Ireland Ferguson '22 Recruiting Profile

Making and starting my freshman year for Florida's 6A defending state championship team, the Venice High School Indians, with all returning starters is still personally one of my biggest achievements thus far, but another highlight of my high school career has been being on the AVCA Phenom list twice now, along with participating in the conference in Pittsburgh which included watching Stanford win the NCAA championship. This journey began due to my mom's love of volleyball that I was introduced to, and I myself fell in love with when I was 8 years old. Through the past 8 years of playing, I have learned to take on the leadership role of a captain. Generally at Venice High School, seniors are trained as leaders to take on the role as a captain, but this year I am grateful to have been voted captain as a junior.

My goal is to graduate high school Magna Cum Laude along with a year of college credits. The past two years of my varsity season my team has made it to the state semi-finals, but my goal for my next two upcoming years is to help lead the team to a state championship title. Once in college I hope to pursue a career in the medical field, although I am open to many options that I may encounter. My personality is one that thrives on being challenged and I tend to perform better under pressure. My mom who has coached me most of my life, has been the most influential person in my life. She displays a strong work ethic in everything she does and I seem to take on this quality as well. The support of my faith, family, and classical education have helped me to become more focused, dependable, coachable, and perform everything I do to the best of my ability. I equally enjoy beach volleyball, and have played basketball and run track in addition to singing and playing multiple instruments. What I have found that sets me apart from other players is my speed, reaction, anticipation, and read of plays that help create my consistency on the court. I find I perform best under coaches who are positive thinkers, have a growth and driven mind set, and pour themselves into their career.