Avery Stephens '13 Recruiting Profile

My name is Avery Stephens. In order to get to know me, I will give you a brief summary of my life up to the present time.  I moved from California to Southlake, Texas in the second grade.  My family chose Southlake because of its great school system.  I have a brother and sister who graduated with honors from Carroll High School and it is my goal to follow in their footsteps.  In addition to its academic excellence, Carroll High School has extremely strong athletic programs in all sports, which are established at the middle school level and continue on through high school.  My interest in playing sports started when I was young because my entire family is athletic.  I started playing soccer, basketball, and volleyball in the rec leagues in elementary school.  In middle school, I continued playing these sports and chose to run cross country and track as well.  In addition to middle school athletics, I also played club soccer.  At the end of the eighth grade, the girl's athletic director gave me the "Dragon Athlete of the Year" award for my contributions and participation on the top team of all the sports offered at the middle school level.  Having had success in all of these sports made the choice to focus on just one sport extremely difficult.  However, because of the strength of the Carroll High School athletic programs, I knew I needed to dedicate my time and energy to the sport that I had developed a passion for... volleyball!

For the past three years, I have played high school and club volleyball and have taken many private skills lessons.  In fact, it often seems like TAV is my second home!  I now believe that with hard work and practice, I will achieve great success in volleyball.  My parents have always emphasized the importance of being the best that I can be in all aspects of my life.  I am therefore committed to being the best I can be as a student, an athlete, a friend and a caring person. In striving for this goal, I want to play at the highest level of collegiate volleyball possible while obtaining an outstanding education.  Even though academics are my priority, volleyball has become such an important part of my life that I want to include it in my college experience.  I am therefore looking for the opportunity to contribute to the success of a high performing volleyball program as a libero or a defensive specialist as early as my freshman year if possible.  Because I am a dedicated athlete and student, I am confident that I will find a college where I can continue to become the best that I can be!