NCSA caught up with rising volleyball star Holly Hopkins to talk about her high school career and the opportunity to compete at the next 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?
Hopkins: I’ve gained a lot of things from high school sports. I learned about commitment, hard work and teamwork.
NCSA: What is your schedule like in season?
Hopkins: My schedule is very busy. I go to school and then have practice until 6:30pm. Then after that I come home for about 1/1/2 hours and work on homework. Then I have club practice until 9:30pm then come home and work on my recruiting. I have learned valuable time management skills through volleyball which helps me balance homework, volleyball and recruiting.
NCSA: Tell us a little bit about a great coach through your career.
Hopkins: My club coach, Stephanie Rotunno, is an influential person on and off the court. She and I are pretty tight. She has worked really hard with me to develop my passing. I have been playing with her since I was eleven years old. She is a great coach and a very standup individual. She makes me love the sport of volleyball.
NCSA: Describe your high school season performance this year.
Hopkins: As far as the team goes, we got first in district and TAPPS 5A, won our first playoff game Saturday and are undefeated in end of season play so far. We are hoping to beat last years third place state finish. Individually, it has also been a pretty good season. I play outside hitter for high school, which is a change from club where I play Libero. I feel like I’ve done a good job considering I wasn’t hitting for a solid eleven months and picked it back up.
NCSA: At what age did you start playing volleyball?
Hopkins: I started playing volleyball in third grade. I played on PSA team, which is a really small team that got together on Saturdays. I was approached by Stephanie Rotunno to play club when I was eleven. I started playing on the 12’s team my first year. I ended up picking volleyball over basketball, track, and soccer. I captained my Texas Thunder basketball team and Tigers soccer team.
NCSA: Are you looking forward to the upcoming club season?
Hopkins: Yes! My goal is to finish top eight in Junior Olympics this year although first would be awesome! I am also looking forward to playing with the new girls on our team this year.
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?
Hopkins: I am looking for a college that has a really good volleyball program. They should have a solid history of being in top 5 or 6 in the nation. I am also looking for a really good medical program. I definitely want to pursue pre-med. I want it to be really cold in the winter, but nice in the summer. I am thinking I’d like a bigger school, but not really sure yet.
NCSA: Since starting with NCSA how has your recruitment changed? What have you learned?
Hopkins: I’ve received a lot more letters. I have heard from schools that I haven’t in the past. I’ve also learned a lot about colleges, unofficial visits, and how to talk to coaches.
