Kailey Shirley '24 Recruiting Profile

My name is Kailey Shirley, I am a Senior in high school and I have been playing club volleyball for 9 years. I have been a Defensive specialist/ Libero for 4 years. I am  passionate about volleyball, I strive to do my best at all times and keep a positive attitude. Respect is important not just with yourself but with everyone around you . I pride myself on being hardworking and coachable. In my perspective, I take the instructions given to me as a valuable piece of advice that helps me excel in my game. I first started to fall in love with volleyball when my aunt was playing highschool. Seeing her play at that moment, my eyes were open to the new and exciting things I had yet to learn. I was ambitious got to learn more about the sport and to begin advancing my skills. She started teaching me and well I wasn't the best but she saw potential in me. As I got older I wanted to take my game to the next level and see what I was capable of doing. I Started first with YMCA, then found a club team which opened my eyes to all the possibilities of the sport I love. I was still learning and I was so happy to get touches on the ball. As I grew more and got better I started going with my aunt to adult league. At first, I was nervous and scared, seeing how hard they hit and how good they were startled me. But I was excited to try and do my best. The first match we played the best hitter on the team, he hit at me and I got it up, I was so proud of myself. This moment motivated me to get every ball up and not let any touch the floor. I love sacrificing my body to not let the ball touch the floor and help my teammates out as much as possible. Traveling is also another factor in my love for volleyball. It has taken me to new places and helped me explore to find new enjoyments. Volleyball is my passion but I also think that education is crucial which means putting school first and then volleyball.  My passion for sports medicine started a few years ago, when one of my coaches taught us how to massage and help crack our teammates backs. Ever since then my interest has grown, something about learning how the human body work fascinates me. This allowed me to want to pursue my goal of becoming a Doctor of Sports Medicine and hopefully working in the NFL.