Around 20 years ago, Coach Jenny Marnin was just a young girl in Oregon, falling in love with the game of softball from behind the plate. Her journey wasn’t always easy– from navigating the challenges of JUCO ball at Southwestern Oregon to making the leap to Division I ball at Portland State. Through every transition, every frame, and every inning, she was being shaped into more than just a player. Now, after stops at Virginia Tech and Team San Diego, she’s become a mentor to countless young athletes. What started as a love for the game has turned into a calling – one built on grit, leadership, and a deep desire to give back to the game that gave her everything.
But what started this all? From a very young age, Jenny knew that softball was going to be one of the biggest loves of her life. It may sound cliche, but since she was able to hold a bat, her dad made sure that she was always taking swings off the tee and learning how to play catch. Jenny Marnin is from Aloha, Oregon, about 9 miles from Portland. She attended Jesuit High School, a private high school in Portland, as well. That is where her story really started.
Softball in Oregon is a little different. First off, it rains about 98% more than it does here in San Diego, and there also aren’t as many opportunities to play travel ball. You really had to know your stuff if you wanted to be considered a player on a travel team. At Jesuit, Marnin was the starting shortstop or second baseman for all 4 years and learned (most of the time the hard way) to be a good leader even when the outside world wasn’t going great.
“I wasn’t the best student, and with life looking a little different at home, there were a lot of things that made me focus on what truly mattered.” stated Marnin when talking about her high school experience and how it helped prepare her for the next steps of her career
This prepared her to learn (again the hard way) at her JUCO to, for lack of better words, “figure it out”. She took all of her raw experiences in high school and applied them to the adult life scenarios she was facing.
When asked about what led her to Southwestern Oregon, this is what she had to say. “My parents. They told me to shoot my shot, essentially, knowing that I was already a student there, I was a free kid (meaning not needing any form of scholarship), and I wanted it so bad that I was literally going to do anything I needed to get it.”
When talking about how her coaches there would help her get to the next level, she could go on forever about Coach Megan Correia. She is the former head coach at SWOCC and is now the Head Coach at Cal Poly Humboldt, a top Division II softball program. She never gave up on Jenny. Even when Marnin wanted to sabotage her own career, Coach Correia never gave up. The fact that Correia never gave up on her instilled in Marnin that she had something special that she needed to act on, and with that, Marnin kept trying to do the right thing. Eventually, that led her to Coach Meadow McWhorter at Portland State, who has taught Marnin everything there is to know about how to be the best person around. She gave her the task of being the glue of the team, and knowing she was there to solely fill a role, Coach McWhorter still gave her a shot at playing in the big leagues. That risk that she took on Marnin led her to pursue a job at Virginia Tech University, where Coach Pete De’Amour allowed her the great privilege to watch and learn.
Marnin decided to transfer to Portland State during COVID-19, which was a very interesting time for athletes. When the world started to come out of COVID-19, she really leaned on her previous experiences as a coach for a semester and let her coach know that she would do anything she was told. Two weeks later, Coach McWhorter told her that she needed a catcher. After not catching for over 8 years, it was an adjustment as Marnin had been playing middle infield since high school. Her mindset going into this new challenge, if you want something bad enough, and you can be external with what you want to help the team, you can get through just about anything. All in all, it was the greatest blessing she could have ever asked for.
“Keep asking until they say no. The worst they can say is no. Then we move on to plan B. But if it’s something that you are sure about, keep asking until they say yes or no,” stated Marnin when asked about the advice she would give during the recruiting process and excelling at the next level. “College coaches have lives, too, and are so extremely busy. Be kind, be genuine, and be a person who can be trusted and consistent.”
Again when Marnin was asked to catch at Portland State, she knew it was going to be an adjustment, but she wanted this challenge. She caught when she was younger, and then only for one year at Portland State. She was also everyone’s friend. She feels that being a leader, even if you’re not everyone’s friend, you still have to be able to understand them and respect them. You also have to be loud/commanding. You can ask about anyone who knows her and knows her pretty well, such as any of her athletes, her friends, or her significant other; she has no low-octave voice. She was able to project what she wanted the game to look like and made her teammates jump on board with that vision. When she is coaching, she tries to give them the confidence to be loud and proud about what she’s saying. I can confirm this as I work with her every week in my lessons. In this day in age, and even at her age of 25, we tend to sit behind someone else and wait for something to happen. We need to trust our gut and know we’ve been a good enough teammate so that your teammates can follow you.
Getting the opportunity to coach at Virginia Tech was on a complete whim. Initially, she had no intention of going to Virginia Tech, let alone Virginia, that was until her boyfriend, Brady Joslyn, was making the trek out there to finish his own baseball career. After being long-distance for 4 years already, she told him that she would only move to Virginia if she got into Virginia Tech and got a scholarship. The rest is history.
While talking about how growing up in Oregon and playing there, to now coaching in Southern California, and what aspects of the SoCal softball scene have stood out to her, this is what she had to say. The biggest thing was that growing up in Oregon, there were only so many softball teams that you played on if you wanted to play college ball. In a place where it rains 300 days out of 365 in the year, and where you were consistently in a facility where you’re forced to learn softball IQ and be consistent with that. A lot of the girls also grew up as multisport athletes. Again, because it was raining all the time, you were either in a facility working on one sport or you were playing multiple sports to keep your athleticism up so that you were prepared for when your season came around and you could play outside. Down here in SoCal, it’s a little different. Since it’s 70 degrees and sunny all the time, which is not a complaint at all, that means that there are a lot of teams that have since watered down the high levels of travel ball. Marnin believes that softball is a sport that everyone can play. It’s special in that way because it doesn’t matter how tall you are, or how short you are, you will always have a spot on the field that you can play. Though with that, it allows for some miscommunication between what is good and what is not good. She would say that the biggest aspect of SoCal softball that has been a transition for her has been the number of teams there are that do not have a consistent level of play.
