Esteemed teacher, friendly colleague, distinguished college athlete and loving mother, this woman is the definition of extraordinary.

However, Jenyth (JJ) Utchen was born with 30% of a clubfoot, an extra bone off her navicular bone.  The first 7 years of her life were spent in corrective shoes because of this handicap. But just when everything seemed to be going perfectly, she tragically injured it once again during her freshman year of college.

One of the first women ever to receive a sports scholarship, through a program called Title 9, Utchen attended Leland Stanford Jr. University to play for the women’s volleyball team.  Utchen also received a spot on the basketball team but did not pursue it.  However, all of this glory was torn apart when freshman year Utchen came down onto a protruding foot under the net.

Her ankle was shattered and both her game and foot were never the same.

“I had a 36 inch jump before I broke my ankle,” Utchen said. “I was basically battling injuries all through college and professional careers.”

But through all this, Utchen has found joy and happiness in her life.

During her high school sports career, Utchen’s volleyball team made it to state quarter-finals and her basketball team attended the state semi-finals.

“We had a sports crazy school,” Utchen said.

After graduating high school, Utchen went on to receive a degree in creative writing at Stanford and become one of the all time letterwinners.  To achieve this one must maintain a certain GPA and receive four varsity letters.  Being the only one in her senior class to receive this award, Utchen now has the privilege to attend almost all sporting events for free for life at Stanford.

“I spent a lot of time in the training room,” Utchen said. “John Elway was in my class and we were in there pretty much everyday for four years.”

But she didn’t just spend time with one legend. Her team roster consisted of many great players including Kim Oden, who went on to become a player for the USA national team and the Olympic team captain for 12 years.  With this incredible group, Utchen’s team was the first ever to reach the Final Four.

After her college years, Utchen played on a professional team in Italy run by the communist party.  For her volleyball overseas, Utchen’s agenda included trips near and far all over Europe such as Germany and France.  Though she did not speak any foreign languages, she still had great success.

From these travels, Utchen was able to become very worldly in her knowledge of food.

“I learned a lot about making a wine and making a beer and how you pair it with different local foods,” Utchen said.  “I know that the tomatoes in Romania are the best in the world [and] I like the red wines of Bulgaria and Italy.”

When she returned home, Utchen maintained three jobs until she could afford her own place to call home, then immediately turned back to her true love: volleyball.

Utchen coached both men and women at UC Davis in her twenties.  Later on she would coach volleyball at San Ramon.  She is now going into the 2014 season as the varsity coach here at Monte Vista.

On top of coaching, Utchen is a well-known English teacher.  She has taught at Monte Vista for 11 years and Vacaville High for 9.

Utchen says she likes to try and make her classes as fun and interesting as possible.  She loves to be interactive with her students whenever she can.

“Whenever there is a dress up day I always dress up,” Utchen said.

But there is more to Utchen than just her career, just as there is for all of us.  Utchen is the mother of two daughters, Lauren and Audrey, both of whom have followed her footsteps in the volleyball world.

It just so happens that for a few years here at Monte Vista, all three ladies were part of one team. Audrey and Lauren played on the varsity team together with their mom as the coach.

When she gets a rare few minutes to herself, Utchen loves to read, write poetry, and, believe it or not, dance.

Nothing can stop this woman from where she wants to go and what she wants to do.

“She has a lot on her plate, but she handles it all very well,” daughter Lauren said.