USA Volleyballer ready for
U18 World Champs
July 13, 2005 - Forty-degree ice baths after workouts.
Late-night practices. Hanging out at the Olympic Training
Center in Colorado. Passing next to current Olympic athletes
in the hallways. A trip to China.
It's just another summer for USA’s Kim Kuzma.
The East Central Indiana Volleyball standout learned this
week that she made the cut and was selected to participate
on the USA Youth National Volleyball team - an organization
viewed as an Olympic-caliber feeder program.
The team will travel to Macau, China, to compete in the 2005
Youth Girls' Under 18 World Championships from July 23-Aug.
1., when Kuzma and her squad will face the likes of Russia,
Argentina, Italy, Germany and 11 other countries.
Kuzma is one of 12 players selected nationally to
participate on the team. She's been competing with 17 other
finalists at the Training Center for the last week for a
spot on the team.
"China. Who goes to China?" Kuzma said via phone from the
Olympic Training Center in Colorado, USA. "I'll probably
never get that opportunity again."
To prepare for the tournament overseas the team will begin
conditioning their bodies with late-night practices and
other activities in the next week. For instance, the team is
going bowling at midnight this weekend to get better
acclimatised to the time difference.
Kuzma said her excitement level was actually a little torn
when she learned she made the team. One side is thrilled for
the opportunity, the other, she says, is saddened by her
absence from her local volleyball practice courts this
summer.
"I'm a little sad because this is all so time-consuming,"
she said. "I'm going to be a bigger part of [my local
Volleyball team] this year, and I feel like I'm letting down
the team a little."
Kuzma's mother, Sharon, understands her daughter's feelings
about Central, but she hopes Kim is able to take advantage
of what she has earned.
"It's the opportunity of a lifetime," Sharon said. "It's an
experience that will help her grow as a person, not just a
Volleyball player."
This isn't the first time the 16-year-old has had the
opportunity, though. Last year, Kuzma was part of the U.S.
team that won a gold medal by beating Puerto Rico in the
NORCEA International Championships in Puerto Rico.
Kuzma, normally an outside hitter, will play as a libero for
the Youth National team. The position switch is because
Kuzma is 5-foot-7, while the national team hitters are all
at least 6-feet.
Story courtesy of The Star Press |
