Savannah Savage '18 Recruiting Profile

When I was looking for sports, I tried out a couple and I couldn't find the right one. In the 5th grade, we were trying out sports for middle school, and volleyball was one of the options. I will admit that I did not pick up on it at first. I decided I wanted to play volleyball, though I wasn't the best. Tryouts came and I could set, serve, and hit, but I couldn't pass the ball to save my life. The coach pulled me aside after the tryout and said that I could be good; I just have to practice my passing and tryout again at the makeup tryouts in August. (The beginning of 6th grade.) Once she told me that, I made a pact to myself that I would play. I told my parents this and they said they would do whatever they could to help me succeed in this sport. So, the whole summer I went to camps and learned the skills I needed in order to pass. I ended up getting better at my serving and hitting along the way, too! At one of my camps, my coach at the time was there and saw me playing. She came up to me after the camp and said, "Savannah, I have seen some real improvement and would love for you to tryout again for me." The make-up tryouts came again and I made it and I started JV. My 7th grade year after travel, I became JV captain. After travel my 8th grade year, I became varsity captain. I was obese in elementary school and high school. I was 175 pounds in the 7th grade, and I didn't like how my teammates were faster than me, and how I came home wanting to be able to get to more balls. This made realize I needed to lose the weight. I ended up shedding 45 pounds so that I could be competitive, and now I feel like my skills have really improved. Every tournament I played at this travel season, I would get compliments from opposing team coaches and players, along with their parents. That just meant the world to me to hear that my hard work is being noticed. I would say that if you were wanting to put me on your team, you wouldn't regret it. I bring drive, discipline, and I want to be there to show off the sport I have come to love. I love being challenged, and in difficult situations, I thrive in. That is why I play libero, I think, because I have to stay disciplined and make the tough calls.