Correction: An initial version of this story contained a misspelling of the name of Randy Totorp. It has been corrected.
Realizing the importance of male figures in his student athlete’s lives, Jonathan Charette is stepping down as the LBCC men’s volleyball coach to become a present father and husband for his family.
“I always longed for that father figure in my life. I really wanted to create that story of a father and son relationship because I don’t have one to reflect on,” Charette said.
Prior to the start of the season, Charette and his wife made the decision that 2023 would most likely be his last season as head coach.
“I could see it here, at this level, how important a stable, consistent male figure is to the men I was coaching and it just inspired me to take that and put that into my own son,” Charette said.
Stepping down as head coach was not only a decision for Charette to be a present father, but a present husband as well.
“I want to be a great example to my son of what it’s like to be a loving, respectful husband. I want him to see what a healthy relationship is by modeling that with the interactions with my wife,” Charette said.
LBCC dean of kinesiology and Charette’s former coach Randy Totorp holds Charette in high regards, not only as a successful coach, but as a person.
“This is a big loss to the team and the department. He’s a person of great character and is still growing as a man. He’s staying to help find someone best suited to continue the level of excellence he’s provided,” Totorp said.
Charette realized that the time he puts into coaching volleyball would be a distraction from the formative years of his son.
While he was coach, he committed himself to producing results and developing his student athlete’s personalities and lives outside of the sport.
“We want to maintain a level of competitive excellence, but we’re really invested in developing the (athletes). I made the commitment that that is what my focus would be and volleyball would be second. Taking on that commitment requires a lot of time, effort, and mental bandwidth. It gets very invasive in your personal life,” Charette said.
The decision to step down as head coach was not influenced by the result of the state final where LBCC lost to Orange Coast College.
Totorp mentioned in the coming weeks there should be an announcement that LBCC is looking for someone to fulfill the role of head coach for the men’s volleyball team.
Charette’s overall record as head coach at LBCC was 159-30, winning three state championships, and appearing in the finals one other time.
“Maybe in a year I’ll hate not coaching and want to come back. Maybe in a year I’ll realize this was the best decision for my family. So, we’ll see,” Charette said.