Thalia Oltmanns '20 Recruiting Profile

Hi, my name is Thalia Oltmanns and I am a libero/DS at Southern Performance Volleyball Club in Birmingham,  Alabama.  Volleyball is a sport that has been a part of my life for the past four years.  I also played for my middle school team in 7th and 8th grade.  As a freshman in high school this year, I made the JV team.  I would not trade the time that I've spent on the court for anything else in the world. Before I started playing volleyball, I swam competitively for nine years. Swimming taught me a countless number of lessons that have carried over to volleyball. From swim, I learned that you have to stay positive even when you get down. There were times when I was a hundredth of a second away from making the cut for the regional championship meet but touched the wall too late. Moments like that taught me to be fearless on the court. You have to give your all to see the results that you want to see. That is one characteristic that makes me a great candidate for playing on your college's volleyball team.  Another characteristic that makes me a strong candidate is that I am disciplined. Both swim and volleyball have taught me how to be a disciplined person. Being an athlete, you have to be disciplined. Having volleyball practice three nights a week for four hours at a time, swimming the other two days, taking advanced classes and playing in weekend long tournaments twice/month requires a lot of focus and discipline. Not only do you need to have discipline on the court but also self discipline off the court. I believe that you need to fuel your body the right way so that you can perform your best all the time. Giving your body the right amount of nutritious food and quality sleep is crucial to performing your absolute best. I think that I am very different from most of the other athletes that you are considering to play at your college. For one, I am a straight A student with a 4.1 GPA. Because school is so important to me, juggling both practice and studying has taught me very valuable time management skills and excellent work study habits. I am also very dedicated to contributing my time to my community. I am a member of the Key Club at my school and a regular volunteer at Canterbury Methodist Church and other churches and organizations throughout Birmingham. I have spent the last two summers devoting a week each year to renovating dilapidated homes in rural poor communities outside of Birmingham and Memphis. Roofing in July in Memphis is really hot and humid. Staying hydrated was a must! I almost passed out once but in the end, it was worth seeing the look on the homeowner's face when we fixed her house.  

Being a great collegiate volleyball player means being athletic, disciplined, hardworking, intelligent and self-less.  These are all qualities that I have and that would make me an asset to your team.