The Faces of the Class of '28: The Stories We Remember

Faces of the 2028 Top 100:

To Us They Are STORIES Not Rankings Chapter 1

When you truly don't know much about a sport and you take on the task of trying to cover it at it's highest prep level (most of the time by yourself) it truly has become a commitment to the sport and it has to be a passion for something.  You aren't getting rich and you are not making friends; anyone who has every thrown a "ranking" of anything out there in their life knows that is the quickest way to lose those F words real quick.  This is recruiting class 5 for VBAdrenaline and it's tiring, so when we get to June and all of the nerves and excitement and anticipation that comes with the 15th and beyond, but for me it's a great time to reflect back like a mini-graduation for another class we stalked through this silly gauntlet they call recruiting.

But, as 12:01 on the 15th rolls around everyone will soon see once again that these silly rankings everyone obsesses over don't mean a thing as coaches go to start making offers and athletes start accepting.  As a matter of fact one of the most comical traditions of every year is watching "the other sites" miraculously start to have June 16 and 17th epiphanies and begin instantly re-rankings girls based on where they miraculously committed to.

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To me the ranking # hasn't mattered I've always gotten to this point, taken a deep breath and thought back on the 2-3 years of qualifiers, convention centers, BallerTV subsriptions and plane rides around the US to watch these girls and interviewing them and meeting their parents, coaches, siblings and teammates just to get to this point.  Learning about their favorite foods or that love dogs as much as I do.  Maybe that they heard me talk about Keenland Race Park in Lexington and their grandparents went on a first date their 50 years ago.  How about watching them 3 years ago as a 14 year old playing up an age group at Nationals and looking like a 10-yr old and having to almost cancel the interview if they said "Yes Sir" for a 90th time:).  The amazing part of this job for me has always been the STORIES that come with covering tomorrow's NCAA All-American's and National Champions.  Who the heck cares if someone thinks they are ranked #71 or #17?  I still remember interviewing Nayellis Cabello and Izzy Starck at UA All-American practice 3 years ago and I could have talked leadership and toughness and commitment with Starck for another two hours and Cabello was friends with everyone in that gym and brought energy even at 8:15 AM during an All-Star practice.

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So with all of that this year I decided to lead up to our Class of '28 Top 100 by doing a series called the Faces of the Class of 2028.  I will take 4 athletes each chapter, give them a nickname and tell a brief story on what I will remember them for and what STORY ABOUT THEM made an impact on me while covering them.  Funny, serious, both who knows.  This is why I still do this job because of the star athletes that are making impacts with their stories that more of the VB World will hopefully get to know someday.

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Madlen Gloessner - Colorado Middle - "Confident Voice of Change"

I still remember the interview with Madlen following her U17 National Team experience where she talked about the the squad learning how they didnt' have a college coach leading the team, but instead a mix of USA VB staff and pro coaches, etc.  She talked about how relieved all the athletes were and how they truly felt relieved they could be themselves and learn from new coaches and didn't have to try and impress a college coach "like they were trying out for someone."  Little did Madlen know this was the exact argument, myself and MANY others not invited to coach at NTDP have been making is unfair about head college coaches running national teams in the past and raising many, many questions about the fairness and ethics of it by USA VB.  Madlen saying what hundreds of coaches and others in volleyball aren't allowed to say was refreshing and honest and it was a completely honest heartfelt thought.

Gloessner also talks often about being in a good head space and loving her knew club because of the higher level of competition she is playing this season, but does these things in a very honest and frank way that are hard to take as negative in anyway.  I have commented that she is the type of positive, strong and confident young voice that the sport needs MANY MORE OF to push for more player led rights in the future and I have so much respect for Gloessner in how she carries herself as a player and around her friends in the USA gym.

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Averi Bridges - Nebraska Libero - "Tiny Vegas"

I've talked multiple times now about Averi's welcome to big stage moment vs. WAVE in Las Vegas.  I don't know why that match hit me so much, but she just seemed so tiny out there two full years ago now.  She epitomizes seizing your opportunity she had the spotlight (well actually she didn't have the spotlight WAVE and Ireland Real had it) Averi just snatched it from them with her amazing play in that match.  But, the thing people need to realize was she continued to play very, very well after the match once coaches started watching her more closely.  I need to see if anyone has that on Hudl or BallerTV has it in the archives still.  See how much of my replay is actual and how much "USA Nationals folklore I've created in my head:)

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Tamaine Ainu'u - Hawaii Setter - "The Most Loyal Warrior"

I learned of Tamaine about this time last year when she won the starting setter position for the U19 National Team and word of her talents quickly spread across the volleyball world.  I then got to meet her and interview her at Husker Dream Team Camp 6 weeks later.  You could instantly tell there was something honest, genuine and sincere about Ainu'u off the court.  On the court the athleticism and talent were obvious early on and then you learned about the intensity and competitive fire when you talk with her father.  "She learned in the barn with her cousins.  We rotated sports every hour a different ball so she learned to play everything, but she learned to COMPETE at anything." her father told me this September when we talked before the Durango HS Tournament.  "We didn't really have a net or anything so we put a piece of tape across the barn for a net.  She has always been an hitter on her club team because that's what they needed her to be, but she wanted to be a setter so she asked me if I would teach her.  We practice in her extra time, but this is her first year being a setter.  She loves playing setter, but Tamaine will always do what she is asked by her trainer (coach) and is best for her team."

Now anyone that knows me at all will know that about 5 seconds of talks like that have me ready to run through a wall supporting kids like that, but I hadn't talked with the setter herself much yet and sometimes parents stretch things a bit too make their children look really good.  So when T and I had a few minutes to chat I asked the setter/OH about playing in the barn and multiple sports with her cousins.  "Oh yes, we all learned to play together so we each could have a chance to play our favorite.  It was fun playing everything."  Then I asked about not getting to play setter until this year.  "Well my team and trainer needed me to be a hitter so that's what I played."  The direct no-nonsense answer was a statement in itself she wasn't faking it or making it up.  That is the way it was, she was happy to play OH because that is what her trainer told her to do.  When you watch Ainu'u with her teammates and you watch her in matches she is totally locked in and wants to win BAD.  When you watch her in the "training lab" she is more cerebral and focused on her technique and getting better, not hard on herself at all for making mistakes.  I didn't understand at first why she was pulling away as the #1 setter in the class, but it's everything she does.  Loyalty, TEAM, Quiet LEADERSHIP and gifted athleticism for a setter, plus that competitive fight that I don't think anyone has truly seen quite yet.  She is special and is the whole package that hasn't been unwrapped in the US yet.

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Chelsea Torrance - Georgia Setter - "The Reliever"

"Hey make sure you are ready when your # is called." Coach talk 101 for a thousand years.  Chelsea Torrance was listened and was ready for her turn when a teammate went down opening weekend of the season Atlanta based A5 volleyball academy.  Torrance was not an unkown in the recruiting world, but did not go in as A5's top setter on the roster an it was not know how much she was going to play for the squad as they headed to Dallas and the season opener.  That all changed when the team started went down with a serious lower leg injury and just like that A5 was dange deep Torrance was thee starting setter and her recruiting year was off and running.

Being on the nation's number 1 ranked 16s Open teams you are going to be seen all season long, but the list of schools lining up to get Chelsea to camp is insane right now so chances are that will be potentially signed at big time programs for next season.

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