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New Pony volleyball coach is "Old School"

Former MSU-N star Tamecia Jarvis takes over Havre High volleyball program

There was a time when the Havre High volleyball team was routinely one of the best in Class A. And under the direction of new head coach Tamecia Jarvis, the Blue Ponies are hoping to get back to that level, sooner rather than later.

Jarvis, who was a two-sport standout in both high school and college, was recently recommended for the position by Havre High activities director Dennis Murphy. The hire was then made official with a vote of approval by the Havre Public Schools board.

Jarvis, who teaches physical education and also serves as the athletic director at St. Jude’s, is an experienced volleyball coach who is excited about taking over the helm at HHS. In addition to playing both basketball and volleyball for Montana State University-Northern, she also spent four years as an assistant under current Skylights volleyball coach Bill Huebsch, as well as three years coaching middle school volleyball at St. Jude’s and at the Havre Middle School.

“I have coached under Bill (Huebsch) for a long time and just felt like I was ready to run my own program,” Jarvis said. “Being at the (Havre) Middle School and at St. Jude’s and being in charge and having my own direction as a coach really prepared me to run my own program. Because of that experience, I felt I was ready for this position and wanted to tackle it head on and see what happens.”

Jarvis, who said she is going to demand a lot of her players, is no stranger to athletic success. In high school in Phoenix, Arizona, she earned All-State honors in both basketball and volleyball. Then, she went on to play two years of junior college basketball before finishing her career at MSU-N, where she earned honorable-mention All-Frontier honors.

After two years playing hoops for the Skylights, Jarvis joined the volleyball team and became an instant success, winning the Frontier Conference Newcomer of the Year Award in 2002, as well as being named honorable mention All-Frontier as an outside hitter that same season. She also still holds the Northern single-season record for most double-doubles, which means scoring at least 10 times in multiple categories out of kills, aces, blocks, digs and assists.

Following her playing career, Jarvis, who is married to former Havre High football and wrestling standout Richard Jarvis, joined the coaching staff under Huebsch, who has helped the Skylights program reach new heights, culminating with a Frontier Conference championship in 2013. Jarvis said that experience, as well as many others as a player and coach have helped shape her coaching philosophy.

“I have tried to take away something good from all the coaches I have been around,” Jarvis said. “I think that each coach has some good things to take away. So, I tried to take things that I liked, and now I will try to implement them.”

Yet, as talented as Jarvis was on the floor and as much success as she’s had on the sidelines, she will have her work cut out for her as she tries to resurrect a Pony program that posted a 4-17 record a season ago and has not been to the state tournament since Huebsch, who coached the Ponies to two state championships, left the position to coach Northern following the 2008 season.

The first step to doing that according to Jarvis is getting the kids excited about playing volleyball. Thanks to her time at the middle school, she already has a good repertoire with the future athletes who will come through her program and she said she planned to meet with the players at Havre High today to discuss her plans for the upcoming season and beyond.

“I want to the let the girls know that they need to come in with a positive attitude,” Jarvis said. “I am really old-school, I don’t take any attitude and I am very vocal about what I want from my players. So if they want to be out there, everyone needs to be a team. The freshman team is an extension of the JV team and so forth. We just have to all be one. I want to bring them all together and create that team unity. I feel that they have been missing that camaraderie and want to bring that more into play.”

After meeting with her players, Jarvis plans to hit the ground running by having workouts and open gym for her players over the summer. She said that hard work in the offseason is one of the most important factors in getting the team to play at a high level and she is determined to have her team reflect her coaching style, which emphasizes hard work and enthusiasm. She also wants the team to have a bigger presence out in the community, which she also believes can aid the team-building process.

“I want to have our girls get out in the community volunteering and things like that,” Jarvis said. “When I played, that was always a big part of being in a team sport and I want to bring that aspect back to our program.”

It only takes a few minutes speaking with Jarvis to realize how fired up she is to be the new leader of Havre volleyball and while she didn’t make any guarantees in terms of wins or losses, she did say that regardless of the outcome, her team will always be fun to watch.

“I want our fans to be excited about coming and watching us play,” Jarvis said. “The one thing that I know is that we are going to play hard. I want us to be that hustle team that hits every ball. I want to make sure the ball never hits the floor. We may not get it over the net every time, but every girl is going to be working hard and running towards the ball. It’s going to be fun to watch.”

 

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