David Dee '22 Recruiting Profile

I’m stubbornly persistent and tenacious, especially within volleyball. When I become passionate about something, I refuse to let go of those dreams until I’ve accomplished my goals. Being a shorter outside has always been a disadvantage. Over my volleyball career, I’ve been constantly reminded by coaches, teammates, and friends to focus on being a libero because I would never make it as a pin. As I grew older, blocks became harder to get around, and blocking became a struggle. But my aspirations of becoming a great outside – inspired by the likes of shorter players like Fran Ruiz and Masahiro Sekita – remained bright in my mind and drove me to train harder. To make up for what I lacked in height, I relentlessly worked on my block vision, my technique, my vertical, and my passing. Even now as a starting outside on Team Rockstar, I continue to hold to those same tenants of persistence, tenacity, and commitment. I constantly am looking to improve my game and am overjoyed by failure because it is my next opportunity to show the world how high I can go. I am constantly unsatisfied with my skills and hungry for more. 

I also serve as the loud, jovial backbone of my team, bringing a lot of energy to the court. You’ll find me cheering, yelling, making jokes, and hooting at every stage of the play both on and off the court. I celebrate like a mad man and love being passionate about the game with my teammates. Wherever I will end up at, I will take that same energy and zeal with me. 

To me, volleyball has always been about overcoming the odds. I thrive in adversity, in disadvantage and failure, because I love pushing past my limits. In the same way, I strive to be the best teammate I can, leading with my voice and my humor to raise those around me to the best they can be. I think this makes me different than other student-athletes in that I’m not afraid of making mistakes; I know they do not define my limits. 

P.S. I am just as excited about playing libero and have club and school experience playing the position