NCSA caught up with volleyball standout Jackie Marks about her high school career and the opportunity to compete at the college level.
NCSA: What have you gained from playing sports in high school (teamwork, the importance of hard work)? How has it affected your life away from the game?
Marks: Since before school even started my freshman year I was already involved in high school sports. From playing high school sports I started off by making friends with the girls on my team who I have now been playing with through my entire high school career. Without having friendship the chemistry that our school has on the court would probably not be as strong. The friends I have made is something I can take away from the game and know that even without the sport these people will still be there for each other. Besides making friends I learned that in order to get to a point where I can say I did well in a game or practice, you have to work extremely hard and try to stay on task through everything you do. The harder you work the more I feel you are able to get what you are trying for because you are pushing yourself to do well. This idea is something you can take anywhere because in life you are forced to push yourself to a far limit to get to something. When I am not on the court playing volleyball I am at home working hard on my homework to try to get the good grades I strive for. I know that if I don’t have the good grades then it could hurt my time with playing volleyball, so I know that hard work has to go into homework and school.
NCSA: Tell us a little bit about your high school coach. What is s/he like, what does s/he teach you, what’s the toughest part of working with him/her and what have you learned from them?
Marks: My High school coach's name is Chris Cooper. He is a science teacher at Glenbrook North High School. He is married and has two kids which as a volleyball player for him our team gets to see his kids and wife all the time from at practice to at games. When people ask me about my high school coach I tell them that he is the best coach without even thinking. He is the kind of person who will not yell at his team unless we give him a strong reason too. Also as a coach he is always telling us to talk to him about anything even if it’s not about volleyball or the game. I find myself talking to him about things that are going on in my life and about the game itself. He is a very motivating person and you can tell that all he wants to do is help you succeed. I found that my coach has taught me how to be a better volleyball player but also how to be a better student and person. I think the hardest thing about working with Cooper is that as a player and a team we all want to do is make him happy. When we are playing a game the team and I will look at Cooper and we can tell we are making him upset. When that happens it gives our team more motivation to do better even when we think we were playing alright. Cooper is an amazing coach to work with and to try to find something that makes it hard to work with him is something I don’t think I could do because he leaves a lot for us to chose and how we want to do as a team. I can say that I have learned tons from him through the years but one of the main things I learned from him is to make the right choices. Whether you are on the court or not the choices you make is going to have an effect on you and others.
NCSA: Who’s your role model and why?
Marks: If I had to pick someone in my life that would be my role model I would say it would have to be my Mom. Through my entire life my mom has been like my best friend. She is someone that I can always talk to about anything and look up to. I feel that she has raised me to make my own choices, but at the same time she will tell me that something may not be smart to do. I find my mom to make a big impact on people when she is at a place. She is not the kind of person who will try to be fake to people but instead she is the person who when you become someone close to her that she will put you before herself almost every time. I feel that everyday my mom teaches me a new lesson whether I might notice it or not she is someone who I look to help guide me.
NCSA: At what age did you start playing volleyball?
Marks: I have been playing volleyball since about 6th grade, but I started to get very competitive with volleyball when I was a freshman. During my sophomore year near the end of my volleyball season, I was at a point where I was suppose to go into my basketball season, but I had been talking to my coach through the year about playing club volleyball. After one game my coaches sat my dad and I down to talk about club. I knew that I did not want to play basketball anymore because I knew my heart wasn't in the game anymore. I informed my dad of the decision and he told me "No" and to continue basketball. My sophomore year I was on Varsity for basketball, but I still didn't love the sport as much as volleyball. Junior year came I played Varsity volleyball and when the season ended I told my dad that I was done with basketball and I would be playing club because that’s where I wanted to go with my life. I knew that I was stopping a sport that I have been playing for awhile but I also knew that volleyball was something I could continue with and have a blast with every time I played.
NCSA: What is your favorite class and why?
Marks: My favorite class in school is math because it is a class that comes very easy for me to do. Also even though it can be easy for me I find that I do get a challenge from it at times which is supposed to happen in classes. Another reason I like math is because every teacher I have had has been really fun and has helped make the class better.
NCSA: What are you looking for in a college? Do you have your heart set on a major, a certain size of school, type of student body?
Marks: Ever since I was little I have always imagined myself going to a big school and that was somewhere out of state. I think that I still picture myself doing this today but my views have changed a little. I believe that I want to go to a school that is at least 10,000 students. When I visit schools I think to myself as I am walking around if I can fit in here, is this for me, and overall do I like the community and everything around the school? As of now I think I want to major in law and minor in business. This idea has changed every so often now but I am pretty sure that I will go into law.
