DAVIS, Calif. -- The votes were cast, the ballots were counted, and a winner was finally declared: John Lavallee.
No, this was not the final tally for Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Coach of the Year, an honor Lavallee has won six times in his 14 years at the helm of the Aggie women's gymnastics program. Nor did it have anything to do with the NACGC/W West Region Coach of the Year, which he garnered in 2010.
Instead, this announcement was for the second-annual UC Davis athletics department chili cook-off in December of 2016. Lavallee won the contest with his "Gila Monster" – a concoction featuring green chiles and chicken – to edge runners-up Jim and Jodi Les. He received a gift card for the Buckhorn and the coveted winner's apron. Best yet, it introduced a side of Coach Lavallee to the department that was already well-known to his friends, family and gymnasts.
While the kitchen offers an escape, Lavallee does not normally enjoy much spare time away from his sport. The nature of gymnastics and an interest in putting student-athletes' academic schedules first often puts the Aggie staff physically in the gym from morning to past sundown, with all other hours devoted to meetings, recruiting and other administrative tasks.
And quite frankly, Lavallee would not have it any other way. He doesn't merely run a team, he creates a culture. His long-held philosophy is teaching student-athletes to take ownership of their experience, to define their objectives and set goals. Then it's the job of Lavallee and his staff – which now features recent arrivals Tanya Ho and Kaytianna Kell – to guide the Aggies down that path.
"The thing that brings me the most joy and pride is getting an email from a recruit, who watches our program and sees how our student-athletes interact with each other and support each other. It inspires them to want to be a part of a program like that. I think that's the most satisfying part," he says.
Growing up in Burlington, Vermont, Lavallee was a multi-sport athlete who still draws wisdom from his high school football coach, Bob Yates, a local legend who once played with Jim Brown and Ernie Davis at Syracuse. When he earned All-America honors at Springfield College, Lavallee learned under the legendary Steve Posner, who retired just four years ago after 35 years with the Pride.
"Steve Posner taught us that there are no free rides," Lavallee says. "'If you want to compete, raise your hand and show me what you can do.' He taught us to work together and accomplish something.."
Yates also provided some hard but invaluable lessons. At one point, Lavallee was forced into playing quarterback when the team's starter went down with an injury. After a few plays, Yates pulled his young pupil aside, pointed at the bench and provided succinct instructions: sit down and don't come back until you decide you want to play football. Lavallee took little time to take the hint, and promptly returned to the field. "Obviously, I wasn't running the offense the way he wanted to," he recalls. "He definitely taught me a lot about how to perform at a high level."
In the summer of 2006, Lavallee came to UC Davis to replace Cal Aggie Athletics Hall of Famer Ray Goldbar as head women's gymnastics coach. He had previously served as an assistant at Yale under Barbara Tonry, who is currently approaching her 50th year at the Bulldog helm. Lavallee, a three-time USAG Service Award winner during his tenure at Sterling Academy of Gymnastics, further credits the likes of track & field coaches Jon and Deanne Vochatzer, football mentor Bob Biggs and swimming & diving coach Barbara Jahn for sharing their wisdom upon his arrival.
"I was extremely fortunate because there were still some giants of UC Davis athletics here," said Lavallee. "They were all very generous with their time." In short, he owns a long list of influences when it comes to dedicating his life to student-athletes, and creating a positive culture in the gym is his professional passion.
Still, any alumnus of Springfield College, known for its "spirit, mind and body" slogan, will look for opportunities to find time away from the job. Lavallee is no different, and considers the kitchen one of those welcome distractions. Among the youngest siblings in a large family, he learned to cook at a relatively young age.
"Cooking has always been kind of my outlet. I like to eat but I can't afford to go out and eat the way I like to, so I learned to make it at home," he said. "I get in the kitchen, create, and try different things. There are so many different cuisines from around the world that you can draw from."
