Personal Statement
My name is Reilly Swierbut, I am a 5'7 Libero/DS college freshman playing at Parkland College, which is known for its legendary volleyball program. It is my goal to continue to play volleyball at a 4 year university after Parkland. I am that player on the court that is the "hype up man", I try everything in my power to get the rest of the team just as excited to take the court as I get. I also have been characterized as having a "Rocket Personality" which puts me as the person that always is ready for the challenge and is drawn to upbeat and positive coaching styles, but also critiquing as we go along. It also says that the rocket personality type can come off as cocky or arrogant, but for me personally, I don't have those, what I have is confidence. I have confidence in myself and the teams that I play with that we will get the job done and if we don't that sucks, but at that point, there is nothing anyone can do all we can do it learn for next time. In my short 5 years of playing this sport, I have come to the realization that no matter the circumstances I can only control myself and my attitude. Which is one of the reasons I would be an amazing player on a high-level college team. I am able to remain calm and when we get into a rough patch I have been able to train my body and my mind to take a deep breath and just go back to the basics.
It has always been a dream of mine to compete at the highest college level in the sport that I love. At first, when I was little it was gymnastics, the flipping and the intensity of it drew me in and let me blossom. But once I got older, I realized I wanted a sport where I was part of a team and it took everyone on the team to be successful. Then, in the summer before 7th grade, I found a passion of mine that I have never been able to let go of. Volleyball. The fun of the game is what I really loved, and I just liked to mess around and have a good time. Then I became apart of Grand Haven High Schools Volleyball Program and everything changed. My passion for the game didn't change, but my focus and my ambition of wanting to succeed and to be better than the day before took over. Of course, the game is still always fun, but once I was able to unlock the part where I want to be better than the person next to me I finally knew that I could play at the next level because I found it in me to have that mindset saying to myself "you can do this, prove it". That has pushed me to become the person and athlete I am today. I truly thank my mom and dad for everything that I have become today. My dad first introduced me to volleyball that summer of 7th grade and he and my mom both have put the time and money into volleyball for me to become better every day with every practice and every drill.
