Alabama Volleyball Newcomer Q&A: Ashley Homan
8/18/2017 2:56:00 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 fifth featured newcomer is sophomore SMU transfer Ashley Homan from Brenham, Texas.
How did you get your start playing volleyball?
"I was basically playing every sport and I ended up trying volleyball and really liked it. I started with ballet and did gymnastics for a while. That was my first love but I ended up getting too tall for that. I played basketball and ran track along with volleyball but I eventually dropped everything except volleyball and started playing club with the 16-level team."
When did you start to think you could play volleyball at the college level?
"Freshman year of high school. I excelled really early in the sport and that helped me in club since I started playing that later than most players. I played a little at middle and a little right side in high school, wherever they needed me, but for the most part I was always an outside hitter. It's my favorite position so I wouldn't want to play anything else."
Once you decided to transfer from SMU, how did the process of looking at schools change for you the second time around?
"I talked to my club coach and she wanted to help me out. I found a forum online where schools could post what they were looking for and what year so that helped me put together a list. There were several SEC schools looking for an outside hitter so I went from there, started emailing people and my club coach helped reach out to people as well. I started doing some research about Alabama and I liked that it was a bigger school and could offer more academically. I started talking with Coach Ed [Allen] and really liked him.
"I came on a visit and it seemed great but I was on a little bit of a time crunch because I wanted to come to the new school in the spring if possible. I talked to my parents about it and I thought it was a good decision. It happened really quickly like my first decision but this one felt so much better. It felt genuine."
How has the transition been coming to Alabama now that you've been here for over half a year?
"I still like Texas weather, it rains a little more here, but the people are really nice here. Everyone is really genuine. The academic support staff is really helpful making sure that we get with great tutors. I've loved all my tutors and they've helped me out a ton. I feel like as student-athletes, we get the help that we need."
Looking ahead to the fall, what are some of your goals for the fall?
"We just want the team to be bigger and better than it was last year and I'm hoping I can help them do that. The team has been working together well so far, the chemistry has been good."
What advice would you give to a high school player who wants to play in college?
"Make sure it's what you really want to do because it's a big commitment. I've seen a lot of girls I played with in club get burned out from all the years they've been doing it. Hopefully if you've been playing the sport that long you know it's what you want to do. Making sure you have a good relationship with your potential college coach is really important too. Even beyond volleyball, talk about their morals and their goals. When I first visited, coach Allen was very blunt with me about what he expected and what he wouldn't deal with. My parents, he and I were eating breakfast and we talked for like two hours. The conversations you have with them are so important and if something doesn't feel right, address it. Talk to your parents and listen to them as well. Sometimes they see things that we don't and they want what's best for you."
