Personal Statement
My name is Michelle (my friends call me Miska) Legatova. My family moved to the United States from Slovakia. I am 17-year-old Senior at Newton North High School, in Newtonville, MA. I am a starter/captain on the Newton North Varsity team this past Fall (Massachusetts Girls Volleyball Coaches Association Division I All State team, Bay State Conference Award).
I play for Smash U18 Open team which is 2017 New England Champion. I am an outside hitter and I have number 13.
I have received an invitation to participate at the USA Volleyball High Performance National Training Program in New Orleans from July 5th to July 9th. I also am very honored to be invited to play for the NERVA High Performance team at the High Performance Championships in Fort Lauderdale, FL from July 18th to July 22nd. This was my second year as a captain at the High Performance Championships. This year my team won 6 out of 8 games. Great Experience!
My goal is to study Computer Engineering.
From November 2014 to May 2016, I played on the U18 Hardrock Black Open team as an outside hitter. I wore number 13 and was a starter, despite being the youngest athlete on the team. Our team finished as the top New England team in last year’s Mizuno Boston Open tournament. It was great to play the teams from Texas, Florida, Ohio and more. We placed second at the Great Nor'Easter Tournament in Albany, NY and 31st at the North Eastern Qualifier USA in Philadelphia. I was chosen to represent the Southern Region at the Granite State Games and our team won the entire tournament. I was privileged to have Mr. Lloyd Sheehan (Director of Hardrock Volleyball Clulb) as a coach. He is the person who mentored me and helped instill a passion and love for volleyball in me :)
I also received the privilege to play for the NERVA HP team (captain and starter). At the 2016 High Performance Championship in Fort Lauderdale, FL, we finished 12th in the Youth International bracket (loved playing against teams like Dominican Republic, Arizona, USA HP, California).
Over the Summers I play tons of beach volleyball. I compete at 18U, 22U, Open, co-ed and open, AA beach volleyball through VolleyAmerica, New Hampshire Volleyball club, New England Beach Volleyball and SpikeU tournaments. In August, 2016, I qualified to play at the EVP® World Championships at Paradise Ocean Club in Hampton, VA, and finished in third place in 18U bracket.
I have two older sisters who also played volleyball. I spent many weekends at their games and I absolutely loved the sport! Over the years I have played Soccer, Tennis, Basketball, Skiing and Track, but volleyball is certainly my top priority. I could not wait until I was 8 years old so I could start to play for a club:)
Volleyball is my passion! I take every possible chance to play this sport. School, club, my parents’ adult leagues, beach volleyball, grass volleyball and more. I am excited to play at the intercollegiate level where I can play competitive volleyball while obtaining a great education!
