By: by KSU Sports Information
KENNESAW, Ga. - Rachael Albright is on pace to become a four-time Atlantic Sun Conference All-Academic honoree. With one of the highest grade point averages at Kennesaw State, Rachael has prided herself on her work in the classroom and on the volleyball court. But now another classroom has become her calling, and the demands on her time have become even more strenuous for someone who is a Division I volleyball player.
"I guess I’ll start by saying I’ve always been able to have a good balance with academics and volleyball throughout middle school, high school and college," Rachael said. "It’s something that’s extremely important to me, and realizing that I can only push myself so far and knowing when if I keep giving 100 percent of my time to academics and not sleeping at night, then I’m cheating myself in my athletic life."
Rachael's volleyball career officially started in the fourth grade, but in truth started even earlier than that. "My best friend growing up, her three older sisters played," Rachael stated. "In second and third grade we would pepper outside her house. Then I started playing school and club in fourth grade and it just kind of continued from there."
Playing for the Trasure Coast Juniors, Albright soon found success on the court. Her second year of club, her team finished second in the state of Florida. While she enjoyed playing all around the court, it was setting that seemed to become a natural fit. "I loved playing all positions. I loved hitting," Rachael said. "I usually had a higher vertical jump on the team than anybody else, but there was never anyone my age with decent enough hands to set. I was just thrown into the setter's role, and thankfully it stuck, because I never really grew."
As Rachael got older, she knew she wanted to continue playing volleyball on into college. "In middle school, it was a big deal to make varsity as a freshman, and I was determined to make it," Rachael said. "There were only two of us that did.
(The other one, Allie Warren, is now at Palm Beach Atlantic.) It was just something that I always wanted to pursue. I was determined to go somewhere to play. As I got older, my heights were set on Division I."
A trip to a summer camp at the University of Tampa led to a meeting with Valerie Jones, the head coach of what was then Kennesaw State's new volleyball program. After a recruiting recruiting visit in April of her junior year of high school, Albright had decided she was coming to play for the Owls. "My senior year, I had a couple more offers but I had already committed and signed," Rachael said. "I definitely felt like it was a higher calling for me to be here. It honestly just felt like the right place for me.
That higher calling continued even after her freshman year in Kennesaw. "I can remember in January of my freshman year, I was sitting in the bank parking lot, bawling my eyes out, talking to my mom, and she made the comment that it’s not always about me. The fact is that I’m here for a reason, and it may not be to be successful and to be happy in volleyball, but there’s a reason that will be clear to me later on and I was sent here for a purpose. From that time on, I had a complete peace and I was 100 percent happy to be here."
A lot of that happiness comes from Rachael's relationship with her teammates and her coach, Karen Weatherington. "There were tears pretty much from my first 1-on-1 meeting with Coach," Rachael said. "The happiness that I had decided to stay really led to a defining moment. I was blessed that she came here. She’s helped me develop the balance between athletics and academics. Last spring was a difficult time and she helped me realize that I can’t devote 100 percent to both. I can’t drag one into the other. She’s been a great supporeter of me. It’s made it very non-stressful knowing that I have that support from her."
Rachael also has a roommate in fellow senior Alyssa Lang who gives a great deal of support. "Living with Alyssa has been great because she’s been such a supporter. She always has a smile and always finds a way to make something positive out of any situation. I also have a few teammates I know I can go to if I'm flustered that will help keep me straight. I have to keep Post-It notes all over my mirror to remind myself of things, but there's a few teammates I know that I can go to who won't get annoyed if I ask them to help remind me of things all the time."
The demands on Rachael's time have been increased this year. For starters, she is president of KSU's Student-Athlete Advisory Council. In addition, as she pursues her degree in Early Childhood Education, one of the requirements is TOSS (Teaching of Specific Subjects) program. The program builds throughout the semester from being in a classroom setting for one day a week to eventually being in a classroom - in Rachael's case at Green Acres Elementary - for five days a week for four weeks.
"Once I get out of my car, on campus, it’s about volleyball," Rachael said. "When I wake up at 5 a.m. and leave at 6:15 and get in the car, it’s about the kids. I think I’ve done a pretty good job of keeping that separate. Otherwise, I’d let frustrations out from volleyball on teaching or teaching on volleyball and nothing good will ever come of that."
While she's been in the classroom off the court, Rachael has also had to be in the classroom on the court to an extent. This season, Rachael has transitioned to being a defensive specialist. She has also had to don the libero jersey on occasion this year. In the first match as a libero for KSU this season, she tied her career-high in digs with 26. Yet even after that, she was perhaps even more happy with her work in the classroom.
"Performing well on the court is something I expect of myself," Rachael said. "At the end of that day, I was thinking more about how about well my landform lesson went that day. It’s something I expect to be able to perform well in whatever role I am placed in and giving it my best effort."
"Rachael reminds me of those commercials that the NCAA has about how there's 300,000 student-athletes who will be professional in something other than their sport," said Coach Weatherington. "She works equally as hard on the court as she does off of it. She is the quintessential student-athlete in that she is diligent to be her best in the arena of her sport and in the arena of her life."
Rachael still hopes to be able to continue on in the sport of volleyball, perhaps as a club coach when she finishes her time on the court for the Owls. Even through all of the stresses of her daily grind, Rachael wouldn't change a thing. Rachael said, "As hard as it is playing a Division I sport and being able to do well in academics, I would 100 percent do it all over again."
