Kennedy Coleman '25 Recruiting Profile

My entire family has influenced who I am. My parents and extended family are all hardworking people that drive me to be the same way in most anything I am doing. My mom and dad were both athletes and they started playing with me at a very young age. Any free time I had I was practicing my sports. My dad has been coaching volleyball for as long as I can remember. I would attend all of his practices and games. Being a part of his coaching and being with the older teams has drove me to play even harder when I got the chance. My dad coaching not only changed the way that I played but it changed the way that I looked at life. When I watched how those girls played and acted, on the court and off, I realized that the game wasn't just about winning but about growing mentally for the real world. I have played three sports up until this point and I think doing that has made a well-rounded athlete. I remember the exact moment that I fell in love with volleyball. It was October 15th, 2017 on the night of Dig For A Cure, a volleyball event where our school volleyball program raised money for local Cancer charities .  Each year someone was chosen to be the honorary representatives, someone who had beaten cancer or was battling it in some form.  My mom and grandma had cancer at the same time, and the people that were chosen to be the representatives were them.  After that night I knew that the whole town was right by our sides. That night made my mom and grandma feel so happy. 

I realized that volleyball is so much more than just a game. I have made so many friendships because of this sport that I love. I have learned through all of the sports that I've played that teamwork is what it is all about. I can be having the best match and if my teammates are not all in sync it wont turn out well. You have to build the team on and off the court and like I said, some of my best friendships have came out of sports, especially volleyball. My academic goals are to work hard in school just as I do on the court. I want to better myself in school so I am prepared for college and am a well-rounded individual. I think that the greatest challenge that I faced was moving over 200 miles to a bigger city.  In the beginning didn't want to at all.  I didn't want to have to think about not playing my four years of high school in a different gym.  Once I got to Boise I was terrified, but then volleyball made all of my fears go away.  When I made the 15-2 Boise Ignite Volleyball Club team as a 13 year old I was super proud of myself.   I finally realized that the change of me moving was definitely for the best.  I know for a fact though, if volleyball wasn't a part of my life I don't know how I would've gotten through the hard times.  Volleyball has really changed my perspective of life.