Committed by Ava Vickers: Volleyball, Team Changes, Brand Building/NIL, & Becoming a Leader in College Athletics

In the first episode ever recorded of Committed, Kate sits down with Indiana University volleyball player Ava Vickers to break down the real journey through recruiting, college athletics, leadership, and more!

From sending hundreds of emails and navigating rejection to ultimately choosing a school she never expected, Ava shares how her recruiting journey reshaped what she truly valued in a program.

She opens up about stepping into a leadership role early, navigating major team changes, and how small actions (like building connection and trust) can transform a team’s culture.

Ava also dives into balancing Division I athletics with NIL opportunities, launching her own clothing brand, and playing through injury while continuing to show up for her team.

This episode is a raw look at what it takes to grow as both an athlete and a person when everything around you is changing. 

Follow Ava:
Instagram: @avavickers_

• To reach out or learn more please visit: https://byndsport.com/
• Social Media: @committedbykatefitzgerald
• Substack: @committedbykatefitzgerald
• YouTube: @kateafitzgerald

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

You know, at 16 I wanted to see, you know, go to the biggest school and whatnot. But at the same time, like sometimes the best fit for you is not what originally you thought it was gonna be. I feel like recruiting reminds me a lot of like speed babing. It's like I was getting rejected by some schools that feels like people didn't want to go on second date to speed, but it's fine. I would say that consistency is more important than the section. Success wasn't necessarily the end goal, but the success was the process to get to the end goal. And that comes with consistency.

SPEAKER_01 0:23

Without naming names, without, you know, causing any more problems. Have you ever had a serious disagreement with a teammate or the coach? Yes. What does it really take to make it to the next level in sports? And is it worth the sacrifices? If you could ask a cultural pro athlete one unfiltered question about their journey, what would it be and why? And are the choices you're making today, the teams, the coaches, the training schedule, and the setting up for success of burning you out before you get there? I'm Kate Fitzgerald, a D1 Beach volleyball player walk-on-the-scholarship athlete, female sport leader, and now the founder of two businesses, Built Through NIL. But none of that can be seen. And trust me, most of it wasn't the broadcast. Welcome everybody to the very first episode of Committed by Athletes Off Duty. My name is Kate Fitzgerald. I am absolutely so excited to get this started. I mean, the goal with this podcast really is to create honest and engaging conversations that really reveal the day-to-day of what it takes to be an athlete at a high level. Like what are the behind the scenes of sports? So I'm so excited to welcome our first guest today. She has quite a very impressive track record, and she's only getting started. So Ava went to Fisher's High School. She's from Fishers, Indiana. And if I can just read some of these accolades, she is an academic Big Ten, all Big Ten Selection 2024, Big Ten Sportsmanship Honoree 2024, College Sports Communicators Academic All District Team 2024. Now going into 2022, she is the AAU 18 Open National Champion, AAU 18, oh, for three years in a row, actually 2022, 2023, and 2021. And then she broke the career block records at her high school. She was ranked as the number third player in the state of Indiana, according to prep Prep Dig, as she got started. She was first team all conference, all district in 2021 and 2022. She was named first team all-state in 2022, a member of the IHS VCA for a all-store team in 2022. And she was named to the 2022 AVCA All-American Watch list. Please welcome D1 Indiana University volleyball player Ava. Ava, please welcome and say hi. Thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to be here. I'm so excited to be here too. This is like you and I have obviously have a little history going back. You were my first ever VB America athlete back when I kicked off that NIL program. And I've loved over this last almost year to see and watch how you've kind of grown and shape a path for yourself in college athletics. But please go ahead and share a little bit more about yourself.

unknown 2:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:55

Thank you so much. Um, especially this past year, like just ever since we got connected, I feel like so much has happened. But um originally I, again, I'm from Fishers, Indiana. So I am somewhat close to home, about an hour and 15 minutes away from home here at IU. I'm a middle blocker, I'm a junior this year. I absolutely love it at IU. I've been playing volleyball since, oh gosh, I want to say maybe I was 12 or 13. I feel like now I forget. I feel like now people start playing volleyball when they're like seven or eight. I feel like people start so young now.

SPEAKER_01 3:24

I know, I know. Now it's like if you aren't fully ready to go at seven years old, you're squared, which is just not true. But like, yeah. That's what it feels like nowadays. Totally, totally. I didn't start till high school, and you'll be okay. And it sounds like you kind of were the same way. Yeah. Yeah. Oh my gosh. Well, that's amazing. Well, I'm so excited to get started. And I think we should just dive right into it. Um, you had, like you said, you stayed close to home, but I mean, these accolades I just heard off were incredible. So clearly, you must have had a really unique recruiting journey. So, to start off, I'd like to just start from the beginning. If you could give a little more background about yourself, your career, what got you into volleyball? When did you know you wanted to play in college? And what was the recruiting journey like for you?

SPEAKER_00 4:09

Oh, the first sport I ever really fell in love with was actually basketball. So my dad played basketball in college and all throughout high school. Like that was his sport. And so my brother also just grow growing up playing, you know. And so I'm like, oh, like I want to come out and play in on the garage. Like, you know what I mean? Like out in the Ellie Bay, like I want to be part of it. So basketball is what I played for the longest time, and I loved it so much. Um, I was one of the kids where I would play like a bunch of different sports growing up. So I would play that boss. I did Taekwondo at one point, like just did different stuff. So I remember I finally it was that was pretty fun too. I don't think I'd be good at it now, but back then I loved it. Um, so then I finally got into volleyball because my mom played in high school actually. So I finally picked up a volleyball for the first time, fell in love with it, just fell in love with the sport. Um, and then before high school, I stopped playing basketball and just really focused in on volleyball because I decided that I think that that was a sport I wanted to pursue in college. Um, I feel like everybody's recruiting story is so different. Recruiting is it's a lot. I I always feel like I think like in my head, I feel like recruiting reminds me a lot of like speed dating. It's like you're just like going, like talking with different coaches, like first like an hour call here, a couple emails here. I just feel like speed dating and like sometimes want to go on another date, sometimes they don't. Like it's such a hard. I love that comparison. Yeah, like that's like with the way I always thought about it. Like, even when I was in it, I just feel like it's like I was getting rejected by subschools. Feels like people didn't want to go on second dates with me, but it was fine. So I feel like recruiting for everybody, just they have their own story. Um, with me, it was interesting because I actually like my number one thing going through recruiting was that I did not want to go anywhere close to home. I wanted to get out of the state of Indiana so bad. Which, yeah, I think I just wanted to get I wanted new experiences, I guess. Um, and then ironic because now I'm at Indiana University, but I absolutely love it. I really wouldn't change the world for being here.

