Kaitlyn Cook '17 Recruiting Profile

I started playing volleyball when I was about 8 years old. I never knew how happy this sport would make me. I love the game more than anything else, which is why my life surrounds it. Playing college volleyball has become one of my biggest goals and I plan on achieving it.

Volleyball has not always come easy to me. In 7th grade, I played on the B team. That year, I almost didn't make a gold club team. However, this only made me work harder to get better. In 8th grade I played A team libero and made an elite club team that missed our bid to nationals by 1 spot. My freshman year, I played JV libero and suited out for varsity every game. I played libero for a competitive club team in 2013. In 2014, as a sophomore, I played varsity defense and our team took 2nd in COC large and 1st in districts (in a close 35-33 match!) This year I am playing for another competitive club team and am hoping to gain some more experience in some of the tough tournaments that lie ahead of me.

Volleyball has taught me a lot about myself. It has first taught me how to work with others. In volleyball, one person's attitude can bring the entire team down. I've seen it happen before. You have to constantly maintain a positive attitude and be encouraging to your teammates. I work to be the player that is encouraging and calm, no matter what is happening during the game. Second, volleyball has taught me to be hardworking and dedicated. This sport requires you to be committed 100% in order to be the best you can. I lift weights and run almost every day to stay fit, as well as going to the gym to get touches on the ball. Lastly, it has taught me to be mentally strong. I've had adversity thrown my way many times throughout my career. I know things aren't always going to go my way. However, I am strong enough to push through and use it to get better.

I would also like to say that grades have always been very important to me. Though not all classes have come easy to me, I take pride in working hard to achieve A's. Right now, my weighted GPA is a 4.2 and I plan to keep working to get it up as high as I can and become more involved in my school. As for college, I would like to go to school to become a doctor or a chemical engineer.