Deja Parker '19 Recruiting Profile

Eventually my hard work paid off,  when I became the only freshman to make my high school volleyball team. It felt awesome, and it was a confirmation to me, as a player, that I can do anything I set my mind to. Also, a second opportunity arose when the head coach of my volleyball club asked me to practice with his 18 year old team. Even though I was only 16 years old, at the time, he believed that I could bring a new element of competition to his team during practice. Practicing with older girls helped develop my reaction time to the ball and taught me to demand my own presence while on the court. Playing the game of volleyball has taught me multiple lessons that I can apply to my life. One being, effective communication; without communication nobody knows where to go, or what is happening on the court. In correlation to life, communication has taught me how to have respectful confrontation with people and express myself easily. Not only is volleyball about the lessons you learn, but the relationships you build as well. The volleyball community I come from is not too big, so everybody knows everybody. This being the case, I have been able to build strong relationships and lasting connections with people who support my ambition. Volleyball has truly been a learning tool in my life as well as a gift. I am thankful that it has taught me important life lessons, developed my overall character, and created new friendships that I will have forever.