Leah Edmond - Calm Confidence and Increasing Accessibility of Volleyball in the US

In this episode of The 9INE POINT Started With A Dream Podcast,
Jacolby Gilliam welcomes Leah Edmond, a University of Kentucky
volleyball alum. Leah is a pro volleyball player at Athletes
Unlimited (AU). Today, Leah shares her story of going from a
young dreamer to a pro athlete while facing racial stigma when it
came to others describing her game and injuries. Despite it all,
Leah continues to be a strong force in the world of pro
volleyball.


Leah begins by sharing her dream as a young athlete. She talks
about wanting to play at the University of Kentucky and going for
it. She shares with us the expectations required from her as a
freshman and a black athlete. She also discusses the stigma black
volleyball players face and why volleyball should be made
accessible to different communities. The episode comes to a close
with Leah giving valuable advice on how to love what you do but,
at the same time, not play through the pain.
Key Points:

Leah's dream as a young athlete

Starting the college hunt

Questions to ask colleges that reach out to you during
recruiting

Leah's expectations as a freshman

Embracing your achievements

Dismantling the stigma around black volleyball players

Leah's game as a volleyball player

Making volleyball accessible to black communities

Leah's gameday playlist

The decision to go pro

A tearful process following an injury

Leah's advice to her younger self

Why you should love what you do



Quotes:
"My first goal was to play in college. I grew up around college
athletics with my dad being a coach. ""Recruiting is a two-way
street.""I knew what I could bring to the table. I knew who I was
as a player and a person. And if someone wasn't going to be 100%
full for me from the beginning, then I didn't want to be there.""My
mentality was if I'm shooting to be one of the best in the
conference, or be one of the best in the country, then I have to
hold myself to a certain level of playing every time I step on the
court, and if I'm holding myself to such a high level, that will
help everyone around me.""With black athletes, it's a very small
adjective pool for us, for some reason, no matter what we do.""I'm
very team-oriented.""I spent almost four or five months literally
rebuilding how to swing again. ""And I took pride in pain through
my injuries. And I took pride in playing through pain because it
showed how good of a leader I was. And then when this happened, I
was like, Wait a second. Why? Why did I take pride in playing
through pain? Like why did I take pride in playing through being
injured? Why do we take pride in that? ""Why do we glorify playing
through your body being injured? Why do we glorify playing when
you're sick?""Sometimes it's frowned upon to be selfish.""No one's
more disappointed in me than black people when I tell them I don't
play basketball.""Volleyball to me is not a career. It is something
that I love that I happen to get paid to do as well."

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