Great coaches in sports do the little things great — the intangibles that never see the light of day in the public’s eye.
Chicago Marist High School boys volleyball coach Jordan Vidovic is a textbook example.
“The thing that stands out the most is his dedication to the program,” Marist junior outside hitter Nathen Toth said. “He has spent hours upon hours working with us, planning for the season, and making sure the team was the most prepared we could possibly be.”
Toth wasn’t quite finished with his Vidovic dissertation.
“Whether it’s early on a school day or late on a Sunday, he is always willing to meet us at the gym to work on our game,” he added. “This never stops, not during the summer, the girls season during the fall (Vidovic is also Marist’s girls coach) or the winter. He always is looking to help his players.”
And this 2024 season was no exception. Vidovic, the 2024 VolleyballMag boys high school coach of the year, directed Marist (39-2) to the Illinois High School Association boys state title, trapped in a constant tornado of elite opponents — the whirlwind exit culminating with a two-set finals win, the team’s 20th victory in a row.
The VBM national coach of the year honor is Vidovic’s second with Marist since 2019 and third overall (he also has one VBM girls high school coach of the year accolade to his credit). This year’s crown was the RedHawks’ fourth in program history, including the 2019 Vidovic-directed first-place finish.
“Coach Vidovic deserves the coach of the year title,” Marist junior middle blocker Griffin McElroy said. “He puts in all his efforts to ensure our success. He’s a great coach because of his attention to detail and his determination to push us to improve.”
McElroy went as far to say Vidovic’s dedication “shocked the team during practice,” he said, “showing us that we had someone who believed in us, boosting our momentum for each game. We had an early season meeting with him. It set the tone for the season and motivated me to give 100 percent in practice every day.”
Vidovic, 285-43-1 in nine seasons at the boys’ helm, had nothing but the highest of praise for this year’s RedHawks’ crew, one that not only performed well on the floor but did so against the best of the best from Illinois and also outside the state. Marist, for the first time,…
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