SPEAKER_01 5:58

I feel like that's how it goes sometimes. I had a very similar situation, but then if you weren't originally going after Indiana, how did that shift happen? Like how many schools, like you said, it's speed dating, right? So how many schools were you reaching out to? How many no's did you get? How many yeses? How did you then that wasn't your first chop choice or priority? How'd you end up there?

SPEAKER_00 6:18

Yeah, so I feel like I sent, oh my gosh, probably hundreds of emails. I really started when I was probably a freshman going into my sophomore year of high school. I just started sending tons of emails, preparing myself for the day in June that we could talk to colleges. So I sent over well over hundreds of emails to schools. I would send, you know, emails with my film and then just checking back in, like, hey, did you see this? Like, I'll be coming to camps. Went to tons of camps, I feel like during that summer. And then Indiana actually reached out to me because there were um girls on my club team actually committed to IU. So um they were always on my court during club tournaments. So it was a really interesting experience because I never really thought about IU because I wanted to get out of Indiana. So it kind of came very naturally of just them always being around my club court courts from since I was probably a freshman in high school and they saw my game progress to where they wanted to show interest in me. And that they reached out to me. And ever since like talking with them and talking with the girls, like I realized that there were a lot of other things that I wanted in a college that overpowered my want to leave Indiana.

SPEAKER_01 7:21

Could you talk about that a little bit? Because I feel like sometimes people get so hooked on the idea that they have to go D1, they have to go to this university or this state or this or that. So, could you kind of talk about the reality of, you know, there's gonna be days you probably hate your sport? And like what at that age in high school did you think about to get you realizing, like, okay, maybe it's more than just playing volleyball. And what drew you to then want to stay at school?

SPEAKER_00 7:49

Yeah. So again, like for me, I thought that there was these very particular things that I wanted in a college. Um, again, like somewhere far and somewhere warm and not cold, you know what I mean? Like so many things. And again, when I'm 16, obviously the things that I want in a college are way different when I'm a senior in high school. So I really tried to put myself in future Ava's shoes and thinking about what would be best for her future. Um, especially, you know, like when you go to a school to play volleyball, you're not just there for volleyball, you're there for school as well. So I really tried to do a lot of research and just into the different things, like academic stuff here at IU. You know, I feel like that's a big part of recruiting as well, that people don't really think about because when you think recruiting, you think volleyball, which it is, but a lot of volleyball, you know, student athlete, there's so much more that comes with that. Um, and the other part that I didn't really realize how how important it was to me was just the people being around the right people and people who generally wanted to see me be the best version of me. That's something that the second that I talked to this coaching staff, I knew I wanted to just be a part of. And again, that's not something that I originally really crossed my mind. I was, you know, at 16, I wanted to see, you know, go to the biggest school and whatnot. But at the same time, like sometimes the best fit for you is not what originally you thought it was gonna be.

SPEAKER_01 9:01

I love that you said that because I think that is so it's so hard. They are they're 16 years old. Most like a lot of people listening to this are aspiring to play at the college level, right? And at 16 years old, you have no idea what you want. I look back now at 23 and to everything I thought I was coming into at 17 when I signed my national letter of intent at the time, um, completely 180, right? So I think that's fascinating, but you kind of experienced that too, because once you finally got to Indiana, there was a shift. You um you had a let me see, you had a major team reset after your freshman year, right? So, how did that play out? How did all of that go behind the scenes? How did you navigate that? Because you said you came for the people, and it sounds like the people kind of changed.

SPEAKER_00 9:44

Yeah. So I feel like nowadays with college athletics, especially nowadays, change is almost inevitable. I feel like with college athletics. Um, and I feel like when going through change, I think behind the scenes, um, there's really just a lot of honest conversations happening. You always have to kind of address what's not working and when new people are coming in and different people's strengths. With graduating a lot of seniors, we also kind of have to sit down and honestly just kind of redefine what we wanted our culture to be, which I think was one of the best things that we've done for our program. And even now, like just the way that our culture's grown from my freshman year to now, it's just been amazing.

SPEAKER_01 10:18

And just could you go for a little more detail because you and I know what happened, but could you just like for those listening who really don't know or don't know how college athletic works, could you walk us through like what it was like when you got there that first season, what change happened and like how you navigated it?

unknown 10:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:33

So I feel like again, like with college athletics, it's so hard, especially with the transfer pearl nowadays. But yeah, when seniors especially leaves, I feel like that's so people don't really understand how much effect that can have on a group of people. Just because one, like those are people who from when I first stepped court, like stepped foot onto this campus, you know, they were there for me. Like I was almost learning from the stuff like from their experiences. And then all of those people are gone, like let alone just that like leadership, but also just the like emotional like friends that I had were gone, you know. Um, and I'm so lucky to have such like everybody in my program, I'm absolutely loved to death. Um, but I mean, no matter what, like when teammates leave, it's hard. So I just think like like having to, I mean, at one point in spring, we had nine people this past year. It just gets a little bit challenging when you have a smaller number of people. But again, like when with having a smaller number of people, I feel like we really tried to look at it in a positive light as using it as an opportunity to try to like see how see how we can make a gym of small people of a small amount of people seem like it's a packed gym, you know, or figure out if we can redefine the culture before the rest of the team gets here in summer, you know?

SPEAKER_01 11:38

Yeah. So when you came in, you had a full team, and then as you were leaving that year, there was all the seniors left and you were down to nine girls. Yeah. That's yeah, that's crazy. And then so behind the scenes as an underclassman, how did you step into a leadership role? And what worked and what didn't? And were there conflicts with teammates during that shift? How did you handle that?

SPEAKER_00 12:00

Like stepping into a leadership role as an underclassman is always gonna be a little bit tricky because like you're I'm still myself, obviously, still proving yourself and just not wanting to overstep in general. But I feel like I realized pretty early on that leadership doesn't always have to mean that you're the loudest in the court or the one that's calling all the shots. Um, what did work for me was showing up every day with consistency. I stayed ready, I brought energy and focused on doing the little things right. Um, whether it was encouraging a teammate or just staying locked in during drills or even asking questions to help make the group as a whole better, I figured out how to lead in a different way to where I felt comfortable and I felt that I wasn't stepping on anybody else's toes as well.

