Lynnise Castillo '22 Recruiting Profile

  My name is Lynnise Castillo and I play for West Mesa High School. In middle school I was a follower.  However the older and more understanding I got it became clear to me that I knew I was meant for something more apart from what everyone expects from the regular person. I wanted to find out what I could do with the sport I love.

    It was sixth grade year when I tried out for the Lady Cavalier Volleyball Team. I knew in my heart I wanted to be on the team so bad, come to find out I didn't make the team. Still till this day I can remember how devastated I was with myself. Did that little set back stop me? No, I went home that day  and asked my parents if there was any way I could play Volleyball this year, at that point my parents found YMCA Volleyball. 

   To this day I’m forever grateful for YMCA, I knew my goal was to get on A team Cavalier Volleyball Team, and it happened the next season.  I knew I loved that feeling of accomplishing a goal of mine.  The more I became involved in volleyball, the more I fell in love with the adrenaline and competitiveness it gave me.  I was always playing other sports as well as basketball and track, but it never satisfied me like volleyball.

    This school and club season I’ve learned how capable I can be into becoming a great leader, for myself as well as my teammates.  When you're in a huge facility like Crossroads it's essential to learn to be really vocal with your teammates and coaches.  Being a setter helps me grow my confidence with anyone I come across, as well as presenting myself with someone new.

    One obstacle I had to overcome in order to get where I'm at now was when my club coach changed my position from setter to libero in the middle of the season.  I call it one of my obstacles because I can remember my first game being a Libero, I felt as if I was a lion stuck in his cage, wanting more and more excitement.  This little change helped me to understand if my coaches need me somewhere I was glad I was the “MAN” for the job.  It gave me this sense of a different determination going from giving your hitters the best possible set you can give them, from giving your setter the best pass you can bring to her in order to create that outstanding domino effect. Being a libero has shown me to understand how to adapt quickly, either its life or volleyball because both can change at any moment