Softball is back at St. Vincent’s Academy.
After sitting out last season, the Saints are headed back to the diamond — and that’s not the only coaching news coming out of SVA.
Katherine McKenzie will take over softball, Lesley Corley takes over an established winning flag football program, and Joey Dickinson is joining Sarah Stewart Gandis’ volleyball staff as JV head coach.
Three new coaches, but three very different jobs.
Softball Is Back
For McKenzie, the job starts with getting the Saints back on the field.
She has been named SVA's head softball coach for the 2026-27 season after the school went a year without fielding a team.
McKenzie has been around softball most of her life. She started playing when she was 5, played through high school, and continued at the intramural level in college. More recently, she has coached middle school softball and basketball.
“It is a joy to help players improve their skills and watch them develop into a team,” McKenzie said.
McKenzie is also a school counselor and licensed professional counselor. She and her husband, Eric, have two sons, one at Benedictine Military School and the other at the University of Georgia.
Now comes the chance to get SVA softball going again.
“I look forward to a great season helping the Softball Saints lead by example in sportsmanship, have fun and win!” McKenzie said.
That's not a bad way to put it.
Play the game the right way. Have some fun. And, yes, try to win some games.
Corley Takes Over an Established Winner
Lesley Corley walks into a different situation.
She isn't being asked to start a flag football program. She's taking over one that already knows how to win.
Corley has been named the new head coach of the St. Vincent’s varsity and JV flag football teams, taking over a program that has established itself as one of the area's successful programs over the past five years.
Corley brings 26 years of experience in education, teaching health and physical education, and coaching multiple sports. This isn't a rebuilding job.
The Saints have put together five strong years of flag football. Corley now has the opportunity to build on what has already been built and keep it going.
That's the challenge when you take over a winning program.
Now we'll see where Corley takes it next.
Dickinson Makes the Move to SVA
Joey Dickinson is the new head coach of the SVA JV volleyball team, joining varsity coach Sarah Stewart Gandis and the Saints volleyball staff.
Dickinson has been teaching math and coaching sports since 2008. He's coached in Florida and Hawaii and has spent the past eight years in Savannah.
Most of his early coaching years were spent with high school boys basketball. Then his daughters started playing sports, and his coaching path changed with them.
For the past four years, Dickinson has coached girls basketball and volleyball at St. Peter’s, where his focus has been on helping players develop their skills, confidence, teamwork and leadership.
This past season, Stewart Gandis asked him to make the move to SVA.
“This past season Coach Gandis invited me to join her volleyball staff at SVA,” Dickinson said. “I am grateful for the opportunity and excited to contribute to the program while continuing to grow as a coach and mentor.”
So SVA heads into the new school year with some changes.
Softball is back. That's a good thing.
Flag football has a new coach taking over an established winning program.
And volleyball adds another local coach who already knows many of the players and the Savannah volleyball scene.
Now they get to coach.
And, as always, the games will tell us the rest.
Photos courtesy St. Vincent’s Academy Social Media sites
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