Volleyball Newcomer Q&A: Laila Smith
8/25/2021 1:40:00 PM | Volleyball
Middle Blocker – New Castle, Ind.
On her start in volleyball
"I always played sports at my local YMCA. I played soccer, basketball and volleyball. I started playing volleyball as I got a little older and I played there until middle school. I made my school team and I was like, 'wow I really enjoy this', so then I started to play a little bit of club. As I got into high school I started playing for a more serious club and it grew from there."
On volleyball as her favorite
"I'd always played basketball. I played basketball and volleyball up until my sophomore year of high school. After that, I thought it was time to focus on volleyball. I feel more passionate about volleyball, so that's what made me put all my focus into that."
On playing in college as a goal
"Honestly, I hadn't really imagined that I'd be able to. I didn't look that far into it early on, but then my skill developed and I became so passionate about it, I thought maybe I could look into this. After that I knew I wanted to play volleyball in college."
On the turning point in the goal becoming reality
"After my freshman year of high school I had played at a club that was kind of local and it was a family-based really small-knit club. The coaches there said that if I increased my training and kept working hard that I had so much potential. I had so many inspiring coaches along the way that told me to just keep working hard. That's what really made me think I could take it to the next level."
On what she was looking for in a college
"If I have a good feeling about something, then I just know. I wanted to play in the SEC. It's such a hard-driven conference and they always work hard. You never see a team from the SEC that's not working hard. They have people going off and doing great things, so the mentality of it is what led me here.
"I had just started my recruiting process the winter of my sophomore year because I had just changed to a more intense club. I just started talking to a bunch of different schools. I made lists and looked at schools that were family oriented, a kind program that actually cares about the athletes and also wants to work hard and get better. I had to feel good vibes and like the people and the coaching staff when I came to campus. I would just know when it was right, so that's what led me to come here."
On Alabama coming into the picture
"As I started talking with Lindsey [Devine] more and getting to know the program I started falling in love with it. I came to camps and then I came on an unofficial visit and I really loved it. I took the time to think about it because I'm kind of indecisive sometimes, but my heart told me I should go here, so that's what made me pick Alabama."
On the adjustment from high school to college
"It hasn't been as hard as I thought it would be, but my club my coaches always made sure that we would be ready to come to college. They made sure we were prepared and I think that really helped in coming here and being able to hop into the program. I had a slight knee injury as soon as I got here, so working through that and having a driven mindset that I had built up has really helped me a lot being here and being able to jump back into practices and the overall flow of the team. We have an app for us that has our schedule on there and it makes everything so much easier. As long as I look at that, the schedule isn't bad at all. It's easy to manage."
On her value as a teammate
"For me, it's always staying driven and focused on what my main goal is and making sure that I do whatever it takes to help my team become better, work hard and stay focused on what we can do. I put my all into the game to help them become their best selves and always motivate them to be great."
On her personal and team goals for 2021
"As long as I keep working hard and knowing my skill level and keep reaching towards my full potential every day, whatever happens happens. Team-wise, we want to make it to the NCAA Tournament really bad and I think if we just keep working hard and keep working as one and stay focused on our goals, we can make it happen."