If Lavallee has a favorite type of food, it's probably Italian. But we're not talking vacuum-packed dry pasta. No popping the lid on a jar of marinara. Lavallee enjoys making his own noodles from scratch, then experimenting with different sauces to pair with it.
The Aggie gymnasts certainly appreciate their coach's culinary skills, too. Each year, the team celebrates the end of its fall practice season with a Christmas party at Lavallee's home in East Davis. A senior skit, a song by the new freshman class, and a "Secret Santa" gift exchange are staples of this event, but the highlight might very well be the spread. The seniors do their part by bringing side dishes and dessert, pot-luck style, and Lavallee provides the rest. Tri-tip, New York strip, homemade clam chowder and fondue rank among a few of the memorable offerings. Then when it comes to dessert, there is no aerosol whipped cream in the Lavallee house – the coach whips out a stand mixer faster than an Old West gunslinger draws a six-shooter, and he mixes up a bowl of fresh topping while his Aggie student-athletes look on with anticipation.
Meanwhile, if the kitchen provides a venue for Lavallee inside the house, the golf course provides an outdoor escape. He considers himself a "recovering golfer," who does not get out on the links as often as he would like, but still finds time to play – including Cy Williams' annual Aggie Fall Classic fundraiser. Lavallee's sport supervisor, Rocko DeLuca, is an avid golfer himself. Former athletics director Kevin Blue was a Canada National Junior Team member and a two-time GCAA All-American Scholar at Stanford before entering athletics administration. The opportunity to join those two colleagues on the course was never one Lavallee was quick to turn down.
Still, getting away from the gym does not mean Lavallee is blind to the parallels between the two sports.
"Golf is just like gymnastics in terms of developing repeatable chain activities," he says. "You may hit the fairway five times in a row, and then you pull one left into the woods. Same thing in gymnastics: you may catch your release five times, then the next one you do in competition, you miss. Emotionally, you have to be able to gauge yourself and get back on time."
Perhaps it is no accident, then, that Lavallee is often holding an iron while coaching his Aggies in the team's Hickey Gym training center.
"With everything, you do the best you can. I tell my athletes, perfection doesn't exist. You try to do the best you can and where you fall short, you do your best to make up for it and get to where you want to be," said Lavallee.
Golf and cooking aside, Lavallee's primary interest is his family. His wife Teri, a long-time physical therapist, coached alongside him at Sterling and even served as an assistant coach at UC Davis during his first Aggie seasons. Their son is an accomplished guitarist, while their daughter competes in aerial silks. Chances are, the veteran coach is just as likely to show off a video of Carson shredding on his Telecaster or Isabel suspended artfully above the floor as he is a clip of one of his Aggie gymnasts setting a school record.
"I consider myself to be the luckiest guy I know," Lavallee said. "I have an amazing family with an amazing wife and two amazing children. I am able to be the head coach for a program that I'm extremely proud of.
"I tell all of the recruits who come to campus, when they ask what is UC Davis gymnastics: it's the members of a team who show up every day in the gym and in the classroom to make UC Davis gymnastics better. I'm honored to have the opportunity to help those people, for the short time that they're here, to be ready for the next phase of their lives."
ABOUT UC DAVIS:
With the addition of equestrian and women's beach volleyball in 2018, more than 700 student-athletes represent the fifth-ranked public school in the nation on one of 25 intercollegiate athletics teams.
UC Davis, a national leader in Title IX gender equity and leadership, is centrally located between San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and the Napa Valley; and offers an unrivaled student-athlete experience that features the ideal combination of elite academics, Division I athletics and personal growth.
Ranked annually in the top 10 in diversity and students' social mobility, UC Davis is uncommonly committed to preparing student-athletes for life after graduation with Aggie EVO — an innovative student-athlete outcomes program that helps young women and men develop passions, gain real-world experience, and enjoy a successful launch to full-time employment or graduate school. Through Aggie EVO, Intercollegiate Athletics provides unmatched resources and a vast network of working professionals to ensure post-graduation success for its student-athletes.
