2018-19 #WCChoops Schedule | #WCChoops Champs Central | Crumpacker 2018-19 Archive

By John Crumpacker
#WCChoops Columnist

In an examination of the life of former Pacific volleyball stalwart and 1988 Olympian Jayne McHugh, one thing stands out:
Once she came to Pacific on a scholarship in 1978 from her native Colorado, she never left.

 Through a career arc of seven jobs spanning 36 years – coaching, teaching, working at a custom silk-screening business, even selling beer -- she has always called Stockton home, and does to this day. She even married a Stocktonian – a third-generation Stocktonian, at that.

Speaking about Pacific, she said, “What is there not to like? Pacific offered an opportunity for me in 1978 to come to California. When you grow up in Colorado and want to be a volleyball player, California was the place you needed to be. I enjoyed a great four years, played in the first NCAA (women’s) tournament.

“As far as the university itself, it’s absolutely gorgeous. It’s called the Ivy League of the West for a reason. You really received a personalized education. The professors knew who you were and were concerned for your success.’’

Given her fealty to the university and the city, anything that draws the 58-year-old McHugh away from Stockton must be compelling. It is. On March 9 at the Orleans Hotel in Las Vegas, McHugh will be inducted into the West Coast Conference’s Hall of Honor in the Class of 2019. With her at her table will be husband Tom, sons Ryan, 28, and Jack, 26, as well as her brother, sister and sister-in-law.

“I was really taken aback,’’ she said of her nomination to the Hall of Honor. “You look at the other recipients from Pacific – I got to coach a couple of them – to have your name in that same company, it makes you proud of all the hard work; you did it because you loved the game. To receive this recognition, it’s special.’’

McHugh’s mother and father are deceased, but she remarked, “My parents, bless ‘em, are up there watching. Mom was way ahead of her time; she was amazing. My dad (Ben Gibson) was 6-foot-10 and played at Saint Mary’s, drafted by the Knicks in, I believe, 1951.’’ (Ed.: It was 1952)

The daughter they produced would go on to become a versatile high school athlete in Arvada, CO., competing in volleyball and track and field as a high jumper and relay runner. Playing volleyball at Pacific from 1978-81, McHugh (maiden name Gibson), was a three-time All-American and led the Tigers to three straight conference championships in 1979-80-81. As a middle blocker, McHugh recorded 856 kills and 155 blocks and set the school record for solo blocks in a match with nine vs. Stanford in 1981.
“I think I still hold the NCAA blocks record for number of blocks in the NCAA Tournament,’’ she said. “I’m pretty sure it won’t be broken because back then we played for third place (after being eliminated from the championship game).’’

McHugh graduated in 1982 with a degree in physical education and earned her teaching credential at … where else? … a year later. She went to work as a substitute teacher at a middle school while also holding down a job from 1983-85 at the Babka Beer Co. in inside and outside sales. (Company owner Richard “Rink” Babka was the 1960 Olympic silver medalist in the discus for the U.S.)

She represented the U.S. National Team from 1985-88 and played in the Seoul Olympics, where her team finished seventh after losing to China and defeating South Korea. McHugh’s most indelible memories from those 1988 Games involve watching Canada’s Ben Johnson defeat American Carl Lewis in the 100 meters and returning later to an Olympic Village abuzz with news that Johnson had tested positive for steroids.

“The most amazing thing I’ve seen,’’ she said. “It was an amazing event.’’

McHugh began her coaching career as an assistant at Pacific in 1989 while also serving on the Athletes’ Advisory Council of the U.S. Olympic Committee and on the U.S. Volleyball Association’s Board of Directors from 1989-95. She was promoted to associate head volleyball coach from 1996-2001 and assumed the head coaching duties later in ’01. She led the Tigers to four straight NCAA Tournament appearances, coached four All-Americans and stepped down in 2006 with a 100-59 record.

“Wanting to give back to the game was my primary reason for wanting to coach,’’ she said. “I was exposed to some of the greatest people you’d want to meet. Coming back to Stockton was a natural.’’

From 2008 until last year, McHugh was the head volleyball coach at Saint Mary’s High School in Stockton while also teaching middle school history, math, P.E. and language arts at the Annunciation School. She’s now a fifth-grade teacher at the Venture Academy, a charter school in Stockton.

“Being in the classroom is a great place to be,’’ she said. “It’s similar to being on the volleyball court, only you’re teaching instead of playing. I love coaching. The game is a great game. I don’t know what I’d do without the game of volleyball. It’s been a part of my life since ninth grade.’’

The game of volleyball has taken McHugh from Colorado to Stockton to Seoul and now to Las Vegas, where her lifetime involvement in the game will be celebrated.