Fenwick coach expects best from his players

Yoon Ha

MIDDLETOWN — He’s very demanding of his players, but Fenwick varsity girls volleyball coach Yoon Ha is tough for a very good reason.

“When I see a kid who is working hard to develop themselves, and after six months or so I can see that they’re starting to get it — then there’s a smile on their faces, almost as if a light bulb just went off in their heads — they’re getting it, and it all finally clicks for them.

“It’s that moment. That’s the drug that keeps driving me to coach them. That’s my best moment as their coach,” he said. “If I didn’t have to coach a single match, I’d be OK with that.”

Fenwick has enjoyed a lot of great moments this season. In 27 games, they’ve won 26 matches. As the team heads into today’s Division III state semifinal match with Rockford Parkway, Ha will be coaching his 105th match at the Falcons helm.

Ha, 42, is a Korean-born son of Kyong Sook and Jeh Sun Ha. His family moved to Eatontown, N.J., when Yoon was nearly 4 years old and he actually played more soccer than volleyball as a kid. In 1990, Ha moved to Ohio to work for what is now LexisNexis. Some colleagues convinced him to join a recreation sand volleyball league at a Fairborn-area club, and soon Ha was hooked on the sport.

He first coached at St. Albert School in Kettering, and from there he gradually got involved in club volleyball, helping friends run their practices. After stints at Springboro, Carroll and Troy, Yoon came to Fenwick four years ago. He met veteran coaches Don Wood and Howard Garcia, two of his current assistant coaches, along the way.

“Those two, along with former Chaminade Julienne coach Ann Myers, are my mentors. Everything I know about the game, I first learned from them,” Ha said. “Don has been very helpful in teaching me how I need to run practices. Howard’s strength is with team chemistry.”

Wood and Garcia, with fellow assistants Bob Herber, Dave Reed, Kelsie Ludwig and Ashley Griffin, are the good cops to Ha’s bad cop, and it’s worked like a charm.

Senior co-captain Mary Reeder said Ha was intimidating to play for, especially her freshman year.

“He comes off as this big scary guy, but once you get to know him you realize that he’s a big ol’ softy,” Reeder said. “He works us hard, but I truly know that he cares a lot about us.”

Ha asks that the team wear identical white T-shirts when they scrimmage, and they have to line up their travel bags in a certain fashion before they practice. And don’t even think about wearing a tie-dyed shirt.

With full knowledge of Ha’s no tie-dye rule, senior Melanie Monahan wore one to Wednesday’s practice as a joke. Out of respect for her coach, she changed into another T-shirt later on.

“All I ask is that each of my players give me their best effort,” Ha said. “If they can give me that, then that’s really all I can ask for.”

Unhappy with the way he perceived the sport to be heading, Garcia quit coaching volleyball. But Ha convinced him to join his staff two years ago.

“When I stepped into the Fenwick gym for the first time after I had quit coaching, I was amazed. This was glorious. This is like heaven on a volleyball court. And that’s because of Yoon’s vision and hard work.” Garcia said.