SPEAKER_01 12:36

Yeah, that's incredible. So, how did you figure that out? Do you have any examples you can give of like what you did?

SPEAKER_00 12:41

Yeah, so I feel like um I've always been a very organized person. So I feel like when it comes to even like small things like helping with practice plans, like when before we get into eight-hour weeks in spring where we can't have coaches around, like helping with that stuff or helping just keeping things organized, whether it's communications through our strength staff and our training room, just little things like that, I feel like are really in my wheelhouse in general because I just love being organized and staying on top of things. So I feel like really owning in on that side of stuff, like more of the operations stuff. And then along with just making sure I was checking in with a lot of people, I feel like I'm a very hands-on person when it comes to like trying to help other people out and lead in a very kind of like friendship manner. Like I'm always holding people's hands at the net. I'm always making sure if I see somebody having a down time, I try to talk to them and lift them up and try to just make sure everybody around me is having the best day possible that they can have.

SPEAKER_01 13:30

I remember you and I spoke one time about the holding hands. You gave some really cool examples. Could you kind of go into a little bit more about what it's like? Because a lot of times, you know, a D1 university, these are highly driven, highly competitive athletes, right? And so it's natural that conflict could occur or it could be difficult. So, what did you do to counteract that?

SPEAKER_00 13:50

And tell me a little more about this holding hands story as a so initially when I was trying to figure out ways to like calm people down or just get people like locked in without having to say words because sometimes like you don't know what to say, or sometimes honestly, in moments there's nothing to say. And then in those moments, it's like, what do you do? So a lot of times I found myself this past year actually in stressful games at the net, kind of just grabbing the hand to the person to the right and left of me, my outside and right side hitter, or I'd go over to my setter. And if I knew that she had the her past couple sets weren't as good as she usually can perform, like I'll go hold hold her hand, and sometimes I'll say something like you got this, or sometimes I don't say anything at all. And just that connection, that physical connection here holding a hand, I feel like really just can change someone's game. And not only does it calm down then, but it also kind of comes down myself, which I is just awesome. And it's so fun seeing, like with all of our new freshmen, all of us are doing it, and it's so fun to see. And it's just also like the days feel so connected, which is awesome.

SPEAKER_01 14:43

That's awesome. And how was that response the first time you did that? Where were girls a little bit like, Whoa, what are you doing? Because I know that's you're competitive, you're you're locked in that moment. So, how is that response? How did you reshape that culture?

SPEAKER_00 14:56

Yeah, I feel like it really just started with like I reach your hand out, and it's actually funny because sometimes people will go for high fives and I'll like high five them and I'll hold their hand for a second and I'll like almost pull them back a little bit if they're trying to like walk away. Like, because you know what I mean? Like they'll walk by and give a high five, but yeah, I don't know. Like, and so from then, like kind of just started, but um, I think it's calm, like it's very, it's very calming to people, like especially at the net when I first started doing it. People caught on very fast that it helped them. So I feel like it just started very naturally.

SPEAKER_01 15:21

Yeah. So then as we're talking about it, this sounds like a very much like an in-game ritual and something you're doing with all the girls. Do you have any pregame rituals or something? This is something that's worked. Did you ever test something that really did not work against the rest of the girls with the team?

SPEAKER_00 15:37

A pre-game ritual that like I really tried to get into it just I can't. Like, I used to do a lot, but I can't really since I got to college, is honestly like putting headphones on and listening to music before games. I just can't do it. Everybody else, like a lot of people try to do it, and like it just seems like it's such like a little simple normal thing. Like they put their headphones on, like with music on, and they get in the zone. I feel like with me, like I've tried that, but I feel like I get more in the zone with being connected and talking and hanging out with my teammates before a game versus isolating myself listening to music before games. Okay, interesting. I feel like I like I feel like I love music and I like we'll listen to music, you know, in the locker room, like together. I like doing that. I just like being more connected. I feel like for me, connection with teammates helps me pre-game and pre-match versus isolation with like headphones and music. But for the longest time, I do headphones and music and just put myself in the corner for like 10 minutes before. But I realized like I feel way better not doing that, which is interesting. Like that that's such a great idea. A lot of people talk about the things that they do and not things that didn't work.

SPEAKER_01 16:33

Yeah, that's really fascinating. And it it really sounds like you thrive with leadership and looking after your teammates and making sure everyone else on the court's taken care of. But what about yourself? What is something like what does your inner voice really sound like if you're not performing well? And how, if you're not performing well, are you still able to lift others up? What do you do to take care of that?

SPEAKER_00 16:53

Yeah, I think that's something that still like I'm honestly still trying to figure out. I think everybody can say that. Um, and I feel like that's the one hardest part about leadership is that even when you're not having a good day, you have to figure out ways to lift other people up and be there for other people. And I feel like mentally I just try to tell myself that if I can be this person for other people, then I can be this person for myself. So me uplifting other people and me cheering for other people, it's like, okay, if I can do this for everybody else while I'm down, why don't I just do it for myself as well? Um, so I feel like I almost try to like kind of the same thing of like fake it till you make it. So it's kind of like that, I guess. And I just kind of treat myself like I would treat my other teammates in that moment.

SPEAKER_01 17:33

That's really great to hear. You know, you can't, you gotta just keep treating yourself well. Um, I'm gonna go ahead and circle back a little bit to a couple of recruiting questions really quick. So, you like you said, you weren't expecting to stay close to home. So when you decided to go to Indiana, what was that like? When did you finally make that decision? I'm gonna commit here and how did that process work?

SPEAKER_00 17:54

Yeah, so I came on a visit here. Um, this is actually kind of a little bit of a funny story. So I came on a visit here, and the second I stepped on campus, and like, I mean, I was a one-day visit and I fell in love with it the whole day. I absolutely fell in love with it. And I knew it was a feeling that I haven't felt on any of my other visits before. And it was a feeling that I was almost waiting on. So like I was waiting to feel this way with a campus and just falling in love with everything. And so I finally felt that feeling. I went home and I remember talking to my coach before I left, and he was like, all you gotta do is just give me a call and tell me I'm in on this. Like, let's do it. So I called him. I got home that night, and then I talked to my parents, and I'm like, okay, I'll like I'll wait a day. So the next day I called him and I'm like, picked up the phone straight up, was just like, like, I'm in, like, let's do this thing. Um, and then I remember like posting out on social media actually, I didn't even think about it on April 1st, which is April Fools. And I remember getting so many texts, like, wait, like, are you actually going to IU? Like, that's awesome. Hilarious looked back on it because I got so many texts like, congrats, I think. I'm like, yeah, I actually did, I did come into IU. Um you're like, I'm not joking. I'm not joking, not joking. Like, I know it's April Fools, but like I'm not joking. Um, but I mean, it was really just that feeling of like it was a feeling I was honestly was looking for through my whole recruiting process. And when I felt it, I knew that it was right.

