The posts of the famed East Beach volleyball courts not only support the nets, they also serve as iconic pillars of the sport’s rich history in the Santa Barbara community.
Jon Lee joined an illustrious group of local volleyball legends to have a court dedicated in his honor. The Friends of East Beach Association christened Court 11, “Jon Lee Court”, during a ceremony Saturday morning.
It is the sixth court at the beach to bear the name of a person who’s made a huge impact in volleyball. Lee joins Henry Bergmann, the doubles team of Kathy Gregory/Kathy Hanley, Karch Kiraly, Paul Hodgert and John Hanley in the East Beach Sand of Fame.
For Lee, it’s the second court dedicated in his name. The indoor court at San Marcos High’s Thunderhut is called Jon Lee Court.
The dedication ceremony drew several Santa Barbara area volleyball luminaries such as beach volleyball Olympians Todd Rogers (2008, 2012), Dax Holdren (2004) and Miles Evans (2024). Rogers and Holdren played indoor volleyball for Lee at San Marcos High, while Evans, a Dos Pueblos alum, was a counselor at Lee’s annual summer beach volleyball camp.
Also in attendance were legendary beach partners Kathy Gregory (the long-time UC Santa Barbara women’s volleyball coach) and Kathy Hanley, Karch Kiraly’s father Laszlo Kiraly, UCSB volleyball legends Skip Allen and Larry “Boomer” Millikan and Don Shaw, who, after playing with Lee in “AAA” tournaments for many years, turned to coaching and went on to have an incredible career at Stanford; he guided the women’s program to four NCAA titles in 1990s.
Shaw said his kids were Jon Lee beach volleyball campers.
“It’s pretty mind-blowing,” he said of the success of the camp. “When you do the math, pause and think about the number of people who over three decades of camps have either been introduced to the sport we all love, developed their skills, or maybe were given their first job opportunities as teens and life lessons and responsibilities that come with coaching, it’s all because of Jon.”
Members of Lee’s CIF-Southern Section boys championship teams at San Marcos were there to celebrate with their coach as were several of his East Beach playing partners, former campers and other volleyball coaches in the community.
Lee’s daughter, Solana, capped the day of tribute with a heartfelt poem that encapsulated her father’s volleyball life and the impact he’s had on others.
Here is the poem:
Along the East Beach coastline
‘Neath the colorful umbrellas
You are likely to encounter
A most legendary fella
You might have called him partner
Or Dad, if you are me
Or like thousands upon thousands
Mostly know him as Coach Lee
Either way, he’s been a fixture
On this most beautiful of beaches
Whether playing, coaching, heckling
Or giving campers morning speeches
These courts here have been witness
To many eras of Jon Lee
From a heartthrob in the 70s
To the 90s, peppering with me
He’s had plenty of good company
Greg and Shaw and Karch and Hanley
Rooster, Donaldson and Kitchell
Then Lynette, and then a family
And though I was crawling courtside
When he used to jump and hit
I grew up to know the crushing dread
Of when he chose to knuckle it
Though the extent of Coach Lee’s impact
Is not possible to name
It is safe to say he’s helped us all
To truly love this game
Countless players became coaches
And some still are to this day
Some went on to be Olympians
Some still daily come to play
Then their children joined as campers
And on the cycle goes
All cuz Coach Lee made it magic
As every one of you here knows
For decades he has taught this game
Both indoor and on beach
But beyond just coaching volleyball
Here, he taught us how to teach
He taught us daily vocab words
And how to call the ball
And how to master tricks of strings
And drink a waterfall
He taught us to spot dolphins
And not to waste sunscreen
How to motivate young players
How to cultivate a team
We sided out, and served it short
Learned to live and love the game
And most learned to appreciate
Our clever beach camp tourney names
He taught us to be on our toes
How to dig and dink and dive
But beyond the drills and skills and such
He made East Beach come alive
So you’ve had the fortune
To have seen him play or coach this sport
Please join me as we proudly place
His name upon this court
Solana lee Ray
