Five Sets with Erin Slinde
July 05, 2017 04:55 PM | Volleyball
On coming to Morgantown a semester early…
Definitely the toughest part for me was more of the strength and conditioning part. I was very fortunate that volleyball is very competitive where I’m from, so I was kind of more prepared for that. The reason I early enrolled was to get kind of used to the difference between high school and college. Compared to club volleyball in Minnesota, college is way more intense from the strength and conditioning point. Spring is really the time where you put in that hard work and you bond with your team so you can prepare for fall. I was pretty much just getting a head start on that part and forming relationships with the players that were already here and getting a head start so I could come in the fall and lead with all the other girls that were in my class. That was very important to me.
On being in a position of leadership as a freshman setter …
I think it was something I kind of struggled with being here in the spring because I was the youngest. I was a leader that had to follow and learn. It’s been hard for me because I have been a leader for so long, but I had to kind of have to step back and learn a couple things. It’s a way different culture and environment than high school. In high school I ran it how I wanted and here it’s kind of more of a, “you’re going to run it this way but you’re going to run it.” I think, being a leader, it was definitely a role that I wanted, so I knew that I just had to work hard. It was important to me to create those bonds and get to know everyone and have good relationships with everyone to kind of take this team to where we wanted to take it.
On a future in coaching …
My mom was one of my biggest role models and she didn’t play college volleyball or anything like that. She has always been my role model and now she’s a coach. After watching her coach people say to me that me and my mom are almost identical coaches. She’s been such a role model so I always think, what would my mom say? When they asked me to coach a club team, I said absolutely. The pay might not be great, it’ll probably be a lot of time and travel and I wont have a lot of time off, but I took the challenge and I’m really glad I did. Seeing the things I see I think that maybe my coach will see that, so I’m going to make sure I don’t do that. What makes me frustrated, I think, probably makes my coaches frustrated too. Just things like that. Honestly, I think helping out the community however I can is a very important part of creating awareness in the area. As soon as we create that awareness, we’re going to get that respect that we’re working hard for and that we deserve. Wherever my future takes me, whether it’s coaching or what I’m studying now, I honestly think volleyball will always be in my life. Whether I’m coaching it or reporting it or I’m watching it, teaching my kids it, or teaching adults. I always know that volleyball will be in my life, somehow, because it has been such an important thing. Without volleyball I wouldn’t be here; without volleyball I wouldn’t have so many opportunities and things like that. Coaching or not, it’s always going to be in my life.
In interning within athletics …
Coaching has taken up a lot of my time. Between being a coach, college athlete and also a college student, I’m just trying to learn right now. I’m so young and I still have three more years here to learn. I’m honestly the person who says it’s never too early to start. I’m always going to try and get ahead and make those connections early so that by the time I graduate I have somewhat of a plan. That’s one of the things that I’ve seen in a lot of college athletes today. Once their sport is over they’re like shoot what do I do next. So I’m just kind of like trying to prepare more for that. That’s one way of doing that. We have such a great networking program here so that it’s easier for me to jump in and learn as much as I can as early as I can.
On her pursuing a career in sports journalism …
After seeing people like Michelle Tafoya, Erin Andrews, people like that, on TV I thought it was something I would be interested in. In high school, I kind of bloomed a little bit out of being an introvert and became more of an outgoing person. My mom actually thought it was something I’d be good at. The more I looked into it, the more I came interested in it. It’s a very demanding job that takes a lot of work. I think my personality fits it just right. When I tell people that they say, “I could really see you doing that.” I hope so, this is what I’m putting my time and energy into!”
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