Jaguars' Liam Coen delivers 'amazing' speech to Bishop Kenny girls team
Story by
Jaguars' Liam Coen delivers 'amazing' speech to Bishop Kenny girls team
Ryan O'Halloran, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union·The Florida Times-Union
·
3 min read
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
The Bishop Kenny girls basketball team had completed a video meeting and weight-lifting session on Tuesday, March 3, when coach Will Mayer told them to return to the second-floor team room.
"They were all like, 'Oh my, gosh!'" Mayer said. "They were super surprised."
Bishop Kenny's Makala DesJarlais (23) drives toward the basket against Ribault forward Ta'liyah Allred (34) during an FHSAA Region 1-4A high school girls basketball playoff on Feb. 20, 2026. [Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union]
(Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union)
Ribault guard Trinity Berry (3) dribbles against Bishop Kenny guard Kathleen Crawley (22) during an FHSAA Region 1-4A high school girls basketball playoff on Feb. 20, 2026. [Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union]
(Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union)
Ribault forward Kamya Leroy (32) dribbles against Bishop Kenny guard Kathleen Crawley (22) during an FHSAA Region 1-4A high school girls basketball playoff on Feb. 20, 2026. [Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union]
(Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union)
Bishop Kenny forward Makala DesJarlais (23) looks for space to shoot under the hoop against Ribault during an FHSAA Region 1-4A high school girls basketball playoff on Feb. 20, 2026. [Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union]
(Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union)
Bishop Kenny guard Kathleen Crawley (22) and Ribault forward Ta'liyah Allred (34) reach for a rebound during an FHSAA Region 1-4A high school girls basketball playoff on Feb. 20, 2026. [Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union]
(Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union)
Ribault forward Kamya Leroy (32) dribbles against Bishop Kenny forward Elle Deegan (15) during an FHSAA Region 1-4A high school girls basketball playoff on Feb. 20, 2026. [Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union]
(Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union)
Bishop Kenny forward Elle Deegan (15) dribbles against Ribault guard Shawnice Durham (4) during an FHSAA Region 1-4A high school girls basketball playoff on Feb. 20, 2026. [Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union]
(Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union)
Ribault guard Trinity Berry (3) lines up a free throw against Bishop Kenny during an FHSAA Region 1-4A high school girls basketball playoff on Feb. 20, 2026. [Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union]
(Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union)
Ribault forward Ta'liyah Allred (34) drives toward the basket as Bishop Kenny's Makala DesJarlais (23) and Elle Deegan (15) defend during an FHSAA Region 1-4A high school girls basketball playoff on Feb. 20, 2026. [Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union]
(Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union)
Ribault guard Trinity Berry (3) dribbles against Bishop Kenny guard Shea Donovan (1) during an FHSAA Region 1-4A high school girls basketball playoff on Feb. 20, 2026. [Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union]
(Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union)
Bishop Kenny's Khloe Small (5) and Elle Deegan (15) battle for a loose ball with Ribault guard Trinity Berry (3) during an FHSAA Region 1-4A high school girls basketball playoff on Feb. 20, 2026. [Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union]
(Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union)
Bishop Kenny players celebrate after a 45-43 win over Ribault in an FHSAA Region 1-4A high school girls basketball playoff on Feb. 20, 2026. [Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union]
(Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union)
1/12
Ribault-Bishop Kenny in high school girls basketball. See the photos
Bishop Kenny's Makala DesJarlais (23) drives toward the basket against Ribault forward Ta'liyah Allred (34) during an FHSAA Region 1-4A high school girls basketball playoff on Feb. 20, 2026. [Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union]
(Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union)
1/12
Ribault-Bishop Kenny in high school girls basketball. See the photos
Bishop Kenny's Makala DesJarlais (23) drives toward the basket against Ribault forward Ta'liyah Allred (34) during an FHSAA Region 1-4A high school girls basketball playoff on Feb. 20, 2026. [Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union]
(Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union)
2/12
Ribault-Bishop Kenny in high school girls basketball. See the photos
Ribault guard Trinity Berry (3) dribbles against Bishop Kenny guard Kathleen Crawley (22) during an FHSAA Region 1-4A high school girls basketball playoff on Feb. 20, 2026. [Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union]
(Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union)
3/12
Ribault-Bishop Kenny in high school girls basketball. See the photos
Ribault forward Kamya Leroy (32) dribbles against Bishop Kenny guard Kathleen Crawley (22) during an FHSAA Region 1-4A high school girls basketball playoff on Feb. 20, 2026. [Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union]
(Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union)
4/12
Ribault-Bishop Kenny in high school girls basketball. See the photos