SPEAKER_01 19:09

That's amazing. And then once you signed, do you signed your national letter of intent, national letter of intent? When you got then to Indiana, what was it like? Like, what was it like walking in there the first time, stepping on campus, walking to your first teen practice? Do you remember that feeling? Or like, and how does it compare now to when you come back?

SPEAKER_00 19:30

It's honestly crazy trying to compare like the two feelings because I feel like I'm just such like thinking about that, I feel like I'm almost thinking about another lifetime. Like it's crazy to me to think about the person I am now and also just like the way that I'm going about volleyball now. Um, I feel like the word to describe it was I feel like super just anxious and scared. Um, you know, I think like going anywhere that's not super comfortable for you for the first time obviously is super, you know, like you're nervous. Of course. But I I do remember feeling so surprised about how accepting it I felt. Um, I think that's a lot of that's a very similar situation to a lot of girls I've talked about with their first experiences when it comes to like college volleyballs. They expect people to be mean because it's a different, like you know what I mean. Like you're the you're the new person. Totally. But really, like I feel like it's always just so much support because those girls are generally just so excited to have somebody else to be part of the sisterhood, to be part of this group that you're just what I mean. Like you're going through hard together every single day. Like they're just so excited to have new faces and new people. So it was a very supportive feeling, but just the level of confidence that I have now in not only my volleyball, but also just myself in general, is just so much bigger than younger Ava was when she came to campus. But it's really that's a really great question because I haven't really thought about like those feelings in a long time.

SPEAKER_01 20:47

Yeah. And when you say it feels like a different life, like what changed? What did you go through? Did you go through like a very pivotal moment? Is there something that happened, or was it just kind of with time?

SPEAKER_00 20:59

I feel like a lot of it is with time, but I also just think like, I don't know if there's necessarily one major moment, but I just think so many moments together. Like there's a moment of when you first get into your dorm room for the first time with your roommate, there's a moment of your first practice, there's a moment of the first ever Big Ten home game, the first ever away game. I just think it's a mixed, like a build-up of all these different moments that finally got under my belt that then led to me my next year, having an understanding of how it all was to me now, having not much more than just a better understanding of that, but also trying to have a leadership approach with all of it. It's just so much time as well.

SPEAKER_01 21:34

Within those moments, do you think you were fully present and able to like feel them? Or were they more were did the nerves overcome you? Or how like how do you view that now?

SPEAKER_00 21:43

Looking back, I I think I was very present because it's the first time and it's like shiny new things, you know? It's like I think that's because it was such a new experience for me that I was just so giddy and like excited to be a part of it.

SPEAKER_01 21:57

Yeah, that's awesome. That's awesome. Well, I mean, that change has caused like, okay, so you are going into your junior year, right? Yes.

unknown 22:07

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 22:07

So since the time you started as a freshman, like you said, you feel like a completely different person. And that's kind of showing online as well. You've clearly really, I mean, you've made a name for yourself, not only within NIL opportunities, with a starting position and records and your ability to perform as a volleyball player, but what a lot of listeners don't know is Ava also just launched her own clothing brand clothing brand called Project U through NIL opportunities and everything. And so you've you've made a name for yourself during the shift during that time. How did that happen? Take me through it. Like, how did you navigate it all? And how did you even get started in this like journey?

SPEAKER_00 22:46

Yeah. So I knew when going to college that I wanted to use the NIL space. I think that NIL is such a neat opportunity for athletes right now, especially in women's sports. I think that it's not only giving us opportunities to grow our brand and to get experience with working with brands, but also growing the viewership as women's sports in general. So I knew the second I got here, I wanted to be big in it. And I and I honestly just love doing NIL and being a so being out there like socially online. I think it's something I'm I'm really enjoying. I also just really enjoy being able to share my story and talk about my life and also just talk about the things that I'm very passionate about. I love just being a positive light online. And so it's just been really fun to have kind of an outlet for that. Um, and then with that, um, another part of me is I have this big love for fashion and design and clothes. So that's where my clothing line project you actually kind of built up. So I did launch my clothing brand a few months ago and it's been so much fun. And it's honestly just been awesome to be able to kind of like combine the all everything in my life together in this clothing brand. My love for fashion, my love for just marketing myself online. So it's really just been kind of a great setup for me. And I've honestly had so much fun with it. Um, navigating it is definitely a little bit difficult with being a Division I volleyball player, but it's it's been awesome.

SPEAKER_01 24:01

Yeah, I mean, well, okay, circling back to something you said early on, though, you love doing NIL. What does that mean though? Because there's so many definitions of NIL, right? And you and I have talked about this before. But like when you say NIL, it's not necessarily let's just post online and then you know you'll get a brand deal and you'll post another photo online. Like there's more to it. So what do you mean by you love doing NIL?

SPEAKER_00 24:23

So I what I mean by love doing it is I feel like there's so much creativity behind it, um, depending on what deals you do. So I feel like a lot of the stuff I've done is stuff where I'm working with brands and they're almost giving me like a reel or a photo or something that I have to post. And I feel like I have the create the creative ability to create this kind of like vision that they have and bring it to life with me being the face of it. Um, so I really just enjoyed being able to create videos and just make content for these brands um to not only post on their pages, but to post on my pages as well.

SPEAKER_01 24:54

Yeah, that's really cool. So then when you got into this, how did you then start a clothing line and begin receiving media attention?

SPEAKER_00 25:02

Yeah. So yeah, like again, like that just happened so naturally. Again, like that was something that I really have been dreaming, dreaming of for so long. And I feel like it was a strange part of my life actually this past spring, because I was out injured for a while and I really was trying to really just figure out my life outside of volleyball since I didn't really have it for a few months, you know? And I feel like it was a perfect time for me to actually do it, actually start the brand. I feel like especially with businesses and entrepreneurship, starting is one of the hardest parts about it. Um definitely understand that. Like it started actually starting is hard, and so I'm just proud of myself for actually starting it and I'm really excited to see where it grows.

SPEAKER_01 25:38

That's incredible. And then so, but you just said something you were injured. So what happened?

