot of success in both volleyball and tennis, but what made you decide on volleyball?
It’s a team sport. I would have been happy coaching tennis, too. But … I thought that I really enjoyed the team aspect a little bit better.
What put Trinity on your radar originally?
I played tennis in college, and Trinity at that time, in 1985, was number two in the country behind Stanford. So I knew about Trinity because of tennis. I’d never been here before, but I knew I knew of Trinity because of that. I had never set foot in Texas. It’s very different from upstate New York and Virginia, where I was going to school, but I loved it instantly. I thought it was a beautiful city and a beautiful campus.
And what made you take the leap and come here?
Trinity impressed me because it actually reminded me a lot of William and Mary. It’s a very good school academically very financially sound, kids from all over the United States, all over the world. There were a lot of similarities.
I’ve gotten an opportunity to talk to some other volleyball players and they’ve been nothing but complimentary of you and the program. How important is the culture aspect to you?
Oh, huge, huge, you know, you want your players to feel like these are my lifelong relationships, with the players, with the coaches. These are, you know, family … and it’s a family feel to it, because I want each and every player to know that we genuinely have their back, we genuinely care about them as people, not just as volleyball players.
What have you seen change not only at Trinity, but also within the sport of volleyball since you first got here?
Well, the sport of volleyball just in general, what’s changed is the size of the athletes. You can say for just about any sport, really. What we’re doing in the weight room now is like night and day from what we did 20 years ago. For Trinity, there’s been a lot of change. We’ve gone from part-time coaches to full-time coaches, and we’ve added full-time assistant coaches. We’re playing a national schedule in a lot of our sports, and we’re getting out and playing the best teams in the country.
Obviously, we can’t have an interview with you without mentioning the accolades: 1,000 career wins, 400 conference wins, so much more. What do the accomplishments mean to you?
I knew I was coming up on 1,000 victories and there’s not very many people that have done it. But I would say that I’m thankful. I’m super thankful that I’ve been able to maintain a consistently high level of success here in Trinity. I’m just super beyond thankful for the dedication that all of our players have shown this program and how well they represent this program.
What’s something you want to say to the people of Trinity?
To anyone that comes out to watch our volleyball teams, I appreciate their support. It’s a sport that I think is so exciting to watch because there’s so many momentum swings. It’s a great spectator sport, and I appreciate anybody that comes out to watch.
