What does it take to ace, dig and forearm pass your way to the top? Hard work and a dedication to athleticism, as exemplified bu these amazing female volleyball players. Zhu Ting reflects on the support that ignited her passion for the game, while Sheilla Castro unveils the secret to her success through hard work and determination. Jordan Larson, Ekaterina Gamova, Annie Drews, and others, give you look into their training, fitness routines, and the sacrifices they’ve made to achieve greatness on the court.
Zhu Ting opened up about her success in volleyball in an interview. She says that she had a lot of supportive people encouraging her. “My parents were very supportive of me taking up volleyball. My first coach in volleyball was probably the next person who influenced me and sparked my interest in the sport.”
Sheilla Castro revealed the secrets for her success in volleyball in an interview. “I was one of the ones in school that studied all the time. In volleyball, that one that preps more. It’s not like I’m the best because I was born the best. I’m the best because I’m working hard to be the best.”
Jordan Larson opened up about what she’s learned from playing volleyball to UsVolleyball.org. “I think the biggest lesson it has taught me is how to be a part of a team. I have been a part of a lot of great teams and many talented players, but the ones that stand out the most are the ones who had to fight and grind to be the best. I think in life things don’t just come to you by chance, you must fight and grind your way to the top.”
In an interview on TV Centr, Ekaterina Gamova shared her approach to playing volleyball and what she’s good at. “Ability to see the court. Growth and jump. I can predict where the players will stand. I do not only need strength to play but also the head. The decision must be taken in a split second, and then you can understand it was good or bad. Volleyball pleases me because any action can be corrected in order to come to the desired result.”
In an interview with Commercial News, Annie Drews revealed how she started playing volleyball. “I started out with just some friends who play volleyball,” she said. “Obviously, I come from a basketball family, but we have always been a sport-oriented family and volleyball just kind of happened for me. I’m thankful that it did and I haven’t looked back.”
Kara Bajema opened up about her career in an interview with Volleyball Magazine. “I wouldn’t have changed that for the world,” Bajema said. “To be introduced to some of the best volleyball in the world is a great way to start. And it was like, OK, this is where I am and this is the standard and this is where I need to get to. My choice to go to Poland was that I needed to develop myself a little bit and I needed to take a step back and I think that’s exactly what happened. I had a great coach (Stephane Antiga) who coached me and a good team alongside of me. I think I was able to grow myself and grow my game.”
In an interview with Jamthegym.com, Kim Hill opened up about how she prepared for being a volleyball player. “Not only does beach expand your game so much as far as ball control and seeing the game better, beach is so much easier on your body than the pounding of indoor. I highly highly recommend to younger plays to not only play beach but to continue playing other sports as long as you can. I know there’s a whole argument around early specialization but I played basketball and volleyball all through high school and I think that’s why I’m nowhere close to being burned out and I’ve been very fortunate as far as injuries go (knock on wood).”
Hannah Tapp opened up about recovering from an injury to VolleyballMag.com. “I’m doing PT regularly, which is, you’re just so used to, when you’re a professional athlete, you work out all the time, and your so used to just being strong, being fit. And then when you just kind of lose all that, you kind of get lost and you have to remember. You just have to remember it’s part of the process.”
In an interview with SpaceNK, Rachael Adams opened up about a change she made to her diet. “Back in 2014 when I was playing professional volleyball in Italy, I decided to take the plunge and go dairy-free. I was 24 years old at the time and suffering from acne and heavy inflammation, despite trying literally everything up until that point to ease it. After researching ‘natural ways of curing acne’ I learned about the effect that diet has on our skin, so I eliminated dairy and boom, after a month my skin was 80% clear.”
In a 2015 interview with SELF, Christa Harmotto Dietzen opened up about her fitness routine. “In pro sports, it’s easy to just look out for yourself,” Dietzen says. “But for us, it’s about the women to our left and right.” She says that she does things like shoulder raises and rotations to help.
