By JUSTIN BURKHARDT
TopSports.news
Last Year Brooklyn DeLeye was enjoying her senior year of high school as a student at Washburn Rural, where she won two state championships, the first coming her junior year in basketball and the last coming her senior year in volleyball.
“Washburn Rural was a special environment that I will cherish forever,'' said DeLeye, a two-time Gatorade Kansas Player of the Year in volleyball. "The relationships I made and the support from the community has definitely been a big impact on my career. I think the amazing coaches I had, and the teammates that I spent so much time with, truly helped develop me into the player and person I am today.
"They pushed me to be my best and always held me accountable. I have nothing but great things to say about Washburn Rural and I know so many other people would agree with me.”
This year DeLeye's a freshman at the University of Kentucky, where she was named SEC Freshman of the Year.
“Being named SEC Freshman of the Year felt so surreal,'' she said. "Growing up watching college volleyball and all these amazing players receiving awards, receiving one for myself truly felt like a dream. I also would not have even been close to getting this award if it weren’t for my amazing support system, my teammates, and my coaches.
"This team truly was patient with me all year. I had a rocky start and I received nothing but love and support all year.”
DeLeye posted amazing numbers in her first season in Lexington with 416 points scored and 391 kills with 184 digs.
“In my eyes, the start of the year did not go according to plan as far of what I was doing to help my team on the court,'' DeLeye said. "When I got to college, I thought I would just jump in and pick right up where I had left. I was so wrong. It took me months to get accustomed to the college level of volleyball and I am not the most patient person. I wanted results fast, but the reality was that it was a slow process. I had to get out of my comfort zone and really try to find myself again in volleyball.
"Our season started off rocky as well, but I think the team and myself were just trying to build trust within each other and the new system we were trying to run. Once we built that trust, I think that’s is when everything started to click. My confidence came back and I think the results really started to show as well.”
DeLeye said her busy multi-sport schedule at Washburn Rural helped her make the adjustment to being a student-athlete in college.
“I don’t think juggling school and volleyball has been that big of an adjustment for me,'' she said. "I think high school prepared me for that aspect really well, especially since I never really had a break from sports in high school. Playing volleyball, basketball and soccer throughout high school definitely taught me how to manage my time with school and make sure I was working ahead as much as possible.
"Another big help In college has been the amazing resources we have. These include our counselors, tutors, study hall requirements, etc that ensure we are on top of our studies and are there if we need any help.”
It took awhile, but DeLeye also made a successful transition from high school to college on the court.
“The transition from high school to college was definitely an adjustment,'' DeLeye said. "The game is played at such a higher level and the biggest challenge I faced was the tempo of the game. High school and club volleyball wasn’t quite as fast as college and I think just training to find different shots to play as well. You get away with a lot in high school and when I got to college, I realized that my normal shots and ball placement, those were not gonna score at this level.
"With the help of my amazing teammates and coaches, I was able to adjust and find a new way to play the game.”
For the first time in her life DeLeye is also away from home for a long period of time.
“I think being away from home was definitely something I had to get used to,'' she said. "Not being able to see my loved ones weekly like I grew up my whole life doing was the biggest thing. When things may have not being going my way, I didn’t have my family to lean on to like I used to. I would have to talk to them over the phone and it’s just a whole new type feeling than it is in person. I always knew that I would probably be going far away for college but actually making that change was hard.
"My family did end up making a lot of my games and visiting as much as possible, which made the move a lot easier and I could not be more thankful for them. Also the family-like culture that Kentucky is made things a lot easier as well. BBN truly treats you like their own and the support they have shown me does not go unappreciated.”
