Madison Trawick '17 Recruiting Profile

    My heart pulsated as adrenaline rushed through my body. The six of us stepped onto the court; I looked into the crowd, three rows deep, and the excitement built. Anticipating the first sharp blow of the whistle I thought to myself, “This is where I want to be. This is my very own sanctuary. This is where I belong”. This was the greatest game of my life thus far—my first time at Nationals, and I was only 11. That very moment hooked me; volleyball became a way of life.

    Being able to travel across the country to play the game I love has given me the insight to know what I want to do “when I grow up”—a primary question adults ask kids, followed by the customary, “which college do you want to attend?” With the questions comes the motivation to figure out the answers, and I am quite fortunate to already know what I want to study as I open the next chapter in my academic and athletic career. The thought process has been simple. I think about my coaches and trainers who have developed my skills on the court, but most importantly, they have become friends and mentors. Those types of relationships are ones I want to carry over into my career. I want to be someone’s coach; someone’s trainer; someone’s mentor. As a member of my high school’s Peer Assistance Leadership and Service organization this path has been solidified for me knowing that the younger generations I mentor look up to me, and count on my presence. The sense of fulfillment this brings cannot be matched.

    It is said that the first step is the hardest. My first step has been taken, and the next is to discover which institution can provide the education, resources, and guidance needed to continue to pave my way. Though evident, my goal is to become a coach/trainer so the institution that I will attend must have a noble sports science program, but also a volleyball staff that will hone my volleyball skills, provide endless inspiration on and off the court, and allow me to build my repertoire through the personal examples they set as coaches and trainers.