How to set default value in Kendo DropDownList

Question

I have a Kendo DropDownList, but strangely enough I can not set its initial value.

Html.Kendo().DropDownList()
    .Name("PersonalCoachName")
    .BindTo(new SelectList((List<string>)ViewData["coachResources"]))
    .HtmlAttributes(new { style = "font-size:8pt;" })

ViewData["coachResources"] is a List of string type. Regardless I use

.BindTo(new SelectList((List<string>)ViewData["coachResources"], "Default"))
or 
.SelectedIndex(3)

DropDownList does not change it value and only display the 1st value in the list. I need help on this. Thanks.

Answer 1

The value works only in jquery, not in html helper. So it works in Jquery like

    var dropdownlist = $("#PersonalCoachName").data("kendoDropDownList");
    dropdownlist.value(coachId);
    dropdownlist.refresh();