August 28, 2002
| Senior middle blocker/outside hitter A.D. Achilefu sat down with AggieAthletics.com as the season nears and talked about stepping up as a senior, playing under Laurie Corbelli, working at camp over the summer and one of her favorite activities--dancing.
Fall practice is over, basically, with the season a few days away. With all the new faces on the court, how do you think it went? "I think it was one of the best two-a-days that we've had in a while. We have a lot of new faces, and some of them had a hard time learning the system and just knowing what the coaches expect in practice each and every day. After the past two weeks they've caught on pretty quickly and learned what is expected of them in practice, not only from the coaches but from us (the upperclassmen) as well. They're only going to get better from here and the only place we can go is up." You're a senior..do you sense a necessity to step up and say "this is my team"? "Well, we had wonderful leadership last year. There were five seniors and they did a wonderful job of leading the team. Despite the fact there's only two of us [including outside hitter Julia Rex] I think that we've taken on that role as the "big sisters" of the team so far, because we've had way more hours in the gym than the rest of the team. We want to have that "big sister" role and just let the rest of the team be behind us. I'm not saying that we are the only ones that can lead the team, but we want to lead by example and by the experience we have accumulated over the years." What's it like to play for someone like Coach Corbelli? "Laurie is really caring and concerned, and her main focus in practice every day is to make sure that we 'get it', make sure we understand where she's coming from, and understand what she's trying to teach us. I've enjoyed it so much, and I've learned so much. When you get to college, after being in club [volleyball], you're like, 'I know pretty much everything, I just have to learn how to play the game faster.' And that's totally not true. Seriously, I did not learn how to pass until I was a junior here [laughs]. When I was a freshman I was like, 'Uhh, I'm probably never going to pass in this system ever.' They just stuck with it, [Associate Head Coach] John [Corbelli] as well. They stuck with me and stayed with me every step of the way and made sure I got it, and understood what they were talking about. They're very loving and knowledgeable of the sport, and you can't do anything but just sit there and take in everything that they have to offer. They have combined something like 30 years of volleyball experience. You can't really top that. I'm just very fortunate to have played in their program, and learned everything I have, and learned how to play efficiently. Sometimes when you get older, you can't really jump as high, or hit as hard as you used to, so she turned me into a smarter player and helped me to be more effective." You're one of the emotional and vocal leaders of the team on the court. Do you enjoy being that person and relish that role? "Yeah. I don't think I'd have that much fun on this team if I wasn't vocal. I think my role is to definitely get everyone excited. Sometimes, if we're doing something wrong, my role is to get their mind off that and tell them to get ready for the next play. I might have some comic relief in there, but I try to keep that to a minimum (laughs). I'm there to keep everyone smiling and keep everyone positive to help perform the task at hand."
When the team gets a big block of an opponent at the net, everyone yells "face". Who started that? Where did that come from? "Stacy Sykora started that in 1998. I have no idea why she said it but she stuffed somebody, might have been Amber Woolsey, and she said 'Alright, face!' I think she tried to say 'In your face!' but it didn't all come out, so she just said 'face'. We all thought that was kind of cool and, you know, Stacy Sykora is a trendsetter. So of course, we followed. It's caught on, and it's been lasting. And we enjoy it. We've made our own variations of the cheer but it's fun, and we wait for someone to get stuff-blocked so we can do it." You worked at Camp Ozark over the summer. Tell me a little about Camp Ozark and how much you enjoyed being there. "Camp Ozark is a Christian sports camp in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas, owned by former Yell Leader Sam Torn. They usually recruit on different college campuses, and I had known about Camp Ozark for about the past eight years because my little brothers go there, and [Torn's] daughter went to high school with me. I've been involved with Ozark for a while but I've never actually worked until this summer. I had the best time of my life. I was only there for about five weeks but I felt like I was there for at least three months. I was a counselor and I taught volleyball, of course, and hip-hop dance [laughs], and I was just a role model and a leader to the younger girls, showing them that you can have fun and be a Christian too. We taught them how to be competitive, and just incorporate God in every aspect of their life. I learned so much from those kids. They were supposed to learn from us, but I learned even more I think, especially patience and just giving yourself away and loving others, not just thinking about yourself. I had a lot of fun." I know you want to get into sports broadcasting. Tell me about working at KAMU and helping put together the TV show, "Between the Lines". Did you enjoy that? "Oh yeah. In the early stages of the show I always had a script. I always knew what I was going to say before I asked a question, but as the show progressed, I decided to just go and start ad-libbing, start asking questions that came off the top of my head. I talked to [A&M Associate Athletic Director] Dave South, and he was my mentor. He told me, 'The key to broadcasting is ad-libbing'. So I tried it, and it wasn't very easy, but I stuck with it. The show isn't starting up until maybe the second or third week of school. During the season I'm not involved with it very much, but I may be doing three or four interviews." Dancing seems to be an "integral" part of the volleyball program. So, who's the best dancer on the team? "Me, silly! [laughs] No, I absolutely love dancing. Sometimes I'll get in trouble because I'll be tapping my foot on the sideline, and they'll be like, 'A.D.! Pay attention!' I don't know, ever since I was young, I would just dance around in my house or watch TV and see how they do it. Me and my older brother would make up dance routines for when our relatives came into town and we'd perform for them. I was always an athlete first, so I never really took classes, like formal training or anything. So, when I got to college, I said, 'Oh, I can take jazz, that can be one of my kineses [Phys Ed classes]'. I thought that would be fun and I took advantage of that, and it just so happens that I'm enrolled in two classes in the fall, ballet and tap, with Kendra Felder. I suckered her in to taking tap with me." On that note, who's got the most potential to live up to your "legacy" after you leave? "You know, I think Kendra [Felder] has a bright future in that. Melissa Munsch...she's coming along nicely. She has good rhythm, and that was very surprising to me, and I'm glad that they're following my example." Any of the freshmen have some potential? "Maybe Jayna Baker. She's very talented. She has mad skills." |