MONROE, La. – Being
an Olympian is something graduate student Amy
Grabiec strives for. She heads to Colorado Springs, Colo., early Friday
morning to pursue that dream—she's trying out for the U.S. National Team, and
hopefully, a spot on the 2016 Summer Olympics roster.
“For Amy to be able to be here an extra year playing on the
sand for us just continues to allow her to pursue her dreams,” head indoor
volleyball coach and director of volleyball operations Patrick Hiltz said, “I'm
real excited for her and it's a great opportunity for her.”
Those dreams Hiltz speaks of are playing in the Olympics,
but it is a long process to get there.
“I found out about the tryouts last year, so I went out to
get some experience. I was looking at the USA Volleyball website and I found
out they were having tryouts. I heard
from some other schools that they were also sending the players, so I wanted to
see what it was like and see what I was getting myself into,” Grabiec said.
This isn't her first go-around with USA Volleyball or
newly-appointed US National Team head coach Charles “Karch” Kiraly. Kiraly was
an assistant with the US Women's National Team during the 2012 Olympics and was
at the 2012 tryouts. So was Grabiec.
“She's made this attempt before and just the experience of
being there with hundreds of other volleyball players from across the country,
with a new system under “Karch” Kiraly, is going to be really wonderful for
her,” Hiltz said
“Last year was just an experience. I didn't have any indoor
eligibility left so I had to go for the US National Team, but they were taking
cuts from the previous team for the London Olympics. They were cutting the team
from 30 down to 13,” Grabiec said of the experience.
When asked if this year's tryout was an open or if it was by
invitation only, Grabiec said: “It's somewhere in the middle. The big schools
know about it, and USA Volleyball contacts them. Other than that, girls from
other schools are allowed to go to it, so in that sense, it is open. But, there
is a cutoff date. You might have to be waitlisted or you may be able to get
right in.”
Grabiec estimated that nearly 200 people will be in the gym,
going for about 30 spots to play in international competitions. Those 30
players then compete for a spot on the Olympic team in 2016 and a chance at
gold.
As with any national team tryout, the process is lengthy and
crowded.
“They split you off into red, white and blue teams. Usually,
the liberos wear the white jerseys, so there could be between 50 and 100 girls
there just for that position,” she said.
The tryouts last just the span of a weekend. There are three
practices a day on Friday and Saturday, while by Sunday, the USA Volleyball
coaching staff have chosen who they want to see, Grabiec said.
“If you practice early Sunday morning, you're probably not
coming back. But, the later in the day the practice is, the better it is.
Through the tryout, if you start to get into the blue or red group, that is
good because the blue group is the number one group. You always know your color
and you know where you stand. If you're in the red group one day, that's not to
say you're there all weekend, You just have to work your hardest during that practice
to get to the blue group,” she said.
While Grabiec is a strictly sand player at ULM, the
Cleveland, Ohio, area native is no stranger to the indoor game. She was a
four-year letterwinner at Cleveland State University, and she has two coaches
at ULM who stress cross training on and off the sand pits.
“We adjusted our sand volleyball practice [Wednesday] and
moved it inside to help Amy prepare for the Olympic indoor team tryouts,” Hiltz
said.
Wednesday's practice was the first time Grabiec has come
close to playing in an indoor competition in over a year.
“It feels good to play indoor volleyball again because that
was my first love,” Grabiec said.
Head sand volleyball coach David Fischer has collegiate
indoor and professional sand volleyball experience and has tried experienced
top-tier competition.
Fischer said: “There's a few things [Grabiec] can do to
prepare for a high level tryout. One: She needs game experience, and she got
that being a four year stand out libero at Cleveland State. Two: There is
conditioning and she is a fitness nut. She is also doing our sand volleyball
workouts, so I feel she will be as fit as anyone there at the tryouts. Lastly,
there is being in the rhythm of the game. That's why we adjusted our sand
practice today. We wanted to get her some indoor reps.”
The indoor game and sand game may both be volleyball, but
they are distinctly different.
“The ball comes faster indoors. People jump higher. There
are different angles and there is no wind. Today, the idea was to get her ready
to fly out and to help her make the U.S. National Team,” Fischer said.
Grabiec echoes Fischer's assessment: “It is hard to adjust
back to the indoor game because the ball is smaller and moves differently.
There is no wind and the air current is different. It's a faster game so it's
hard to adjust. Instead of looking for shots, you have to be ready for those
bangers.”
Getting a national team tryout is not only an individual
honor, but it helps the volleyball program as a whole, too.
“Just the fact that someone from our volleyball program, be
it sand or indoor volleyball, is making that attempt tells us that we're
starting to attract volleyball players that take this very seriously. This is
part of their life and their dreams,” Hiltz said.
Making the team, on the other hand, would move the
university forward by leaps and bounds.
“If she were to make
it, that puts ULM up there with the nation's elite volleyball programs in that
we have a national player coming out of our school. Five years ago, people
would say we were crazy to even think about it, yet here we are. We have
someone making an attempt at it and it would be real exciting for everyone
involved,” he added.
Grabiec could know her fate as soon as Sunday evening. If
she does make the national squad, she wouldn't be the first Warhawk to
represent her country. Marcela Araya and Blanca Ocana have played for Costa
Rica and Guatemala in international competitions, respectively.
If she doesn't make it, Grabiec plans to try out for the
beach volleyball team, as well. Either way, after this year, she hopes to trade
the maroon and gold for red, white and blue.
ULM's sand volleyball season begins March 9 in Cocoa Beach,
Fla.
