Guest post by Naya Crittenden, University of Illinois Class of 2016
I do not know the exact percentage of women playing professional volleyball right now, but I can tell you that the number is very small. I am one of the few post-collegiate American women, that is lucky enough to be able to play this game at the next level.
My story is not unlike many other women who have been able to experience the professional volleyball life, but everyone’s story is unique.
The beginning of my journey happened very fast and it felt like a dream. After the end of my 2016 senior season as an Illini, I was looking ahead to becoming a regular student (for the first time in my life) and being able to put my full focus in to broadcast journalism for the spring semester. I had a great internship lined up at one of the main news stations near my campus and I was planning on being a part of the social media team for our University’s newspaper. I was also going to be able to cheer on my boyfriend (who’s also an athlete at Illinois) during his 2017 Track and Field season. It seemed nothing could get more perfect. Until it did. [Read more…] about Cali Girl Overseas