Kelsey Robinson makes sure to eat healthy. Especially during the Olympics. She shared that she likes breakfast bowls with ESPN. “When I’m in California I use fresh avocado or maybe some leftover salsa from tacos we’ve had the previous night,” she says. “If I’m living and playing in Istanbul, I’ll use tomatoes, cucumbers and a lot of herbs. It’s fun to keep this recipe dependent on the local ingredients you have.”
In an interview with Women Fitness, Misty May-Treanor revealed how she achieved Olympic Gold. “The first Olympics that I played in was the Sydney Olympic Games with Holly McPeak. We finished 5th, so that certainly lit the fire to get back to another Olympics and do better. I believe that the hard work you put into something pays off, I spent many extra hours training because I had a goal and I didn’t want to short change myself. My parents, sponsors, coaches, and fans also were factors in my being successful but I also had great teammates.”
Prior to competing in the 2016 Olympics, Kerri Walsh revealed how she stays motivated with her training with GQ. “I do have to keep reminding myself that it’s okay to be a work in progress. If I have a bad game it crushes me, but you can learn and grow a lot as long as you don’t stay in that place of devastation.”
April Ross shared some of her favorite workouts with POPSugar. She says that she does a lot of ab workouts. “If you don’t first have a strong core, it’s hard to do anything else,” she explained. “It’s always a priority for me.” Ross says that she loves hanging knee tucks in particular. “It’s super painful, but that’s one of the best ones.”
In this post on her website, Sarah Sponcil talked about her training regime. “When I get asked this question about training, there are two different sides of me. One is to stay in shape and continue completing my USA volleyball workouts. The other side of me wants to try new workouts and movements I’ve never done before or had the time to try. I’ve always loved challenging my body and throwing some curveballs at it every now and again to work the muscles that never get worked in my day-to-day beach. It’s important to do both. Good balance is always a great recipe!”
Alix Klineman opened up about her training process to The Zoe Report prior to the 2021 Olympics. “We train about five days a week,” said Klineman. “We have practice for a few hours a day, we lift weights for a couple hours, I see [a physical therapist] for my body and movement training, so that’s another hour of therapy or deep tissue massage. So, it can add up to four to seven hours of commitment [a day]. But, because a lot of these things are very physical, it can be very taxing.”
Jen Kessy shared some of her workout tips with USA Today. “I see people at the gym and they’re sitting at their machine and they do five reps or 10 reps, and then they sit there, and they stay on the machine,” she says. “And for me, to burn as many calories and to be as efficient as you can be with your time, let’s say you have one hour. You need to pick three machines, or three exercises, so you’ve got your leg extension, your leg curl and your shoulder press, and then you’re gonna pick a cardio. I’ll do 10 shoulder press, then I go directly to the leg extension, do 10 there, then I go directly to the leg curls, I do those. Then, I’ll go to the bike and do a minute sprint. I do that five times, and then that’s one circuit. By the end of that, you’re toast. That’s one. So then, you do one more and then you do another one, just keep it moving. I’m trying to burn as many calories as possible and trying to be efficient.”
Sara Hughes opened up about training for beach volleyball in an interview with VolleyballMag. “You have two options here: you can give up, quit, sulk, why did this happen to me, or you can get better and push it aside, move on, and keep going after what you want, and that’s what I decided to do,” Hughes said. “No matter what happened, I still want this more than anything. I said my peace with it and got back on the volleyball court.
In an interview with AVP.com, Emily Day talked about her daily routine. She says that she makes sure to eat pretty healthy. Day shared her favorite breakfast in the interview. “I don’t start my days with coffee, because I’m fine if I can get up and get a workout in. Breakfast is always Greek yogurt with fruit and granola. Like every single morning, without fail.”
Sarah Pavan opened up about how she honed her volleyball skills as a child to VolleyballMag. “My dad was my club coach and my high school coach until I left for college. He helped develop my technical foundation. He’s very much like me. He’s a perfectionist. I wasn’t allowed to get away with anything or any shortcuts, I was forced to develop my skills at a very high level when I was young. We were in the gym together almost every single day between high school, club, and extra practices, too.”