Kara Wirt '16 Recruiting Profile

Words cannot explain my love for volleyball.  My dream is to play college volleyball.  Ever since my friends convinced me to play volleyball in fifth grade, I've been hooked.  I never feel more at home than when I'm on the court.  Throughout the years, the court has become my second home.  Whenever I am not at home, I am usually at the gym for extra training sessions, or I am at practice.  I have basically played every position on the court.  When I first started playing volleyball, I was a libero.  After libero, I was a right side and outside hitter.  I then became a middle hitter, but when high school ball started, I was the starting setter for my high school's junior varsity team.  After playing all the positions, I have come to love right side and middle hitter the best.  I get such an adrenaline rush every time I go up to hit or block.  It is just a feeling that I cannot put into words.  I work hard on and off the court.  I am the first one to practice and the last one to leave.  I have a smile on my face every practice and game because I know how lucky and fortunate I am to even be able to be playing volleyball.

 As captain of my high school's junior varsity team, I always tried my hardest to keep the energy up.  Let's face it, after a long day of school, we are going to be tired when we get to practice.  As captain, it was my job to keep everyone moving so we could have a productive practice.  I am a very competitive person, so it is no surprise that I find myself as a competitive athlete.  Don't get me wrong, I love high school season, but everyone knows you play the best of the best teams during travel season.  I work hard all school season to prepare myself for travel ball to begin.  All my friends know when travel season starts because I am in the best mood and have so much energy.  Playing travel ball has really opened my eyes to all the amazing teams that are across the country. I love playing older teams because every time I play a more advanced team, I improve at least one aspect of my own personal game.  I especially improve my skills when my small Delaware team competes against these big California and Texas teams. 

I challenge myself academically as well as athletically.  I continue to receive top grades in all my honors classes and have received awards for Honor Roll, as well as, being acknowledged as a "Student of Excellence".  I organize my time and have learned to balance my studies and dedication to my sport.  I also volunteer with several service organizations at school which allows me to give myself a well-rounded high school experience.  I hope to continue to do the same in college.

 Every sport has its own season, but for me, volleyball never ends.  As soon as my travel season ends, I immediately start going to open gyms to keep my hands on a ball until summer.  Summer has many opportunities for me.  I look for new camps to go to every summer to improve my skills and broaden my perspective of the game of volleyball.  I try not to repeat camps because, in my experience, they tend to teach the same things every summer.  Going to new camps every year allows me to learn from many coaches.  Volleyball has changed my life in so many ways.  I cannot imagine my life without volleyball being a part of it.  I would love to continue my love of volleyball, and make it part of my college experience.  I hope you can help me feel "at home" at your college.