SPEAKER_00 25:43

Yeah, so um this past season, I actually played um through injury with my shoulder, and then right after season, I got um surgery on my shoulder. So that was something that it was a different, I did a little bit different viewpoint on it just because during the whole season I knew that I was gonna be having surgery after season. Um, so it was hard. Like it was like there was weeks during the season where I mean I wasn't swinging at all during season. I would just be swinging on game days. So mentally that was kind of a little different. And then all of spring I was out, and then yeah, that was it's been a journey, but I I think that I've honestly learned the most I ever have about myself as a person and myself as a volleyball player through this injury.

SPEAKER_01 26:21

Well, I think that's something people listening would love to hear about because that's kind of like that off-duty what people don't see behind the scenes of you're literally playing an entire season with a tear on your shoulder. How did you handle that? If you were at practice not hitting, but you knew you'd play in that next game, how did teammates respond to that? Like, how did that all work?

SPEAKER_00 26:40

Yeah, that it was definitely a difficult situation to be in. It was, you know, like trying to prove myself at practice when I couldn't swing with something that was so difficult. Um, and then going into a game, and I remember being in warm-ups and it'd be the first time I'd swing at a ball in a week. And I'm like, hopefully my shoulders wrapped in a day, like hopefully I can get it going for this game. I feel like teammates were so supportive of it because they knew that it was what was really getting saving my shoulder to get me through season. My teammates were so supportive of it. And when it comes to like learning of just like during the recovery process, like this, the months that I've been out all spring, I feel like when it comes to like injuries, athletes look at a and usually negative light of, oh, like this sucks. Like I gotta set out at practice, I can't do lifts, you know. Like people always think about the negative. And I feel like I truly tried to switch my brain to think about the positives. So even though I can't physically, with my athletic ability, be able to help the team, how can I help the team in different ways? Whether that's being good teammate leadership. And I feel like that's really where I kind of excelled with my leadership and just teammate skills, was because that's really what I tried to focus on. So because I knew that at one point when I could go back to playing volleyball, I wanted to have other parts of my game that I could grow and bring back into my game when I was physically able to play again.

SPEAKER_01 27:52

That's incredible. And so then throughout that process, you obviously grew within your team. But in this, like, that's still a hard time to go through. Did you at any point since you've started ever have? And I know we've all had those. I remember having them. I remember comforting my friends through these, but did you ever have like an I'm quitting moment? Like, I'm done. I cannot do this anymore. I I just I'm done. I'm quit. And if so, what was that moment and how did you overcome it?

SPEAKER_00 28:18

Yeah, it was so funny. So, my that moment, like I I honestly like did not really think about it at all through my injury because I was just so determined like to get through this injury and keep playing because I love this. But it was honestly my first day ever at IU as a freshman. Like, I remember coming in for the first ever open gym, and I literally went home afterwards, like went to my dorm afterwards and just cried. I'm like, I'm not gonna have to be here. Like, why am I even playing this sport? Because it was just a moment that hit me where I, you know, like I couldn't keep up with the speed. I couldn't keep, I didn't know the girls. Like it was just so scary. And I felt like I played the worst volleyball I ever played in that like two-hour open gym. And it happened to be the first ever open gym I had here. Um, but I feel like I wouldn't be where I am now without having that moment, you know? Like, and that's why I tell the freshman now, like right now, a lot of the freshmen are so frustrated because they aren't hitting, like playing the way that they used to. I'm like, trust me, the first day here, I literally cried and told myself that I wasn't gonna play volleyball again because of how mad I wasn't myself. Like, it's you went home packed in the bag, you're like, I'm done. I'm like, well, it was funny is like my bags weren't even unpacked yet. I'm like perfect, like they're already packed, I can just go home now. Like it's fine.

SPEAKER_01 29:21

You're like, I'm I quit. This is over. I can't do it.

SPEAKER_00 29:24

I'm terrible. Yes. And it's crazy to me that, like, like, why did I ever have those thoughts, you know?

SPEAKER_01 29:30

Yeah, that self-talk. I mean, so then obviously, what'd you do? The next day you just got up and went again and eventually you figured it out, or what happened?

SPEAKER_00 29:38

That's exactly well. The next day I got up and I we actually like we started doing like middle setter connection drills, and I just finally was finally starting to click day by day. And then, like by day seven, I looked back and I'm like, why did I waste those tears? Like, why was I why was I so frustrated about that over something that I just didn't trust the process with?

SPEAKER_01 29:58

Totally. Why did I waste those tears? I love it. Sometimes those tears are necessary, they're part of that. They're did you connect like with other freshmen? Were that they were they going through that too, part of your freshman class? Were you guys all just like, we quit, we're done?

SPEAKER_00 30:11

They were, yeah. We're not really good friends. We definitely had a lot of conversations about it, freshman year, just like joking around like this this is hard. Like it's really it really people always say, like, you're going from being the big fish in a pond to like even a smaller pond, you know what I mean? And now, like, you're just a little and it's it's something that I feel like a lot of freshmen when they get to college um at that level like experience.

SPEAKER_01 30:33

Yeah. So then, um, like you said, you everyone around you is used to being like a big fish in this small pond, and now it's reversed. So that can be difficult not only individually, but then also to maintain, you know, your ability to interact with other people. Did you ever have a moment with a teammate or another person in your position, another middle blocker where you guys kind of like you know, cross paths or something? And how did you get through that?

SPEAKER_00 30:58

And what happened? I think like in athletics all the time, like that happens so frequently. I think, like, especially I just try to view it as like you know, like on the court things happen in the second off the court, it's like, hey, like uh like we we had a little moment, but like we're good now, you know. Um it's good. I I feel like especially like in position groups, I think that it's good to have a lot of like competitiveness. But I feel like what I what we try to do at IU with a lot of our position groups is try to have like a lot of like positive criticism, like helping each other out. Like, honestly, if somebody makes a comment, like it makes me harder, and then off the court, it's like, you know, I didn't, you know what I mean? Like it's sometimes kind of fun to get each other. Like, we do that all the time too, is get like fun content with each other. But again, like the second we got off the court, we're like, Yeah, you know what I mean.

SPEAKER_01 31:44

Yeah, I also feel like good, like confident, secure people uplift that. So they're not that's probably a big skill you guys like coming in. I remember having to learn is like this isn't personal, this is something that they they're helping me, they want to see me do better whenever there's constructive criticism or you know, a difference is with a team. Um, and then yeah, what do you think?

