Lauren Reding '17 Recruiting Profile

Lauren Reding Personal Statement

Positions: Left Outside Hitter & all around

Club Team: Rockwood Thunder U17 Mizzuno

Date: February 15, 2016

This letter is a bit difficult for me because I don’t like talking about myself or bragging. I do love playing volleyball and pushing myself to become better every time I play. Sports have been a big part of my life for as long as I can remember and I thank God for the athletic ability he has given me and for all the great friends that I have made playing volleyball. Playing high school and club volleyball has taught me to work hard and to manage my time well. I also learned what it means to make some sacrifices in life. With all the travel for tournaments I don’t get much time with friends and I also had to give up playing soccer due to all the schedule conflicts. This experience will hopefully help me balance all the different priorities of volleyball, homework, friends and other things when I go to college.

One attribute that I think college coaches would appreciate about me is that I always try to be kind to my teammates. I often try to say or do something to cheer them up if they make a bad play and I try to lead by example with my hard work. If someone were to ask my teammates to describe me I think they would say I am a very good volleyball player and also a good friend. I think I would contribute in a positive way on your volleyball team because teams often achieve more when they are all working together for the team’s success rather than only thinking about themselves.

I am excited about starting the U17 club volleyball season with my Rockwood Thunder team. This was a very emotional year for all the girls that have been on my Rockwood club team for many years. The team changed a lot this year because Rockwood added 7 new players from the St. Louis CYC team (which has been one of the top ranked club teams in the country for the last few years). This was a difficult process for me because many of my good friends that I have played with in the past did not make the new Rockwood U17 Mizuno Team. It was difficult for me because while it worked out good for me I knew many of my friends were very disappointed that they did not make the new team. I demonstrated my leadership qualities on the night of tryouts after we were called into a team meeting I asked the girls that made the new team not to celebrate in front of the girls that did not make the team. I told them to try to have respect for the other girls and to avoid making them feel bad about what just happened. I am glad I said what I did and I think it had a positive impact on our club because at our first tournament last weekend the girls were all cheering for each other’s team.

High School volleyball has also helped me develop into a better player and I look forward to my senior year. We have some great coaches at St. Joe’s and we have made it to the State Championship tournament two years in a row. We lost in the championship match one of the years and I have a personal goal to help my team get back to state and to bring back a State Championship. We will have a very talented team next year and after coming up short two years in a row I have the motivation to work hard every day during club season and in my training sessions so that I can help lead my team to a State Championship my senior year. (I also look forward to being a senior so I can boss all the younger girls aroundJ)

When I am not playing volleyball I am usually doing homework. St. Joe’s stresses the importance of learning and helping other people who are in need. The teachers at St. Joe expect a lot out of us and they try to teach us to be accountable and to make good decisions. My family has shown  me that it is important to get good grades. My Dad has a Law Degree, my mom has an accounting degree and my brother was a great student in high school and graduated from Notre Dame last year. So I feel like I am expected to work hard to get good grades also. I currently have a 3.8 GPA which has been a challenge because I take a lot of honors classes. It is tough to get all the homework done with the limited time I have but I am hopeful that the classes I am taking help me in college.

When I am not playing volleyball or doing homework I like to spend time with my other friends and with my family. I think I get my competitiveness from being part of an athletic family. My Dad played college soccer, my older sister played volleyball (she is still mad that I got all the height) and my brother played club and high school hockey and was a first team All American Lacrosse player.  He recently graduated from Notre Dame. My parents have taught me to do the best I can and to be considerate of other people. I try to do this on my volleyball team by creating positive energy and letting my teammates know that I believe in them even if they mess up on a play.

I want to play volleyball in college and I look forward to joining a team that needs a great outside hitter and someone who will always work hard to help your team succeed.

Sincerely,

Lauren Reding - Class of 2017 - Rockwood Thunder U17 Mizzuno #11