Girls basketball: Elyria High grad Jessy Bendik coaching again, this time at Open Door

Coaching wasn't the only thing that inspired Jessy Bendik's interest in applying to be the head girls basketball coach at Open Door. Family, faith and making a difference in the lives of young girls really drove her to seek the opportunity to coach again. Bendik has been involved in sports her entire life and was able to maintain a high GPA. Known by her maiden name of Verhoff, she was Miss Volleyball (1999) and Miss Basketball (2000) in Lorain County while at Elyria High. Her sisters — Sarah, Lisa and Kate — were also great athletes, and her husband, Jayson, who's the principal at Open Door, played basketball and soccer at Elyria. Jayson and Jessy have five children ranging in age from 8 to 16. Brayden, a junior, plays soccer, basketball and baseball for the Patriots. Briella is a freshman playing volleyball and basketball. Baylynn is rated in the top three nationally of seventh-grade cross country runners. Blayne is 10 and Beckham 8. Playing sports and competing have become a staple of the Bendik family. Jessy was All-Ohio in volleyball and the Player of the Year in District 3. She averaged over 20 points a game in her basketball career, earning a scholarship to Western Illinois and later transferring to Indiana State. She was inducted into the Elyria Sports Hall of Fame in 2014. Lisa and Kate have also been inducted into the Hall, while Sarah was a member of the 1996 state finalist volleyball team that was inducted in 2012. "It's a great opportunity to blend my passion for the game with the opportunity to mentor young women in a faith-based environment," said Jessy, who previously coached volleyball and basketball at Midview. "Sports mimics life and to be able to teach these girls what they need to know, it's just a great opportunity. "With this window opening up, I've had experience coaching middle school (at Open Door). Since I left Midview, I've been coaching middle school. It's exciting to be able to work with the kids and build a solid foundation. It's just been fun to get to know the girls and think about exciting things in the future for the program." The Bendiks have made the job a family affair. Jessy's dad, Chuck Verhoff, has been a longtime coach of youth basketball and her father-in-law, Andy Bendik, stays involved by keeping score for the boys basketball team. Undoubtedly, he'll have the same job with the girls this season. Darlene Verhoff, Jessy's mom, and Kellie Bendik, Jayson's mom, are huge supporters as well. Open Door finished 14-9 a year ago playing an independent schedule. Jayson and Jessy are excited about the prospects for this year's team. "It was a blessing," said Jayson. "She's got some talented players coming up and the thing that is special about my wife, she's very patient and this is not about basketball. This is about growing young women to become leaders and to grow in their faith in Christ. She's very passionate about that. "She's using the vehicle of basketball with the gift that she has been given to pour into other kids. Our daughters are coming up and clearly that's part of it. She loves the team and they have a bright future. Very talented girls that are left from last year. Coach (Israel) Cintron did an amazing job over the past couple of years he was here. Very thankful for what he's done for the program and ready to take the next step." Lily Pierre graduated but the cupboards are well-stocked. "It's exciting to see what's in store for the program," Jessy said. "A lot of our players are multisport athletes so a lot of them are already playing right now whether it's soccer or volleyball or cross country, which is nice because they get that extra training." Jessy certainly remembers her coaches at Elyria, the success they had and the impact they made on her. Carol Russo's volleyball program was a state powerhouse during her tenure, and the same could be said of Mike Walsh and the girls basketball teams. Jessy will use some of the methods of Russo and Walsh. "Carol Russo left such a legacy behind," said Jessy. "My sisters and I and even my dad and Jayson talk about what a high standard she set for us to use as coaches. She genuinely cared about us as young women. "Mike was a strategy guy. He taught us the game. They were both very disciplined. They taught us to be disciplined in everything we did, every play, every drill. You went hard with 100 percent effort in everything you did because at the end of the day, if you were playing against a better team, you needed to walk off that court knowing you gave 110 percent." Jessy wants to build the program from the bottom up. "It starts in the young grades," she said. Her relationship with Jayson dates to high school, but they reconnected a few years later when they were in college. "I saw my future bride at one of her sister's games when I was just about to graduate (from Mount Union)," said Jayson. "Obviously Jessy was at Indiana State at the time. We got together, started our relationship again and years later got married." Jayson came to Open Door four years ago and became the principal in 2023. He's spent a number of years in education, including 12 years at Horizon Science Academy. "That was a blessing," Jayson said of his time at Horizon. "The Lord really worked on me there and then the Lord literally opened the door for me and brought me to Open Door Christian School." "It's funny, looking back, we always would do a lot of our workouts together," said Jessy. "We could challenge each other. We were always in the gym. He was a hard worker. He always put in the effort and the time. He wanted to play in college." Jayson was recruited to play basketball for Lee Hood at Mount Union but ended up playing for only two seasons. He walked on in soccer and was a four-year starter. He led Elyria basketball in scoring in 1999-2000 for John Srnis. He scored 279 points with a high of 22 against Valley Forge. Jayson played three years on the varsity but was influenced by Brett Heighberger, the soccer coach. "When you look back how instrumental sports was in our lives, just the impact that it had, teaching things — hard work, dedication, discipline, leadership skills, finding you," Jayson said. "As I grew older, my wife and I really knew there was more than sports. That's really where the philosophy for our family came where we have to make it more than sports. "We wanted a firm foundation for our kids and we wanted them to reflect God. That's why it was the right thing for us here because it gave us the opportunity to talk about God openly. It was a blessing to do that." Contact Tim Gebhardt at (440) 329-7135 or timothygeb@msn.com.