SPEAKER_00 32:06

Yeah, I think like that's the one thing is like when coaches, I always think about this like if a coach is always in your ear telling you advice and stuff, it's like they're doing that because they want to help you. And it's like if the coach isn't saying anything, that's almost worse. And I feel like sometimes I think that with my team, like when they're on me, like I view it as they want to see me get to that next level because they know I can get there.

SPEAKER_01 32:24

Totally. And I like what you just said. So that kind of leads me to my next question. It says, if your coach was listening to this episode right now today, what would you want them to hear? Is there anything that you would want them to hear so bad?

SPEAKER_00 32:35

Um, just that how much I appreciate them, how much I love them. I feel like they're truly just so caring about when it comes to our personal lives too. Like, I know, like my head coach, I probably talked to him more about my brand and my business and entrepreneurship stuff more than volleyball, honestly. Like, I think I could really say that I talked to him more about like entrepreneurship and that stuff, like when we had conversations outside the court rather than volleyball stuff. So I just would say that, like, say to them how grateful I am to have such amazing coaches that care for me as a human too.

SPEAKER_01 33:08

That leads me to my next question, actually, around coaching and coaching staff is what is something most athletes you think talk about privately that they wish the coaching staff understood more? And this doesn't necessarily have to be your coaching staff, but just in general, like, what do you think athletes feel and where there's a disconnect between coaches and athletes sometimes? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 33:28

I feel like a big disconnect in like all like a lot of teams I've been on in the past, like throughout high school, um when I was younger, was just how much we thought that the mental part of the game contributed to the way that we were performing. I feel like I've like a lot of times coaches sometimes think that it's just like the skill and like the athletic ability, like the athletic ability to play volleyball. And I feel like in reality, there is so much more when it comes to that. Like I know, like I'm talking to some teammates in high school, and we would say, like, the days that we would be so mentally okay and talking about like how we're gonna be so confident and all this stuff, like we would have better games. And I just we sure like in high school a lot of times that some coaching staffs understood that um and also kind of trained that and just checked up on that side of us more than just the physical part.

SPEAKER_01 34:16

So, what advice do you have to high school girls right now?

SPEAKER_00 34:19

Oh, so much. Um, I feel like a bit hear it.

SPEAKER_01 34:22

I know I'm like, I had a lot. You're like, I could talk for hours.

SPEAKER_00 34:26

Yes, yes. Um, I would say that consistency is more important than perfection. I feel like, especially the older I got, the more that I felt like I needed to be more perfect at what I was doing. Um, like every single little thing, like it wasn't gonna, I wasn't gonna be satisfied unless it was perfect. And I didn't really realize that the success wasn't necessarily the end goal, but the success was the process to get to the end goal. And that comes with consistency, showing up every single day, working on whatever specific skill you're trying to get better at every single day.

SPEAKER_01 34:55

I really like that. Success is the process to get to the end goal, it's like the journey, it's not the destination, kind of another way of saying that. I like that a lot. So then with all of that and the idea of perfectionists, is there a pressure you still feel today, even though you've had success?

SPEAKER_00 35:12

Yeah, every day. And I feel like that pressure is to almost just continuing to be like on my A game. And I feel like I view pressure as a privilege, and I always have, but I also just feel like again, like what we just said, like I feel like success is something that every single day I'm honestly striving for with everything that I do. Um, and with that again, just comes pressure constantly. But I think that the second that you flip your switch in the br in your brain about not viewing pressure as a negative thing, I feel like it really helps, it really helps you on a daily basis.

SPEAKER_01 35:42

I like that. I like that a lot. That's really smart. I think a lot of top athletes really can resonate with that at any level, actually. It's just like the idea and feeling that you need it to be perfect. And it needs to be perfect. And I think we're gonna lead here soon now into the parent advice section. So we're gonna ask you a couple questions. That is gonna be advice for parents, and we're gonna just jump just two questions, okay? Sound good. Okay, this has been fun. And now, you know, talking about the high school level and different things, we're gonna like lead a little bit into parents that are listening and get them some parental advice now that you wish, you know, what you wish your parents knew, etc. What did recruitment really look like? And how did you navigate that?

SPEAKER_00 36:28

It was a lot, it was very it was stressful. Um, like we said, like again, felt like speed dating. I feel like mentally it really took a toll on me. And I'm just so grateful that like my parents, I feel like were very helpful when it came to just the support. Um, I remember writing all the emails and having like my mom next to me, just helping me sometimes word stuff and just like almost confirming me. Like I would be so almost like anxious and overthinking if this is the right kind of thing I should say. And I just remember her telling me, like, almost feeding that confidence into me, being like, Yes, like send those emails to all those schools, like feeding confidence into me that made me feel like I generally could take over the world. Like, she made me feel like every every single school I would email, like they would get back to me. Like that's literally how my mom made me feel. Um, so I just think like having that by my side was so helpful when it came to navigating recruiting.

SPEAKER_01 37:16

So it wasn't as much if they were helping you with your skill or like drafting the email for you. It was that encouragement and that belief to put inside your mind, like, okay, I don't have imposter syndrome. I'm going to get an email back. Like I should be doing this.

SPEAKER_00 37:30

Yes, 100%. It was, it's crazy like to think that just that little bit of confidence being fed into my brain was what got me over the hump to actually send all those emails.

SPEAKER_01 37:39

Yeah. You think that was more important than anything of a parent saying, like, oh, get outside and you know, serve 20 balls?

SPEAKER_00 37:46

Yeah. I I think that was like really probably what would help. I feel like for me too, I feel like I what I would really struggle with was the mental side because I would always feel like I really tried to, I got burnt out often physically just because I was always trying to get extra reps, always trying to go at it. And I didn't really process how important that side of volleyball was until I got to college.

SPEAKER_01 38:03

And I feel like that's really huge with the mental game, especially with female athletes. Okay, now we are gonna get into our TMI Too Much Insight segment where it's kind of a rapid fire segment. I want you to go ahead and just give kind of quicker answers to this where we can break down, you know, break down all the answers. So the very first one is without naming names, without, you know, causing any more problems. Have you ever had a serious disagreement with a teammate or the coach? And what happened? How'd you go through it?

SPEAKER_00 38:30

Um, yes, I feel like at this level, disagreements are almost inevitable, especially when everyone is passionate and um competitive. And when it comes to moving through it, I think that it's kind of the only thing that you can do. What happened? Um, do you have examples? I feel like um sometimes with like what rotation we should start in when we skirmish or practice, or if I want to run like someone wants to run a set or a combo playing somebody doesn't want to. Um, but I think like generally all comes out is like it's all from good. It's all from wanting to make the team better.

