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Life as a volleyball player in Europe

St Ambrose assistant coach Janelle Hester is on sabbatical this season, taking advantage of an opportunity to play professional volleyball in Europe. Below is her first letter home to the SAU team, parents and fans:

“Dobre Yutro” (Good Morning) St. Ambrose Volleyball Fans, greetings from Janelle Hester in Maribor, Slovenia. Yes, I am in Europe playing volleyball. I have dreamed of this opportunity to play volleyball in Europe for a long time and finally the hard work and determination has paid off.

I am starting a new journey in volleyball that is going to take me all over the world, plus allow me to play the game of volleyball that I love… I couldn’t ask for any better profession. The next 9 months of my life I am going to learn a new way of life and grow as an individual. I will do my best to keep you updated about my journey, so keep reading here to come along for the ride….

I am currently playing for a Club called NOVA KBM Bronik. The club is sponsored by KBM, one of the largest banks in Slovenia. Our coach, Mitja, is in his first year as the head coach. He has been an assistant coach for five years for the program. This year is going to be a rebuilding year for us but with our talent and athletic ability we are going to surprise many teams in our league. We have four national team players on our team. They are amazingly gifted and they are the mold that is going to keep our team together this season.

The majority of our team is Slovenian. However, we do have three Americans on the team. It is very rare for three Americans to be on the same team and we are all from the Midwest. Let me introduce you to my newfound teammates and friends: Rachel Refenes is a 6-3 middle blocker from Milwaukee, Wisc. She attended the University of Mississippi for two years and then transferred to Ball State University in Muncie, Ind, to finish up her career. Rachel graduated in June 2006 and moved to Milwaukee with her dog Mickey and began to train for European volleyball. Rachel is the youngest of us three however her maturity on and off the floor and her sense of humor keeps us entertained and helps Shannon and I feel young again. My other roommate Shannon Mulder is 6-0 outside hitter from Holland, Mich. She attended the University of Cornerstone (Yes Cornerstone, who we play every year — can you believe it!!!) and graduated in 2005. Shannon is married and her husband will be moving to Slovenia in a couple of weeks. Shannon, Rachel and I have adjusted to the European lifestyle together, from the language barrier to the stares, we have all learned to deal with the obstacles of a new culture together.

The past two weeks we have been practicing twice a day, plus lifting and running every other day. For preseason, we had to climb a mountain in one hour. It may sound easy but it was the hardest thing I have ever done. We all made it, but I never thought I would ever climb a mountain, and especially for a workout. We practice up to eight times a week. When our season starts, we are going to play on Wednesdays and Saturdays. We only get one day off each week.

The style of play is different here. We don’t really have set defense or offense, the play is definitely more relaxed. The league we play in is said to be a pretty bad league that is why we are traveling outside of Slovenia to play teams from other countries. This next weekend we go the Czech Republic and play against top clubs in the countries. I will fill you in on how the weekend goes.

Well, I must go to practice. I miss all of you Bees, don’t worry I will be back sooner than you know it. Thanks for your support and prayers.

Ciao, Janelle