Volleyball Newcomer Q&A: Brooke Kuhlman
8/23/2019 2:00:00 PM | Volleyball
We will be posting Q&As with each of the eight newcomers on this year's Alabama volleyball team as they head into the 2019 season. Our fourth Q&A is with Brooke Kuhlman from Naples, Fla.
How did you get your start playing volleyball?
"I started playing indoor volleyball in about fourth grade. Eventually I got into club volleyball and did that for about eight years. Around my sophomore year of high school I got involved with beach volleyball and I got an offer to play collegiately at Florida State, so I took the offer. I had always wanted to play volleyball in college and get that experience at a big-name school, but I didn't feel like I was tall enough to compete at indoor. Having the opportunity to play at a high level there was great."
Was playing in college a goal for you?
"It was a goal of mine to play in college. I enjoyed volleyball a lot, but it was a new experience because beach was such an upcoming sport. I was looking at some smaller schools around Florida to play indoor but then I got the offer from Florida State for beach and took that."
How did you get involved with beach volleyball and how did that lead to Florida State?
"Growing up in Florida, they had tournaments every weekend. Some of the bigger tournaments were getting more popular once I was in high school. I was in Naples which was a central location, just a couple hours from Clearwater and Fort Lauderdale where all the tournaments were. At first I was just playing for fun but then I started seeing schools offer scholarships for it. There weren't any clubs for beach when I started, it was all just on your own. Florida State had camps over the summer so I went to those and got to know the coach there."
For someone not as familiar with beach volleyball, what are the biggest differences between that and indoor?
"Indoor is six players and beach is only two, so the biggest difference is that you're always touching the ball. Indoor, you could go through a whole play and not touch the ball once. In beach you have to pass, set and hit. It's a mental game for sure. If you're getting served the whole time, you have to find a way to side out because you can't get subbed out. It's five teams of two players, so you can't switch the lineup in the middle of the game. Your team is counting on you to win those points."
Was moving back to indoor something you had thought of doing or did the opportunity just present itself?
"It's the opposite of what most players do, going from beach to indoor. I knew it was an option but after my senior year, I figured I would just get a normal job and then play in beach tournaments. There are tournaments throughout the summer where you have the opportunity to earn money, so I thought I would just do that while I was looking for a job. I came to Alabama on a visit with my boyfriend who is on the football team. The athletic director [Greg Byrne] mentioned our program and encouraged me to reach out to Lindsey Devine. It had always been a goal of mine to get my MBA so I thought it would be a chance to continue to play the sport and, doing some research, I read a lot of great things about Coach Devine."
What was your first conversation like with Coach Devine?
"She had never seen me play, so it wasn't like a normal recruiting visit. It was more of me describing how I was as a player and leader at Florida State. I had to explain how I played, which is a lot different than sending film and all that. I told her about all my experiences, my time as a captain and competing in the national championship. She didn't know me personally or my work ethic so I'm sure she was a little hesitant at first. I had to apply to the business school and get all that settled and the whole thing was a time crunch.
"She would ask me why I wanted to do this. I told her I'm a very competitive person and I want to win. I wanted to bring my leadership and competitive spirit to the team."
What were your first impressions of Alabama?
"The biggest thing was how on-board everyone was with everything. After speaking with the coaches, I told them that my decision to come here wasn't about facilities or any of that stuff. I wanted to come to a program that would set me up for success, is competitive and wants to win. After coming here and visiting, I knew that was their mindset. That was the main thing I was looking for. We had a very competitive beach program at Florida State and I was looking for that same atmosphere. Talking with the MBA program, they explained the plan for finding internships and jobs after my degree, so it wasn't just the volleyball team with that mindset."
What has the adjustment been like going from beach back to indoor?
"It's been a big change. Things like running on the indoor court instead of sand. Playing with five other people instead of one. The coaches assured me it was a work-in-progress, that I didn't have to be perfect on day one. I was excited to see where I compared to the other girls. They were all playing at a high level. I've seen improvement in my play from the first day until now, but I know I have to be patient. I'm re-learning the rotations and techniques but it's coming back to me."
Have any of the specific skills you learned playing beached help for your indoor playing?
"In beach you have a lot of elements that affect your play. You have the wind, the sand, the sun. You need a lot more ball control on beach versus indoor. I would usually got served a lot in beach since I was the smaller player. You have to track the serve against the wind and the sand, which is a lot different. I feel like my ball control is better than it was before I started playing beach. There's a lot of jump training and conditioning with beach and I've seen a huge difference in those skills personally compared to when I previously played indoor."
How has the team meshed so far?
"It's been great. Everyone is very inviting, especially for me coming in last minute. Coming in, I couldn't tell what class everyone was because everyone was together and hanging out. It's not like the seniors were separate from the freshmen, everyone was together. This team has a lot of leaders and players that will speak up. They are very competitive. There's different people talking at every practice about how we're going to improve and what we can do to help. I feel like I can use my leadership experiences at Florida State and help this team because they're all responsive to it and all very inviting. I've learned a lot from all the girls already too, both as a player and a person."
What are some of your goals heading into the season?
"Personally, I just want to bring my leadership experience to the team and help everyone. I'm very competitive and so are they. Even though we haven't sat down and outlined specific goals, I know we want to do well and try to beat every team that we play. We've been focusing on taking things step-by-step and not looking ahead to broad goals and overlooking the process. We've been using the quote 'be where your feet are'. We're taking each match separately and treating every opponent the same. We also want to practice like we play and focus on getting one percent better every day."
