VIRGINIA BEACH — Sadness and shock spread throughout the Beach District football community Sunday morning after people learned about the sudden death of Bayside coach Jon White.
White, 43, was a former All-Beach District linebacker for Bayside who helped lead the Marlins to a district title. No details about his death were available at press time.
Robert Jackson coached White at Bayside.
Jackson, now Landstown’s head coach, received a text message Sunday morning from someone who said White had died. As he read the text, Jackson didn’t believe it.
He then looked at his phone and saw he had missed two phone calls from another former player, David Thompson.
“That’s when I got concerned,” Jackson said. “And I called big Dave, because Jon and big Dave talked every day. And when I talked to big Dave, he couldn’t hold it together. That’s how I found out.”
Jackson said hearing the news was “heartbreaking.”
“It feels like someone snatched my heart right out of my chest,” he said. “Football aside, Jon was just a good dude. He was a good person.”
White, who played for Hampton University, got into coaching, first as an assistant coach at Cox High. He returned to his alma mater in 2008 and was promoted to head coach in 2013 to replace Darnell Moore, who retired.
While at Cox, White worked alongside Bill Stachelski, who later became the Falcons’ head coach.
When White got the head coaching job at Bayside, Stachelski was so happy for him, saying, “All of us who coached with Jon are excited for him because we knew that when he left us, he was going to Bayside with the goal of someday taking over the program. He’ll do a great job.”
After hearing the news about White’s death, Stachelski, like everyone, was in disbelief.
“Jon was like a brother, and in addition to being an amazing father, husband, coach and teacher, he was simply a genuine and good human being,” he said. “His entire life was dedicated to helping young people better themselves, and the beautiful thing about Jon was that teaching the right lessons always mattered more to him than winning football games. We lost a great friend and mentor, and my prayers are with his wife and boys during this difficult time.”
White led the Marlins to a 79-61 record in 12 seasons, including a 7-4 record this year, which ended with a loss to Salem in the Class 5 Region A quarterfinals Friday. His best season was 2016, when he led Bayside to a 9-3 record.
White poured his heart and soul into his alma mater as he committed himself to helping to shape and mold the lives of his players, including his son, Aric, this season.
“He loved them boys. He was happy he had a son playing for him,” Jackson said. “You spend so much time spending time with other kids that you neglect your own. But he had an opportunity to coach his son. He was a good father and he was a good person. It’s just heartbreaking.”
What Jackson and other coaches admired most about White is he never changed.
“In his short life, the number of people he touched, Jon was always the same guy,” he said. “You didn’t get one Jon one day and another Jon another day. He was always that same guy. I always appreciated him when he was a player. He was everything you looked for and hoped for in your players when they leave. That they go out and be good people.”
Moore found out about White’s death when he received a phone call from his niece, who has a son at Bayside.
“I was like, ‘What!’ It was just unbelievable. It was like a bad dream that I was going to wake up from,” Moore said. “I tell you, it’s just so tough.”
Moore returned to Bayside several years ago to volunteer for two seasons, including in 2024. Their relationship just continued to grow.
“As a person, you couldn’t want a better friend. One who is going to have your back and be honest with you. You don’t have to worry about him trying to undermine you or talk about you to other coaches,” he said. “And anything you needed him to do, he was there to do it. He’s the kind of coach who teaches life.”
Larry Rubama, 757-575-6449, larry.rubama@pilotonline.com