SPEAKER_01 39:01

Yeah. Okay. What was your worst game mentally or physically? And how did you respond the next day?

SPEAKER_00 39:07

Oh, I forget exactly who we were playing, but it was one game this past year where I was so upset because my stats were not as good as I wanted it to be. But my coaches said that I played a good game. I remember just being so confused like, how does that work? Like, how did I do that? Well, my stats didn't say like they said otherwise. And the next day I literally just went in and I tried to focus on all the things that are not based on stats, like covering, um, like that kind of stuff, being a teammate. And I just kind of put into my head and realized, like, okay, like that made sense on why that happened.

SPEAKER_01 39:38

That makes sense. Um, okay, question around NIL. Do you think NIL is really helping women's sports entirely, or is it sometimes adding more pressure to be marketable?

SPEAKER_00 39:49

I think it's a great opportunity. I can see where people would say it's adds a little bit of pressure, but like I've said before, I think pressure is a privilege. So I think that having the opportunity is amazing. And I think it's growing, can be an opportunity to grow women's sports.

SPEAKER_01 40:01

Okay, a couple more rapid fire questions. Um, what is one moment in your athletic career that completely humbled you and what did it teach you about yourself?

SPEAKER_00 40:10

I think it's in general whenever we go to play, like I've play some bad, like I've played bad in a couple really big arenas. And I think it just, I don't know if the word humble is good, but I think it just shows me that I have some grown, like that there's always gonna be environments that are scary to play in, and that it's just a matter of trying to figure out how to how to like blank out the noise and how to play through it.

SPEAKER_01 40:34

And then have you ever resented this sport or even just for a minute? And what brought that feeling up?

SPEAKER_00 40:40

Yes. I think like early on when I was like trying to play volleyball, I feel like like sometimes if I just really could not get a skill down, or like if I would just get so like if I would just get really frustrated in a play, um, a lot of times, like I'm not gonna lie, if I get stuff blocked, I'm like, I hate volleyball, but I really never mean it. I know the bags up. I'm gone. I never really feel that like serious ever when I get blocked, but like sometimes like growing up, I think like trying to like learn new skills. I do remember sometimes getting just so frustrated because I couldn't figure it out. But again, I figured out at some point, and then I looked back, like, why was I wasting that time being mad?

SPEAKER_01 41:17

And then okay, I love that. What was the most awkward NIL deal or just like DM or something you've ever received?

SPEAKER_00 41:23

DMs are I feel like there's some weird, there's some weird stuff out there in DMs. Like, I feel like I've got some weird stuff. What do you got? Um, I don't know, just I feel like some people are weird on DMs. I actually okay, this is not like I think that the weirdest NIL thing, I wouldn't say weird, but I would just say like unique NIL thing was some I um somebody asked me for like because I'll I do like um photos, like shout out, like shout-out videos, you know, and somebody asked me to do a video um for their, I think it was like their niece and nephew, I think. And it was like showing them like some at home drills that they could do because they were getting into volleyball, but they have a love for fashion, so they wanted me to do to like incorporate like a fit check, like outfits, like cool outfits into the video of me showing volleyball drills. And I remember being like, this is so strange, like so like unique. And so I straight up like I went, I brought, I brought like five different outfits to the gym. And I literally was like like doing like a passing drill against the wall in one outfit, and then I would do like an OTD, and then like I'd change outfits to another outfit and like do like another like set like a drill or something against the wall. Isn't that so strange?

SPEAKER_01 42:24

So they asked you to do like an outfit check while doing drills and send it to their kid.

SPEAKER_00 42:30

Yeah, it was like a it was like a hey, like so-and-so, like I because like they they were trying to get them into volleyball, and they thought that by like incorporating fashion because the kids like the kids like they loved fashion that like maybe they'd be more off to like wanting to like get into volleyball. Like like the kids love fashion and volleyball, and I love fashion and volleyball. So maybe that's but it was just so crazy because I was I was reading it and I'm like incorporate outfit checks like O T Ds into at home volleyball drills. So it was a challenge. That's so fun. I know, like did you do it? No, I didn't. It was like it was so fun. I mean, like, and it was like you know, it was just so funny at the time because I remember reading it, being like, I have no idea how I'm gonna incorporate these, but it was actually a fun challenge. I viewed it as a challenge, and it was really fun. And I hope that the niece and nephew loved it.

SPEAKER_01 43:15

That's awesome. That's so cool. Um, okay, another question for you is has there ever been a moment where you were like low-key excited not to be starting or to like have a day off, or just be like, I'm relieved not to be playing right now.

SPEAKER_00 43:29

I feel like like off days, I think like that happens frequently in off days, but I think it's just more so relieved that I can just like finally sit down and have like time to like have like let my body almost like rehab, like rehab into treatment and yeah. I feel like there's just always that like relief that athletes have on off days.

SPEAKER_01 43:45

Could you tell someone really quick, like what just walk me through quickly an average day in a life, like morning tonight, wake up to dead to bed?

SPEAKER_00 43:52

Um an average, I'll do an average school day. So, like we have I have my um classes usually all in the morning, um, sometimes at night, depending. On like what your major is. And then we have our practice block, which is from one to about 5 p.m. So, like in the morning, I wake up. I'm a morning person. So I wake up usually at like 6 a.m. I get my coffee, my like my matcha, all this stuff. I go to my classes, and then I have a lift at about one for an hour. And then we all go get snacks and then go to practice, which depending on the day, um, like with how heavy we went the day before, if we had a game or whatnot, usually about three-hour practice, two and a half, three-hour practice. And then after that, usually some people will have some classes to go to, and then um the rest of the day is just for homework, laundry, getting stuff done. And then usually that's uh the same thing the next day, but depends um like our schedule in spring, and then the game day schedules are always different. They're a lot more fun game day schedules, but that's a typical typical day.

SPEAKER_01 44:48

That's really fun. Just back to back, 24-7, always going. Okay, I only have a couple, couple more questions here for you. Um, have you ever posted something? Because we're gonna get into NIL a little bit here, because you have NIL in a couple different ways, right? You've done like personal, just classic NIL media brand endorsements, but then you also have your clothing brand. So, how do you manage those two brands? And have you ever posted something and to boost engagement and then quickly be like, why did I post that?

