Austin Shepherd '16 Recruiting Profile

Hi I am Austin Shepherd. I live in the state of Iowa which does not offer any high school boys volleyball programs and very few club programs. I am a senior at Wapsie Valley High School in Fairbank, Iowa.

In the past I have participated in club volleyball since 2013 in the Iowa Region. This past July I was selected to the Iowa Region Boy's Youth National High Performance Team that competed in Des Moines, Iowa. I played all the way around and was an Outside Hitter. My first year with Iowa High Performance in 2013, I was selected to the 18u team and I competed at the Asics National Championship where we placed third. I played as a libero. Through the different positions I have played I have learned to be a versatile player and I believe it has helped me with my knowledge of the game.

Just this last club season I was with Adrenaline Volleyball Academy located in Robins, Iowa on the 18 Boys Rox team. This was the first more competitive I had played with. In 2014, my first year of club volleyball I played with Average Joes 18u out of Southeast Polk, Iowa. We mostly played in in-state tournaments and one out of state tournament in Minnesota. In Minnesota we placed third overall losing to Canada. To help with my indoor I played Beach Volleyball with a teammate this summer. We played league at Volleys in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. We did enter a qualifier in Iowa. My partner and I qualified to play at the Beach High Performance Championship in the Boys Youth-U19 in California. However, sadly we had to decline because of commitments to the Iowa High Performance as we had training during the same dates. 

I consider myself a very versatile and competitive player. I am willing to do whatever it takes for the team to be successful. I love the game of volleyball and my goal is to play at a higher level after high school. I am a hard and dedicated worker. I am always setting goals for myself to become a better player. I am currently in the Roc Elite training program to improve my skills as a volleyball player. I want the opportunity to make a difference on a team no matter what my role may be. 

I am a serious individual and my grades are very important to me and I am looking at a school that can help me accomplish my goals in the field that I choose to go into.