Jill Mellor – 12U Mellor – Assistant Coach

Hey, I am Coach Jill. I think the most important thing you need to know is I am a beach volleyball, indoor volleyball, road biking, cross country skiing, gym going, flower gardening, poutine and popcorn loving enthusiast. By occupation I am a personal trainer and part of the crazy girl mom tribe.

As for my street cred sadly, I have a bit and my achy bones can attest to that but I won’t tell you it all just the basics. Before college I went to an Academic All Girls Boarding school, so my athletic route is very different from the standard high school. I played in every school team and at the end of my high school years I had to choose between basketball and volleyball for post secondary. I chose volleyball of course. I played post secondary for two years and have continued to play indoor in Tier 1 women’s (and coed until children changed my free time). I have played every position on the court but in college I was a middle and libero. I have played beach volleyball competitively for too many years to count including the NBVL and compete in as many ladies open tournaments in and around Alberta as I can. I am lucky enough to have a court at my house so training is never a problem, except for with my husband, as me and a bunch of other women can be found training 5 days a week from spring to fall so I can be very unhelpful.

As for coaching indoor club volleyball, 2023 was my first year, and I am so excited to be a part of the Park Volleyball Club. I love all the people that make up this team. My passion in coaching females in sport is to affect positive change within our sport from the inside out. I am by nature an extremely competitive person but what my years on the court and more recently watching my own child in competitive sports from the sideline has taught me is, that nurturing the culture of lifting each other up is as important as winning , and teaching real team work, team spirit and work ethic Is just as important as skill. My best memories are not of winning but of the friendships, road trips, and what it taught me as a human not just an athlete. Tough losses are what kept me working and still do to this day. Winning is easy… it is what you do when you are losing or what you do after a loss is what changes you as a player and a teammate.

Be the hardest worker in the room. Lead your team from the back. Push everyone to be their best self, and most importantly fall in love with this amazing sport and the people in it.