Bishop Kenny forward Makala DesJarlais (23) looks for space to shoot under the hoop against Ribault during an FHSAA Region 1-4A high school girls basketball playoff on Feb. 20, 2026. [Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union]
(Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union)
5/12
Ribault-Bishop Kenny in high school girls basketball. See the photos
Bishop Kenny guard Kathleen Crawley (22) and Ribault forward Ta'liyah Allred (34) reach for a rebound during an FHSAA Region 1-4A high school girls basketball playoff on Feb. 20, 2026. [Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union]
(Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union)
6/12
Ribault-Bishop Kenny in high school girls basketball. See the photos
Ribault forward Kamya Leroy (32) dribbles against Bishop Kenny forward Elle Deegan (15) during an FHSAA Region 1-4A high school girls basketball playoff on Feb. 20, 2026. [Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union]
(Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union)
7/12
Ribault-Bishop Kenny in high school girls basketball. See the photos
Bishop Kenny forward Elle Deegan (15) dribbles against Ribault guard Shawnice Durham (4) during an FHSAA Region 1-4A high school girls basketball playoff on Feb. 20, 2026. [Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union]
(Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union)
8/12
Ribault-Bishop Kenny in high school girls basketball. See the photos
Ribault guard Trinity Berry (3) lines up a free throw against Bishop Kenny during an FHSAA Region 1-4A high school girls basketball playoff on Feb. 20, 2026. [Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union]
(Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union)
9/12
Ribault-Bishop Kenny in high school girls basketball. See the photos
Ribault forward Ta'liyah Allred (34) drives toward the basket as Bishop Kenny's Makala DesJarlais (23) and Elle Deegan (15) defend during an FHSAA Region 1-4A high school girls basketball playoff on Feb. 20, 2026. [Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union]
(Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union)
10/12
Ribault-Bishop Kenny in high school girls basketball. See the photos
Ribault guard Trinity Berry (3) dribbles against Bishop Kenny guard Shea Donovan (1) during an FHSAA Region 1-4A high school girls basketball playoff on Feb. 20, 2026. [Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union]
(Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union)
11/12
Ribault-Bishop Kenny in high school girls basketball. See the photos
Bishop Kenny's Khloe Small (5) and Elle Deegan (15) battle for a loose ball with Ribault guard Trinity Berry (3) during an FHSAA Region 1-4A high school girls basketball playoff on Feb. 20, 2026. [Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union]
(Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union)
12/12
Ribault-Bishop Kenny in high school girls basketball. See the photos
Bishop Kenny players celebrate after a 45-43 win over Ribault in an FHSAA Region 1-4A high school girls basketball playoff on Feb. 20, 2026. [Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union]
(Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union)
The Jaguars have two connections with this Bishop Kenny team.
Junior Makala DesJarlais' father, Jason, is a pro scout and has worked for the organization since 2007 (her mother, Dana, is one of Mayer's assistant coaches) and junior Maddie Thompson's father, Luke, has been the assistant special teams coach since 2022.
After Kenny's 54-43 regional final win over Fort Walton Beach on Feb. 27 in the regional final, Luke Thompson floated the idea of Coen visiting the team.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
"Luke asked me if I was interested and obviously I jumped at it," Mayer said.
Mayer said Coen spoke for 20-30 minutes and said Kenny reminded him of his Rhode Island high school, La Salle Academy, where he played football for his father, Tim.
Mayer's takeaways of Coen's speech?
"He said everyone has to find their edge individually," he said. "What is your edge? What do you do better than anybody else? What can you bring to the table for the team next week? I thought that was really cool. And then he said, 'Together, when you take all those edges and put them together as one, that's what your separator is as a team and why you've done what you've done to get this point. Just keep sharpening those edges.'"
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
And Coen's final message to the Kenny players will ring familiar to Jaguars fans.
"He said in games like this, you just have to let it rip," Mayer said. "He said, 'Don't be nervous. You deserve to be here. You've earned it. You've worked hard. You just have to go out there and have fun.' Those were great things the girls will take with them."
Coen's "let it rip," line was a constant message to quarterback Trevor Lawrence last season for the Jaguars.
Mayer said Coen paced back and forth in the meeting room while talking.
Jacksonville Jaguars coach Liam Coen with the Bishop Kenny girls basketball team after his guest speech on Tuesday, March 3.
"He was definitely into it and animated like I'm sure he is with his own team," Mayer said. "I really appreciated his authenticity and how genuine he is. They've been hearing my voice for the last nine months so to have somebody of that stature in the community come out and talk to a bunch of high school athletes was amazing."
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Mayer said he "for sure," saw why the Jaguars' players respond so well to Coen.
"He's a young guy (40), he has a ton of energy and the message is on-point," Mayer said. "I can see how he can connect with different types of guys at different stages of their careers."
After his speech, Coen took a picture with the entire team.