SPEAKER_00 45:15

I really don't know if I ever have. I think sometimes like when it comes to like TikTok and like different so social media other than Instagram, I'll post stuff and I'll almost be like, like not like regret it, but be like, oh, I don't think I like that as much as I did, and then I'll delete it. Um, but I don't think I necessarily ever have done it to like boost engagement and delete it. But um, when it comes to like managing social media, I think like volleyball is always gonna be volleyball, but I treat all the other stuff outside of it like a business. Like I schedule stuff, I it's heavy time management. Um, but that's kind of how I honestly like balance the two.

SPEAKER_01 45:47

So here we go, TMI segments. Too much insight, really quickly get to know Ava a little bit better. Ava, go ahead and just rapid fire answer these questions. What is your go-to hype song before a game? I know you don't like hype songs, but if you were to do a hype song with the team, I know you don't like them, but when you're with the team, if everyone's together, what is like okay, we all need to listen to this?

SPEAKER_00 46:07

I like Lil Demon by Future. I just like songs with like heavy bass and stuff. It's good.

SPEAKER_01 46:12

Okay, most use emoji right now.

SPEAKER_00 46:15

Um, the a laughing emoji, but like the tilted one, like the tilted laughing emoji. Yeah, yeah, okay, okay, okay.

SPEAKER_01 46:21

What is your Starbucks coffee game day drink order?

SPEAKER_00 46:25

Uh Grande ice matcha latte, oat milk with extra scuba matcha, extra uh puppa syrup, and strawberry cream cold foam.

SPEAKER_01 46:32

Wow, okay, that is intense. Okay, Dream N I L collab. No matter how ridiculous, Dream N I L.

SPEAKER_00 46:38

Adidas X Project U.

SPEAKER_01 46:40

Both of the Okay, we're putting that out there. Adidas.

SPEAKER_00 46:45

Adidas, that's a goal of mine.

SPEAKER_01 46:46

Help her, help her. Um, okay. What if you had to pick a fire walk-up song for your team? What would represent your team and their energy?

SPEAKER_00 46:55

I think anything by pit bull.

unknown 46:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 46:57

Okay, okay. I like it. I like it. What teammate do you think is most likely to go pro in something other than a sport?

SPEAKER_00 47:06

That's so good. Um, I think my girl, Shade, she and I think she would go pro in music producing. She's the best ox, always on ox. I think something like she'd be be the professional at having the best music playlist.

SPEAKER_01 47:22

If your team had a reality show, what would it be called?

SPEAKER_00 47:26

I think behind the scenes. That's what I'd call it. And I think it would just because the but us behind the scenes is just so funny and wild and crazy. And I think it would just be really funny.

SPEAKER_01 47:37

Okay, and if you could switch sports for a day, what are you trying? What sport are you switching to?

SPEAKER_00 47:41

I would say normally basketball because I've played that, but I would say tennis. I think tennis is so cool, and I think that I I think it'd be so fun. I'd love to learn it.

SPEAKER_01 47:51

Okay, are you a post-game ice bath or drive-thru, or like we're going out tonight? Let's celebrate.

SPEAKER_00 47:56

I ice bath, I do my treatment. I'm big on my post-game treatments. Okay. I'm going out celebrating.

SPEAKER_01 48:03

You're going out celebrating, and what is without you know giving too much to what does that look like for your team?

SPEAKER_00 48:08

Um, I don't know. I think it's just getting together. I feel like honestly, some of the times that are like we bond most is in just like times like that, like just all like hanging out at like a house and something like you know what I mean? Like whenever houses, yeah. Yeah, teams, just having a good time. I feel like that's like it's the most natural and awkward team bonding, is just something like that, like a good night hour. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 48:27

Okay. And then last rapid fire question is what is one thing in your locker room in your bag that just has no business being there?

SPEAKER_00 48:34

I always have tennis balls in my bag.

SPEAKER_01 48:36

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_00 48:37

I always have like four. Okay. Because I always well, I like use them to roll out my shoulder. I I put them in my shoes sometimes, like stretch out my shoe. I just somehow I I have like four, maybe five tennis balls in my bag sometimes. I don't really know how, but I guess it's it kind of makes sense though. Cause like it's but I just think it's funny. People think it's funny when that five tennis balls rolling around for my bag.

SPEAKER_01 49:00

Okay, so I just have I do have one more question around uh with NIL and everything, is that you know, your sport? Because volleyball, women's volleyball, that's not necessarily revenue share. And people are talking about, you know, who's getting this? And there's this big separation with sports. Have you felt like you've been affected? Has your team been affected from your university? Or is it a lot of headlines you think that are just kind of, you know, propaganda?

SPEAKER_00 49:23

Um, when it comes to like the way that rules are changing right now with Rev Share. And I think money in general, obviously, like people's minds go right to basketball and football. They're always getting the most funding. And as frustrating as it is sometimes that a lot of the bigger audienced male sports get more money, it also sometimes does affect our funding because the better they do, sometimes we get more funding. So I really just think that there's a lot of different ways of looking at it. Um, I know with RevShare, every school is different, and obviously volleyball is growing. So I would really love to see, you know, um more Revshare opportunities and even NIL opportunities for um our sport in the future.

SPEAKER_01 49:57

Okay, I love it. I love it. Well, we're gonna take a set. Well, Ava, thank you so much for the time. This has been such a fun conversation. I love, you know, catching up with you, learning more about your journey. Hopefully, before we go, is there any, you know, any other advice you'd love to give to a parent or just like a young female or male student athlete listening?

SPEAKER_00 50:17

Um, I'd say don't be afraid to dream too big. Um, I think that if you can dream it, you can honestly do it. Never give up. Keep working hard every single day. Like I said before, just keep being consistent because you really never know what direction your life can go in. And hard work is always gonna get you somewhere.

SPEAKER_01 50:33

So thank you so much for coming on today, Ava. I had the best time. I hope all the listeners have the best time. I will be sure to share your, you know, what are your Instagram handles? How could someone reach out to you if there's someone wanting to get more advice?

SPEAKER_00 50:46

Yeah, so my Instagram handle is at Ava Vickers underscore. I usually respond to all DMs and any messages through there.

SPEAKER_01 50:52

Amazing, amazing. Well, thank you again and congratulations. Good luck this season. You're coming up. We're about to start indoor season. And talk to you soon. And make sure, everyone, to go check out Project U, the new clothing line that Ava just dropped. Thank you. Thank you so much.