A little bit of my volleyball history

Well we've had this week off to prepare for our big semi final Pokal cup match on thursday against Alborg so I thought i'd write about something else. Everytime I speak in public about volleyball, one of the questions i get is when did you start playing volleyball:
I first remember learning to play volleyball when I was only 7 years old. At Linklater Public School, Mr. White, my gym teacher, taught me how to properly hold my hands when passing the ball. He told me to make a fist and cover it with the other one! To this day that is how I pass the ball. Thanks Mr. White! I was into a lot of different sports at a young age including bowling, basketball, soccer and cub scouts!

I didn't really play much volleyball until I was about 12 years old where for two years I played on the senior elementary school.

I went to Regiopolis-Notre Dame for highschool and really learned how to play volleyball. Before going to Regi my sister informed me that Regi wasn't really a volleyball school and maybe I might be able to help them win a game or two! In my first year, I was a setter. By my second year I had grown a little bit and got to be a power hitter. For atleast the first half of highschool, I focussed much more on basketball then volleyball. Usually heading to the YMCA to shoot more after practice. Basketball taught me the hardwork, dedication and stamina that has gotten me through a lot of volleyball matches.
All throughout highschool we had a very strong volleyball team and even won the provincial championship. My coach for all of highschool was Pat Farrell. He started a club for all of us to play on so that we could get extra practice and even drove us about two hours so that we could try out for a regional team in Ottawa. I sincerely do not think I would be where I am today without the dedication of Pat! So many players from my highschool have gone on to keep playing and it really is a volleyball factory now. He is one of the reasons I want to be a coach!

I was recruited to a few different universities and chose McMaster based on my campus visit and the brand new volleyball program it was starting. The year before I got there the team had a dismal 2-16 record but got a new coach. I still remember a conversation with Steve Murray, a former teammate, while i was still in highshool who was thinking about going to mac as well. And I asked him "Do you want to start something here? Let's do it"

We weren't the only ones that were thinking about making a difference. 8 recruits decided to come to McMaster that year. Although we didn't make an immediate impact on paper, after 5 years of hard work we went 20-0 in the regular season and won the OUA championship.

I'm a big beleiver that you can only be as successful as the people you surround yourself with. I've been very blessed to be surrounded by such great people who have pushed me to get to where I am today. My family, friends, teammates and coaches all have gotten me to where I am. I just keep playing the sport I love!