Four years ago, when I started my college volleyball career, I didn’t know what I was getting into. The importance of collegiate sports in America is unbelievable for Europeans, as well as the impact of athletes in people’s life. If I could talk to my eighteen-year-old self, I would tell her to get the high-schol diploma, take the SAT, and become a student-athlete in the United States.
Many have asked me for my story; how did I end up in Stephenville, Texas. The truth is that coming from a continent where soccer receives all the attention and other sports, such as volleyball, have no recognition at all (even at a professional level), getting a college degree while playing at a high-level isn’t an option. That’s right, in Europe we don’t have a competitive college league. Athletes have just two options: quit their sport to study or go pro.
European athletes, like myself, who want to study and play the game they love, have a hard time because college and sports are two separate things. Though most universities do have sports teams, the level of the competition is low, athletes receive no support and athletic scholarships are just a myth. Universities are solely for academics. They don’t respect athletes’ competition schedules, and professors aren’t allowed to help players.
The situation in the U.S. is completely different.
Athletes receive a lot of support and don’t have to choose between athletics and academics. Some universities even cancel classed so their students can attend certain games. Additionally, most players receive financial aid and recognition. College competition gathers a lot of attention from the media and fans follow up with the teams. In Europe, the only sport streaming regularly is professional soccer.
Though most European countries have free education, an increasing number of athletes consider the possibility of studying in America, leaving behind their home and family, which is a huge emotional sacrifice.
From my experience, playing volleyball while being a full-time student in Spain was extremely complicated. I practiced 20 hours a week and I have matches on the weekend. My schedule was busy, I was missing lectures, and my professors didn’t offer any help. I remember missing a final exam because my team had qualified for a very prestigious championship. Although I explained to my professors all the hard work I put into this competition, countless hours in the gym, sweat and many tears, he wouldn’t give me a make-up exam—hashtag university policies. This is just one of many struggles.
After couple of years of trying and failing, I knew I needed to make an important decision: keep playing or pursuing my degree. Deciding between giving up volleyball or my journalism career broke my heart.
My studies have always come first but volleyball is what keeps me sane, volleyball makes my life better. At the same time, I’ve always known I wanted to speak English properly—must for my future career. In Spain, English isn’t well-taught and it’s complicated to reach a decent level of speaking. This is the moment when America crossed my mind.
I’ve heard from a friend who went to college in America. He was a successful volleyball player and his experience inspired me to look into this option. At the time, I knew nothing about the NCAA and its long list of rules. I searched for information and assistance to complete all the eligibility process. Many hours spent filling up the paperwork (worth every second). The next step was, putting together a highlight video and emailing coaches.
Missouri-State a very good DI school offered me a scholarship. This was exciting, except that a few weeks later I found out I wasn’t eligible to play DI. The summer was almost over (volleyball season is in the fall) and I had lost all hope to find a school on time until a small junior college in Missouri reached out to me.
I signed there, we won the conference, played nationals, and the rest is history.
After two years, a part of me was ready to go back home but I followed my gut and transferred to Tarleton; which was the best last-minute decision of my life yet. Two Lone Star Conference titles, a South-Central Region Championship title, the first Elite Eight appearance in the program’s history, and many individual awards later, here I am, about to graduate in less than a week.
If I look back it seems like a long way, but it feels like everything happened in the blink of an eye.
College athletes have to work really hard in order to accomplish their dreams. Most of the athletes I know are disciplined and faithful. Sports push you to work hard, be better and believe in yourself. These are fundamental principles in life. These are lessons that need to be learned. Hopefully in the future, Europe will support student-athletes; after all, sports are great life-instructors.