Ximena Gutierrez Velazquez '22 Recruiting Profile

My name is Ximena Gutiérrez Velázquez. I am currently attending the Maritime and Science Technology Academy in Key Biscayne, Florida.

I started playing volleyball at a very young age since both my mother and father played when I was born, and I knew right away that the sport of volleyball would be my passion. My dream is to someday earn a college degree and play at the highest level of volleyball. In order to accomplish this goal, I realize it will take a lot of hard work and dedication.

I am a Right side/ Outside side hitter for the class of 2022. I have played volleyball as a team for 5 years, and I love it more every year. Every time I play, I try to improve in whatever I’m lacking in whether is hitting, blocking, or passing, and never stop until I perfect it. I push myself to play every position on the front row and back row if necessary. I started playing volleyball at a Key Biscayne Community Center close to where I live. This is where I learned the basics of volleyball at the age of 10 and that’s where my passion for the sport started.

At the age of 14, I started playing club volleyball at Miami Hype Volleyball Club where the coaches and practices were more demanding,  and I played 19 Tournaments in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, and Washington DC. . There is where I learned what volleyball is all about, what it took to be a volleyball player and play to the next level. I'm very excited to start the new Tournament season next January 2020.

At Mast Academy, I played in 8 grade and freshman year in the junior varsity team at my school. In my freshman year, I was put down to JV to be a setter, this was a weird but exciting experience due to the fact that I never played setter before and the position was really weird to me but I learned to play and love the position. The summer of freshman year I had the amazing experience to go to a go sleep away camp at The University of Miami where I got to the experience normal life of a college student playing volleyball in college. My sophomore year I got to play Varsity starter at my school team where we got second in the district championship.