SHC volleyball coach Beima finds success
The list of titles Margi Beima holds at Sacred Heart Cathedral barely fits on a business card.
Director of community learning partnerships. Assistant to the president. Head girls volleyball coach.
“It’s sort of a mouthful,” she said. “It’s sort of embarrassing.”
To Beima, all that brings her personal attention is uncomfortable. She’s a master at deflecting. But her coaching achievements, following a playing career at St. Rose Academy and Santa Clara University, make that difficult.
Consider these lines for her resume:
The California Interscholastic Federation Model Coach of the Year.
The 2018 CalHiSports girls state Girls Volleyball Coach of the Year.
Winner of 500 varsity matches in a career.
The latter achievement came on Sept. 28 in a fiveset win over Palo Alto. According to CalHiSports, she was the 15th coach to do so in the state, the fourth in Bay Area history. When the Irish, 215 and ranked seventh in the state by MaxPreps, won Beima’s 500th, she was presented with a cake and roses. Almost 30 relatives were on hand.
In came the congratulatory texts from colleagues and former players, many whom played college volleyball including Lisa Hipp (Fordham), Madison Murtagh (USC) and Gabby Jolly (St. Mary’s).
Beima’s teams are described as scrappy, tough and together. Rarely are the Irish blessed with 6footers.
“Her teams play better than its individual parts because she devotes so much time in developing a positive team culture,” said Jo Ann Momono, director of athletics. “Her confidence in them leads them to play with confidence.”
“We do a lot of team bonding, we go on retreats, to work on it,” said UCLAbound Skylar Canady, a 6foot1 outside hitter. Going into the week, Canady had 303 kills, almost twice as many as any Sacred Heart Cathedral player.
“We definitely share in a lot of grit and persistence,” said setter Alden Standley, who is one of nine seniors and five thirdyear varsity players on the roster.
Injuries to two key starters, UC Davisbound hitter Megan Lenn (knuckle) and libero Ashley Chan (ankle), have slowed the team. But the Irish should be 100 percent by the postseason and Beima believes this could be her best team. “Our goal is to win a state title,” Canady said.
CIF Executive Director Ron Nocetti told the Chronicle, “You watch her teams and her staff and they play with such joy and yet compete at the highest level.”
“I work at an amazing school,” Beima said, “with amazing, committed athletes, phenomenal support from the athletic department and Jo Ann (Momono) and my family, especially my husband Doug.”
The Palo Alto victory was part of the Founders Serve it Up fourteam tournament, an event Beima founded 10 years ago that combines volleyball and community service. For the landmark win, her husband was at the grill, preparing 140 pieces of chicken.
“C’mon, who does that?” she said. “I have support and love at every turn.”
What goes around comes around, said Momono, who picked Beima 20 years ago, inviting her to apply for the Sacred Heart Cathedral opening at her wedding with Doug.
“I thought she was joking,” Beima said. “I told her I’d give her an answer after the honeymoon.”