Emily Harris '13 Recruiting Profile

Finding your own true passion is not always a very easy thing for some people, but for me, I knew from a very early age exactly what mine was; sports. Being active in every way possible has always been the biggest part of my life, so when I first started playing volleyball, everything about it just made sense. The intensity, passion, energy and skill that it takes to play this sport immediately drew me towards it and I've loved it ever since. Because of my absolute passion for volleyball, it only makes sense that it is the major part of my future goals. On a very simple level, I aspire to play volleyball at the collegiate level. As a player, I have learned to give absolutely everything I have every play of every game and to never let myself or my team down by giving up on even just one point. I have learned that if I am not out of breath or sweating more than I was the point before, I have not pushed myself hard enough. I have also learned the importance of perseverance and teamwork. As the varsity team captain my senior year, I learned that it is not always important to push my teammates with words, but I instead learned to lead by example. I pushed myself to make every point better than the last which ultimately made the rest of my team feel the need to step up as well. By showing them my passion, it helped them to find their own. My dream now is to take all that I have learned, teamwork, perseverance, skill, hard work, dedication, leadership, and put it into action at a higher level on a college team. My main goal is to live out my passion for volleyball beyond high school. Beyond volleyball, however, I also have a passion for helping others. I am a very social and outgoing person so I do not have a problem talking to or helping other people whether I know them on a personal level or not. This, combined with my love for athletics in general, makes me want to pursue a career in coaching. Volleyball has helped shape my character, my overall attitude in life and just me as a person. I found my true passion in the sport which is why, through coaching, I would want to help other people do the same. For me, volleyball has had much more of an impact on my life than simply being a game that I enjoy. Throughout my years of playing, it has provided me with an escape from anything going on in my life, a chance to make every play better than the previous one every time I step on the court, a true passion that is dictating what exactly it is that I want to do with my future. For right now, playing volleyball at the collegiate level and ultimately going on to coach others to do the same is my dream and I will do whatever it takes to achieve it.