DeepSummary
The episode features an interview with Kathryn Plummer, an American professional volleyball player who plays for the United States Women's National Volleyball team and the Italian club Imoco Volley. Kathryn talks about her childhood and how she got into volleyball at a young age, wanting to do everything her older brother did. She discusses the competitive nature of her household growing up with parents who were both athletes.
Kathryn shares her experience playing for Stanford University, where she led the team to three NCAA Division 1 National Championships. She talks about the challenges of transitioning from college to professional volleyball, particularly her first year playing in Italy, where she struggled with being away from home and the language barrier. She also discusses the mental aspect of the game and how she deals with pressure situations.
The conversation covers Kathryn's journey to the Olympic team, being named an alternate for the 2021 Olympics, and her goals for the 2024 Olympics. She also talks about her future plans beyond volleyball, including getting married and potentially pursuing a career outside of sports.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- The importance of embracing your role and committing to it fully, whether you're a starter or a bench player, to be part of a winning team.
- The mental aspect of the game is crucial, and techniques like maintaining a calm and steady mindset, having routines, and avoiding superstitions can help athletes perform at their best.
- Transitioning from college to professional sports can be challenging, particularly when it involves moving to a different country and culture.
- Surrounding yourself with familiar and comfortable environments and people can help regain confidence and a sense of belonging during difficult times.
- It's important to have a balanced life and explore opportunities outside of sports, even for professional athletes at the peak of their careers.
- Being open to learning from experiences and adapting your mindset and approach can lead to growth and more positive experiences.
- Goal-setting and breaking down big goals into smaller, daily goals can help athletes stay focused and motivated.
- Having a supportive network of family, teammates, and coaches can be invaluable for an athlete's success and well-being.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “I think in order to be, like, a winning team, everybody on that team has to accept the role in which, like, they are given, whether that be, like, you're gonna be a starter or you're gonna be a bench player or, like, you're gonna go in and serve a ball or, like, you're not gonna see the court. Like, you accept it and you, like, wholeheartedly commit to that role.“ by Kathryn Plummer
- “I think, like, just being around people that I'm familiar with, that I'm comfortable with allowed me to be like, okay, I belong in this. In these settings, and, like, these people that I'm training with in the summer with the national team, like, they're like the big dogs and.“ by Kathryn Plummer
- “Like, you might not play and, like, how can I help the team in this way? Or, like, you know that you're gonna play every single game. So, like, what do I have to do to, like, maintain, like, a high level, you know, and, like, the coaches? Yeah. Like, in practice, you might kind of see, like, what they're thinking or, like, what the lineups and the practices are. Like. So you're like, okay, this is what's gonna happen.“ by Kathryn Plummer
- “And so, like, if I'm going to go back overseas, what am I going to get out of it and how am I going to take advantage of the opportunities that are given to me? And so the next year, I went to Japan and had a completely different experience just because I knew, like, what it looked like, and I knew, like, what I had to do and, like, what I had to ask of the team for me.“ by Kathryn Plummer
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Episode Information
She Leads
Carly Malatskey
8/10/23
Kathryn is an American professional volleyball player who plays as an outside hitter for the United States Women's National Volleyball team and the Italian club Imoco Volley.
Prior to playing volleyball professionally, Kat played for the Stanford Women’s Volleyball team. She led Stanford to win NCAA Division 1 National Championships in 2016, 2018 and 2019. She was named to the NCAA all-tournament team all three years, and won the Most Outstanding Player award in her two final seasons. As a freshman, she won National Freshman of the Year by the AVCA, and in 2017 and 2018 she earned the PAC 12 player of the year and National Player of the Year. Kat has also been a member of the U.S Women’s Volleyball team since 2019 and is the only player in history to win FIVB World Championship medals in both beach and indoor volleyball
📹 Video interview available on Youtube.
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