Where have you been???
Well, the last 3 months I've been wrapping up my bachelor's degree in Sports Management, and although the workload has not been too hectic, a few personal issues have ended up taking up A LOT of my time. On top of that, planning for life after graduation has certainly taken up a lot of time as well.
Have you been playing volleyball?
Yes and no. I've played once to twice a week. I helped out the women's volleyball team here at the school once a week, and played in a Wednesday night league. I did a few adult tournaments as well, and when the weather was warmer I'd play grass with the guys here. I didn't play as much as I'd like to, but I suppose I could have used a bit of a break.
So what's the plan after graduation - are you Europe-bound?
Sadly, with the economy being as it is I will not be attempting to go overseas right away. My student loans simply amount to too much, and although the majority of people that go overseas get paid, stories like all-time digs leader Tony Ker getting screwed over is enough to keep me from going until I at least take care of all my private loans. Regardless of whether or not I get paid, the loan companies will still expect to collect, and as I have people who graciously co-signed my loans I owe it to them to take the safe route and make sure I'm able to re-pay my debt.
That being said, there are two routes: Graduate school and work. I consider myself very well networked in the Chicago area, but find that most job opportunities through these measures have only pulled up jobs that I probably could have gotten without the degree - at wages that will not cover all the bills, or at best make the minimum payments for my loans. One or two interviews this Thanksgiving break may prove to be different, but nothing's etched in stone. With any luck, I'll get a call or two next week, and begin work immediately once arriving home.
Although I hadn't thought too much about it previously, I decided to e-mail every Division I women's volleyball coach that had a graduate assistant on their staff, simply asking for information on applying for the position. I was pleased to hear back from four coaches in the span of 48 hours, which is a nice change of pace from getting very little feedback while looking for jobs. Although the locations aren't exactly ideal ( I would like to be closer to home to be with family, specifically the 5-year old brother ), I really liked what a few of the coaches had to say, and feel that unless a really good job opportunity comes up, I will be enrolling in graduate school in the fall, working towards my MBA and hopefully helping a Division I program to become better than it was when I first got there!
Does this mean that you're giving up on playing overseas?
I have come to terms that I will be going overseas for the experience and not the pay. If I can stay in shape, continue to work hard, work my debt down and get a small nest-egg to cover my loan payments for x amount of months that I could play overseas, I would love to go over there and break even once in the next year or two. In the meantime, I will play A/AA USAV indoor ball, and continue to work towards playing 'professionally' (although if you read Hans Stolfus' blog, you realize there are only about 8-10 males that actually make a living playing sand full-time).
So what should we expect from this blog now that your collegiate career is over?
There are plenty of things I want to cover:
- Interviews with professional players
- In-season updates from various D-III players
- Personal updates
- Any news in the volleyball community and my thoughts on them
I still take requests. Despite heading back to Chicago, I do want to keep tabs on the Newbury program, and intend to keep in touch with the players to get the latest on what's going on. So if you have any suggestions, let me know and I'll see what I can do!
It's been a long break, but looking forward to writing on a regular basis again!
