Alysha Colladay '21 Recruiting Profile

    My collegiate goals and aspirations are to become an athletic trainer or sports physical therapist along with minoring in nutrition and playing volleyball. When I hurt my knee my freshman year, my physical therapist helped me rehab and get strong to come back to playing the sport I love. Due to my injury, I can relate to other athletes who get injured, and since I love helping others, I think either one of those professions would be a perfect fit for me because I not only would help the athletes get back to playing, but I’d be able to help them with the mental aspect of their injury. I believe I’m a good candidate because I work hard in everything I do, and I never give up on something I’m trying to accomplish. I’ve also had coaches tell me I’m a coachable player which is key because I’m able to adapt to change quickly during a game, and I strive under high stress situations. Being hard on myself is something I think makes me different from most recruits. Although it may seem as a weakness, for my type of personality it’s not. I like to push myself to always do my best no matter what I’m doing, and when I fall short, I keep trying and pushing myself to be successful or until I know I gave my absolute 100 percent best. My freshman year, I lost one of my best friends, and my sophomore year, I lost my dad, which were both due to suicide. During these tragedies, I never lost sight of my goals and I never lost my character or moral values. If anything, I believe I became a better person, athlete and student by proving to myself that in hard times I can still accomplish my goals, while keeping the high standards I have for myself. I also never lost sight of playing my best at both practices and tournaments because it wouldn’t have been fair to my team if I let this affect the way I played. I also never let my grades slip during this time of tragedy. These losses I’m going through will forever push me to be my best because I want to make my dad proud while he is in Heaven watching down on me, and to also live on the legacy my friend left…to “make someone smile.”