Alabama Volleyball Newcomer Q&A: Christine Jarman
8/16/2017 3:57:00 PM | Volleyball
Alabama Volleyball welcomes eight newcomers to the 2017 team and all eight will have Q&A features posted on RollTide.com heading into the season. The third featured newcomer is freshman Christine Jarman from Boynton Beach, Fla.
How did you get your start playing volleyball?
"When I was younger my sister played volleyball and my mom played volleyball when she was in college. I played a lot of sports in middle school but when I was 12 I got involved with travel volleyball and never really stopped from there. It ended up as a decision between basketball and volleyball mainly but I thought volleyball was better long-term for me."
When did you realize you may be able to take volleyball to the next level and play in college?
"Probably when I was 13 or 14 years old. My club coach told me I could go far and I was already getting letters from a ton of schools. It was a really exciting time. My dad played basketball at Clemson so he knew a lot about the process and was helping me out."
What schools were you looking at initially? Any particular conference or area of the country?
"Being 13, it was kind of overwhelming. I was trying to figure out what I would do in high school much less college. Everyone has the big dreams of a top-20 program, and it's exciting to look at those schools, but it wasn't until I actually visited the different campuses that I started to find what I wanted.
"None of the places I went compared to what I saw at Alabama. The team was really close and having fun and joking off the court but could still come together on the court and compete really hard. The coaches were really nice, shared a lot of the same values as me and expect the best. I thought it was the perfect environment for me."
How long after your visit was it until you made the decision to come to Alabama?
"In my gut I knew Alabama was where I wanted to go. Coach [Allen] offered me when I was on my visit and I went back home and talked it over with my parents and called him back probably a day or two later. My parents knew this would be a great environment for me. My dad was born in Birmingham, so Alabama held a special place in his heart."
How has the transition to college life been so far?
"It hasn't been too difficult. I have a little more free time than I did in high school. I was involved with everything then so I barely had any time. It's kind of nice now to have class and then it's up to you to do the work on your own time. It's just different being on your own and managing everything, like making your own meals and doing your own laundry."
How about the transition on the court from high school to college?
"Getting up to do early morning lifts hasn't been too hard. I was lifting early in the morning before high school, so it hasn't been a tough adjustment. I like the feeling on the court a lot more. It's much more consistent play. There's technical changes here and there depending what defense we're running or the type of blocking we're doing but I think over time I'll get a better handle on that. Right now, it's just being able to make those adjustments in a quick-motion game."
Looking ahead to the fall, what are some of your individual and team goals?
"I'm hoping to help the team and make an impact as a freshman. As a team, we want to win the SEC."
What advice would you give to a high school player who wants to play in college?
"You need to work hard at every aspect to get better. The training, eating right and being a good coachable athlete. The emotion you put into the game is something I think is overlooked at times but it can affect the game in a tremendous way. If you give off that energy on the court then coaches will take notice of that. I think that's something Coach Allen saw when he watched me play."