Marnin now coaches for Team San Diego, a travel club that was once The Factory, then EC Bullets, then Athletics Mercado, and is now Team San Diego. It was founded by AJ Robinson, who is now the head coach at Cal State San Marcos, another top Division II softball program, and Eddie DeBus, who has been in the softball world since his own daughter started playing at 6 years old and has not only made a name for himself but is one of the more respected softball coaches here in Southern California. After Marnin and her boyfriend, Brady, decided that once they were done with school, they would always end up back in San Diego. After moving back, she wanted to stay in the softball world and reached out to Coach AJ Robinson, not knowing that he was going to pass the organization to Eddie DeBus. She got on the phone with Eddie, and the rest is history. It also kinda helps that the weather is fantastic, and there is no need for a jacket at any point during the year. Jenny has been coaching for the org for about a year. She has her own team, and she also helps coach the 18U team, which is my team, and she was the best thing that happened to the organization.
This organization has also been incredible to her; the most rewarding aspect of coaching, especially with Team San Diego, is the aspect of family. There are so many wonderful families in the organization that consistently show up not just for their kids but for other kids as well. Being able to come into the organization, share her experiences, and bring other college players back has also been very rewarding as well.
Marnin recently took on the job of Head Coach at Cathedral Catholic High School, a premier high school softball program in San Diego, but with her came arguably the best coaching staff for a high school. This staff includes retired Michigan State catcher Kendall Kates, former Olympian and Washington Huskies alum, Ali Aguilar, along with one of the greatest softball players ever to play the game, Rachel Garcia. Being in high school as a student is all about learning how to be a good person. How good of a teammate you can become with a team you’re not familiar with, with coaches you’re not familiar with, and still go out and complete a goal. That is all any of it should be. Are we going to work hard; of course. Are we going to be physically better as individuals; absolutely. But nothing matters if no one cares about the person next to them. College is learning all of that at supersonic speed, and you need to produce as a player because that’s your job. So teaching all of her athletes to understand it’s never about you, it’s about the others around you, and what you can do for them. Try that and see how many good things happen.
“Be the leader everyone needs” states Marnin when asked about something she wishes young athletes knew about being a catcher, especially since it’s such a unique and demanding position.
Everyone needs different things at different times, and as a catcher, you need to be able to pull the good out of them even when it seems like the hardest conversation to have. You must be able to talk to everyone and have them respect you on the field. When you talk, people listen, especially as a catcher. That is what marks a great catcher. When you’re trying to get people to listen to you, you need to take the time to learn things about them and sound genuine. When you sound and look like you really care, people have a hard time turning away from that. Deep down at your core, you need to know how much love you have for your teammates and whatever they need you to do.
Marnin also loves learning how each one of her athletes learn. It forces her to have to learn a different way to share information which is key to building a well-rounded player. Softball is also unique in that a lot of your body movements can translate to other parts of your game. Hitting, baserunning, catching, and pitching. Working with athletes to not overdo it and just go play is one of her favorite topics to talk about.
“You can not do it all by yourself.” That is the biggest lesson she learned about balancing the technical and mental aspects of the game.
When you feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders you are consistently looking internally, and wondering why you have to do it all yourself. If you’re able to change your point of view to “I have a job to do and I am going to give it my all, but even if I fail, I know that my teammates have my back because I have built that trust with them,” then that makes your life 10 times easier as well.
For young girls who dream of playing at the collegiate level, the best advice is to be the best teammate you can all the time. If you’re the best player on the team, be the best teammate, if your teammate has an opportunity in front of you, cheer them on and be the best teammate. You’ll realize quickly that no one cares how many home runs you hit if you aren’t a nice person. Coaches want to be around good people who are capable of being coached and adapting to adversity.
One thing that she can’t stress enough to girls who are just like her and never want to take a day off is that rest is important too. In this generation, there are so many things at your fingertips that it feels like you need to be doing everything all the time. Rest is key to a healthy body, mind, and spirit. Don’t take all the days off, do something still every day that promotes the lifestyle that you want to live, but allow your body the days to rest.
Jenny Marnin is more than just a coach, she’s a role model, a mentor, and best of all just a great human who truly cares about you. I’ve had the privilege of working with her for roughly a year, and even from the very beginning, she has been in my corner. She has this way of working with her athletes that just makes you want to be just as good as her, it’s almost indescribable. She is the best catching and hitting coach I’ve had, and she has always pushed me to be the best version of myself, not only on the field but also off the field as well. She is going to do very big things for the softball community, and I cannot wait to see what she does in the future.
While Coach Jenny isn’t a staff member or coach here at Canyon Hills, her influence became one of the most meaningful parts of my life. I met her during a time when I was figuring out who and where I wanted to be beyond just a student and an athlete. Through every conversation, every moment of encouragement, and every shared laugh, she reminded me that high school is more than just about the grades and games – it’s about the people who shape you along the way. In a year full of uncertainty and change, she became a constant. Though her name won’t appear on any staff directory at CHHS, she has impacted me just as deeply as anyone who does. She entered my life through softball, but her impact has reached far beyond the field and far beyond the gates of Canyon Hills.
