VYPE Fort Bend ISD August 2022

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goals for those camps and we’ve always exceeded them. We keep going up. From (sophomore) Ruth (Ochelli) to ( junior) Mia (Clarke) to ( junior) Sophie (Ilagan) … I’m really excited to see what the girls are going to do when we go hunting, the Cougar way.”

said. “I want the girls to know they can come to me about anything.” Lee has set the playoffs as the goal for this initial season. “We’re shooting for fourth (in district),” Lee said. “From the open gyms and skill instruction we’ve had, I’ve set

assistant principal Lori Montelongo. “Going to a little bit smaller school was enticing,” Lee said of departing Ridge Point , which has 3,061 students, for Kempner, which has 1,981. “When it came up, I’d heard how great the kids are and how it had the same type of diversity that ’s at Ridge Point , which I love. Everyone I talked to said I’d love it there and how it ’d be a good spot for me.” It does come with its challenges, however. Lee takes over a program that has made the playoffs just once since 2011 and has had instability at head coach. “I basically jump into the deep end and start swimming,” Lee said. “The first opportunity I had to get on campus, I was here. I’ve already started building those relationships that are so important as a coach and a teacher and being new. Building trust with every kid, not just my girls. I’m just trying to keep them motivated and be here for them. I’m a coach because I want to inspire kids to work hard and be athletes and strive for excellence.” The summer has been beneficial for Lee. She has been a fixture at strength and conditioning camps to get to know all the student-athletes. During open gyms, she’s engaged in one-on-one or group conversations with her players. “I’m an open book ,” Lee

WHEN FORT BEND ISD WENT SEARCHING THIS SPRING FOR KEMPNER’S THIRD HEAD VOLLEYBALL COACH IN AS MANY YEARS, IT SOUGHT ENERGY, POSITIVITY, EXPERIENCE AND OPTIMISM, AMONG OTHER VIRTUES. It found everything, plus so much more, in Jennifer Lee. The former Ridge Point assistant volleyball and softball coach, succeeds Rachel Kessler, who left for the too-good-to-be-true opportunity to lead the volleyball program at her alma mater, Travis. Lee is in her 19th year of coaching. Kempner is her first head coaching job in Texas but third overall. She also was head volleyball coach at schools in Connecticut and California. “Part of the Kempner motto is ‘land of greatness and sunshine,’ and that fits me to a ‘ T,’” the Abilene native said. “I’m the type of coach where I’m going to push but I’m not going to beat a kid down. We’re going to keep working and find that silver lining and keep moving forward.” Lee has coached in Fort Bend ISD since 2011. Prior to the two years she spent at Ridge Point , she spent nine years at Baines Middle School as girls athletic coordinator and PE/Health department head. Lee left Baines to get back into high school coaching. She left Ridge Point for Kempner because she was familiar with principal Dr. Danielle Jackson and

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