In this episode of The 9INE POINT Started With A Dream Podcast, Jacolby Gilliam welcomes Leah Edmond, a University of Kentucky volleyball alum. Leah is a pro volleyball player at Athletes Unlimited (AU). Today, Leah shares her story of going from a young dreamer to a pro athlete while facing racial stigma when it came to others describing her game and injuries. Despite it all, Leah continues to be a strong force in the world of pro volleyball.

Leah begins by sharing her dream as a young athlete. She talks about wanting to play at the University of Kentucky and going for it. She shares with us the expectations required from her as a freshman and a black athlete. She also discusses the stigma black volleyball players face and why volleyball should be made accessible to different communities. The episode comes to a close with Leah giving valuable advice on how to love what you do but, at the same time, not play through the pain.

• Leah's dream as a young athlete
• Starting the college hunt
• Questions to ask colleges that reach out to you during recruiting
• Leah's expectations as a freshman
• Embracing your achievements
• Dismantling the stigma around black volleyball players
• Leah's game as a volleyball player
• Making volleyball accessible to black communities
• Leah's gameday playlist
• The decision to go pro
• A tearful process following an injury
• Leah's advice to her younger self
• Why you should love what you do

Quotes:

1. "My first goal was to play in college. I grew up around college athletics with my dad being a coach. "
2. "Recruiting is a two-way street."
3. "I knew what I could bring to the table. I knew who I was as a player and a person. And if someone wasn't going to be 100% full for me from the beginning, then I didn't want to be there."
4. "My mentality was if I'm shooting to be one of the best in the conference, or be one of the best in the country, then I have to hold myself to a certain level of playing every time I step on the court, and if I'm holding myself to such a high level, that will help everyone around me."
5. "With black athletes, it's a very small adjective pool for us, for some reason, no matter what we do."
6. "I'm very team-oriented."
7. "I spent almost four or five months literally rebuilding how to swing again. "
8. "And I took pride in pain through my injuries. And I took pride in playing through pain because it showed how good of a leader I was. And then when this happened, I was like, Wait a second. Why? Why did I take pride in playing through pain? Like why did I take pride in playing through being injured? Why do we take pride in that? "
9. "Why do we glorify playing through your body being injured? Why do we glorify playing when you're sick?"
10. "Sometimes it's frowned upon to be selfish."
11. "No one's more disappointed in me than black people when I tell them I don't play basketball."
12. "Volleyball to me is not a career. It is something that I love that I happen to get paid to do as well."

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In this episode of The 9INE POINT Started With A Dream Podcast, Jacolby Gilliam welcomes Jaimeson Lee, a professional volleyball player, playing in Portugal and represented by Athletes Abroad. Jaimeson shares today her inspiring story of how she found her love for volleyball.

Growing up with athletic parents, Jaimeson has always been surrounded by sports. She shares that her dream as a younger athlete was to play in D1 and how that dream has evolved over time. She discusses how she decided to attend George Washington University and the struggles she faced while trying to balance volleyball, school, and social life. She talks about going pro and how she has found friendship and not just team bonding with her teammates. The episode comes to a close as Jaimeson offers advice to younger athletes on how to stop comparing themselves to others and to never give up.

Key Points:

• Jaimeson’s dream when she was a younger athlete
• Growing up with athletic parents and how that influenced Jaimeson
• Transitioning into a setter
• Realizing her dream was possible
• Jaimeson’s goal as a player
• What makes a great setter?
• Building the friendship culture among teammates
• Navigating volleyball, school, and social life
• A defining moment; deciding to go pro
• Preparing for what’s to come

Quotes:

“My biggest thing is wanting to play. I didn't want to go to a big school and sit on the bench for two or three years behind another sitter.”

“If volleyball were to end for me, would I be happy here?”

“What commitment is that person willing to make to be the best setter and player that they can be in the future?”

“Stop comparing yourself to other people, and just work with what you've got because it's enough.”

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In this episode of The 9INE POINT Started With A Dream Podcast, Jacolby Gilliam welcomes Lauren Page, a pro volleyball athlete playing in France and represented by Athlete Abroad Management. Before her professional career, Lauren played at the University of Oregon, helping her team finish 9th in the NCAA. Today, she shares her story with us, starting with a young girl who loved volleyball for the fun of it and transitioning into a pro athlete.

Lauren begins with how she fell in love with volleyball despite being an introvert. She explains that volleyball was easy to love because she was surrounded by love, her team and her family. Lauren explains the difference between playing in high school and college and how to quickly adapted to new rules and plays. Later, Lauren describes the moment she decided to go pro and how her pro career has proceeded thus far.

• Lauren’s goal when she was a young athlete
• Falling in love with volleyball
• How Lauren Page started playing volleyball
• Playing the sport as an introvert
• The power of community
• Lauren Page talks about choosing Oregon for the experience
• Transitioning from high school volleyball to college level
• Two games that left significant impact
• Going through a tough time in junior year
• The power of a team
• Starting a career overseas

“As we get older, our goals change.”

“The connections and the friendships that I've made through the sport made it so fun.”

“I always tell people all the time, this is the place that I was meant to be, I met my best friends there.”

“As I got older, I knew I had to grow up and step out of my comfort zone a little.”

“I left part of my heart there.”

“I needed to be a better teammate, needed to support my teammates more and not make it about me.”

“Being a team player and being there for your teammates makes you a better player at the end of the day.”

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