about getting your feet to the ball. Or having an even release with your hands.’ Whatever it is, that’s what I’ll focus on for that day. And if I have a drink break, I remind myself of that focus. I make sure I get better at that one thing throughout practice.
What do you do to train outside of practice? I like to talk to my coaches and have them help me individually. Our coaches are pretty fl exible with doing individual sessions and doing one-on-ones where I can get extra setting reps or get feedback that’s different from when we practice. And we lift and condition. It’s really important to be in good shape because we do a lot of running around in our matches and rallies can go pretty long. So it’s important to be in the best physical condition, to be eating right, all of those things combined – so when we step on the court we’re ready to go.
What is your biggest challenge, and what do you do to manage this challenge? One of the challenges I’ve been working on is having confi dence. In college, we were pretty good, and then you step in this gym and every- one is really good. I’ve been working on having confi dence in myself and my play – that’s what got me here – so I can step out on the court with these girls and feel like I deserve to be there. I tell myself every day that I’m good enough to be in this gym. I just have to have the confi dence in order to step on the court and keep pushing myself to be better. Doubts can always creep in. When you’re having a bad day, it’s really good to instill that confi dence in your- self and be your greatest motivator because people won’t always do it for you.
How did you manage your time for studies and social life in high school
and college? You know, I’ve always been a believer that most student-athletes manage their time well because they have a structured schedule. If you know you’re going to be gone for a weekend (to play matches or a tournament), it’s important to plan ahead and to stay on top of your schoolwork because it makes it easier. When you’re stressed out about school, you can’t be a great athlete. As far as social, I was social to an extent, but I knew that (playing volleyball) took some sacri- fi ces. I didn’t get to do everything. I went to some school dances, but I didn’t get to go to all of them. I think knowing I had to sacri- fi ce some things to get what I wanted on the other end was really important.
SMOOTH DELIVERY: Alisha Glass has made an immedi- ate impact on the U.S. Women’s National Team. (Photo: Bill Kauffman/USA Volleyball)
You want to take their feedback. But you also have to take some (feedback) in and let some go out. Sometimes, they don’t know what they need, so you say, ‘Okay. I un- derstand what you’re saying,’and then you give them the ball you think they need. It’s important to know what to listen to and what not to listen to. Sometimes you’ll set a ball and the hitter will make an error, and you can say, ‘I’m sorry,’ and then you set them the same ball on the next play and they get a kill and they love it.
How do you mentally prepare yourself for games?
I’ve been around a lot of people who
have different viewpoints on that. Some people believe that a routine is really im- portant, and I think a routine to an extent is good. I think you should have some things that you do to mentally prepare yourself. At the same time, I think you have to be ready for everything. If you get too stuck into a routine and something is off, then maybe you’ll play worse. With the National Team, our schedule is always subject to change and different things happen and the atmosphere and environment changes all the time. I think it’s important to be fl exible and be able to mentally prepare yourself when things are out of whack.
How do you take criticism from your teammates?
I was coached originally that the hitter is always right, so the setter should change for the hitter. It’s important to be receptive.
Do you have a personal routine?
Big matches, I always have to have my nail polish up to date. That’s a very impor- tant thing. (Laughs) But I defi nitely take a couple of moments to myself and talk about what I need and what the team needs from me, how to be a really good teammate. I kind of self-refl ect. That can happen in the hotel, or in the locker room. But it’s good to have that moment to yourself to get men- tally checked in.
What can you do as a setter to get your team out of a rut during a match?
Good question. Communication is really
important. As a setter, you should know how every person plays and what they need, so I spend a great deal of time fi nding out what each person needs and what I can do to help them. If they’re the type of person that needs to be left alone, I leave them alone. If they’re the type of person that needs me to get on them, then that’s what I do. I think it’s important for the setter to be able to be different things for different people.
Do you have a saying or motto that you live your life by?
I don’t think I do, but I’m big into quotations. My mom was into the mental game, so every week we got a new quote, and I put them together when I went to college and I would look through them from time to time. I always like looking at motivational quotes, but I like looking at different ones and being open to changing the way that I am. I think as a person you want to always be evolving.
Have you ever changed positions? Yes, I have. I think I have played every position except for libero, but I would love to play that one too. When I was a freshman in high school, I was a middle, and when I was a sophomore, junior, senior, I was an outside hitter. And when I went to college, I was a setter/hitter, and then I became a setter.
What was the best advice you were ever given by a coach?
I think the best advice that anybody could give you is to be open to any chal- lenge. Be able to be an outside hitter, turned setter, turned middle, turned libero and play as much volleyball as you possibly can. If you want to get good at it, play and play often. You can only get better if you’re playing. You can’t get worse. I was in the gym all the time as a kid. You couldn’t get me out of the gym. And I think that’s been a blessing.
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