Bridgette Barnard '18 Recruiting Profile

I was first introduced to volleyball at a young age when I began going to my Mum’s high school and club practices. The volleyball bug bit me immediately! Then, when I was in 8^th grade, I was brought up to my school’s Varsity team due to my jumping and blocking ability in the middle. It was in this season that I was first given my nickname, Spark-plug, because when I entered the court the energy changed and all players on the court elevated their play.  We won the State Championship, and I was awarded All-State honors.  My volleyball success continued when I joined the Austin Juniors Volleyball Club. My teams placed 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd in the CTPL and Cross Court Classic tournaments respectively; in addition, we qualified for the Tour of Texas! As an individual and a player, my passion is being a great, supportive teammate and helping people. Through my years of competitive volleyball, I also have found I cherish camaraderie, competition and school pride.

I have overcome great hardships throughout my volleyball career. For 2.5 years I played volleyball with shattered sesamoid bones (the weight bearing bones of the weight bearing joint for the whole body) in both feet due to several misdiagnoses. I continued to play through great pain because of my true love the game. Last summer I was correctly diagnosed and had surgery on both of my feet! As a result of the injury and surgery, I missed several months of school due to appointments/treatments, the fact that I could not be weight bearing at times AND I contracted mono my sophomore year! Due to circumstances, I had great difficulty receiving my schoolwork and completing assignments, thus, my grades suffered.

As I head into my senior year, I am extremely excited to be on the road to recovery physically and academically, as my feet are almost 100% and I will be free to fully pursue academics and improving my GPA. Through these years of difficulty, I have developed considerable grit personally, and strangely enough, I have increased my volleyball IQ. I adapted and developed as a player to remain successful. I learned many skills including reading the game, offensively and defensively, tooling and using the blockers consistently and effectively, hitting placement shots, disguising tips and much more. I have faced struggles and failures, but persevered to overcome both.

In college, I believe I will bring skill, passion and a positive energy to the program. I know I will be able to adapt, be a great team player and to encourage and elevate my teammates as I contribute to a great team dynamic. I hope to find a school with a competitive program, in a positive environment, at a school that matches my academic needs and revels in school pride.