By Derrick Smith

School-age students are interested in a variety of things, from space to dance, sports to history.  No matter what their interests are, Jennifer Bales says that parents should always be their kid’s top supporters. 

“We should be our children’s biggest fan, in sports, school, and life,” she said. “I want my children to see me at their matches encouraging them through positive words. They should know that no matter what happens on the court I am proud of them.”

Jennifer has three children, one is a Yukon High School graduate and the other two are students at Yukon. 

“Kayleigh is my oldest child,” she said. “She graduated from Yukon in 2020 and now attends OCCC. Julia is a senior this year and has played volleyball since eighth grade. She has also played club ball for about three years. My youngest, Megan, is in eighth grade. She has played volleyball since the seventh grade and has played club ball for two years.”

The city of Yukon has been a great place to live for Bales and her family. She says it is such a close-knit community. 

“I love that the High school students and our community support each other at games and cheer each other on,” she said. “It is uplifting to see parents and players from other sports attend the volleyball matches cheering them on.”

An alumnus of Yukon, Jennifer is currently a registered nurse at Integris Hospital. She is also part of the Yukon Volleyball Booster Club and is currently on her third year as treasurer. She says when she is not working or watching her kids compete, she enjoys gardening, reading, learning about forensics, spending time at church, and spending time with family and friends. 

Bales loves spending time with her kids and she makes sure to make that happen whenever possible.

“We attend many of the private and school practices,” she said. “We also go to their camps and matches. We enjoy traveling with the teams to out-of-state tournaments and qualifiers.”