Jeannine Cavallaro’s experience as an athletic director and coach, and the passion she has for joining character-building concepts and sport make her a “triple threat” combination for becoming FCA staff. When Cavallaro attended an FCA volleyball camp, where she accepted Christ, she gained a new vision of what sport could look like: “I fell in love with the vibrancy of these Christian people that loved Jesus and who they were as athletes, and the way FCA reaches out to touch athletes and change lives.” She went on to coach basketball at FCA camps after college and now, years later, is excited to be answering the call to serve as Massachusetts’ State Director.

A 3-sport athlete, Cavallaro’s carried her passion for sports into coaching, something she knew she wanted to do since ninth grade. She spent the past two years with the Guatemala National Basketball Federation helping to develop a basketball and character development program for kids ages 7-23 in Guatemala. Prior, she served as Athletic Director and Head Boy’s Basketball Coach at Lexington Christian Academy (2011-2014), where she was named 2014 Conference Coach of the Year, and Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Gordon College (2000-2010) — where she achieved her 100th career win in 2008. She was Head Volleyball Coach at Melrose High (1995-2000), and in 1989 while attending college, she coached the Massachusetts Junior Olympics Volleyball team.

In other roles, she has served as Vice President of Operations World Championship Fighting (2007-2010) and Co-Athletic Director at Gordon College (2008-2009). Cavallaro founded Hoop Skills Plus in 2010, which grew out of her interest to not “just coach” but to intertwine character development with player and team development through clinics and camps.

Cavallaro has a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology-Movement Science from Gordon College where she played women’s varsity basketball, where she was a 1000-point scorer, and she was an All-Region women’s varsity volleyball player. She received her Masters in Education and Athletic Administration from Boston University. A resident of Lynnfield, Massachusetts, Cavallaro attends Grace Chapel. When not playing sports or coaching, she enjoys reading, listening to music and playing with her dog Barkley.