Meet Jenna Johnson, a sophomore on our Beach Volleyball team. She was born and raised in Stuart, Florida and is studying Biomedical Engineering here, at FSU. I had the opportunity to speak with Jenna about her volleyball background, experiences on the team and anticipation for the new season.
Her Campus (HC): When did you start playing beach volleyball?
Jenna Johnson (JJ): I started playing beach volleyball for fun when I was 14 after my first club indoor volleyball season. I started playing beach more competitively when I was 15.
HC: Why did you decide to play at FSU?
JJ: I absolutely loved everything about it! Everything aligned with what I was looking for. My head coach, Brooke Niles, is amazing! The beach volleyball program is top tier, the girls here are amazing, and the team culture was something I was really attracted to. Coach Niles has crafted a really cool, hardworking culture here at FSU. Another thing that made FSU my top pick was that it was in my native state, and the academics are amazing as well!
HC: What is your favorite part about being on the team?
JJ: I think the coolest thing about the team is that I am constantly given the opportunity to play my favorite sport at a high level daily. Being on the FSU Beach Volleyball team is a dream that I get to live every day. I’m super fortunate to have this opportunity.
HC: Take us through an average day in the life of an FSU Beach Volleyball player. How do you balance everything?
JJ: Oh boy, my days are super packed. When we are at the peak of our training, we are putting in 20 hours a week into team activities—practice, lifting, conditioning, mental training, video sessions and more. Since we are in season now, we practice 6 days a week when we don’t have tournaments on the weekends. I get to campus early in the morning. I go from lift to class to class to practice, and then sometimes to another class. Homework time is usually after dinner so I get home kind of late. But, it’s all worth it because I love my sport and I love what I do. Balancing it all is definitely a challenge but I’ve learned to maximize the free time I have so I can be as productive as possible. Also, sleep is super important for athletes since we are putting so much strain on our bodies each day, so I do have to factor an adequate amount of sleep into my daily schedule.
HC: This is your second year on the team. What are some things you learned from your first season that you’re bringing into this one?
JJ: My freshman year exceeded my expectations by far. I grew as a person and as an athlete throughout my first year with the team. Something really important that I learned was to take advantage of every opportunity presented. If you want something, you have to fight for it and work hard towards achieving that goal. I also learned to have patience with both myself and life. Sometimes things are beyond our control, so I learned to focus on what I can control—which is myself, how I act and how I respond to the curveballs that life throws.
HC: What was the anticipation leading up to this season like?
JJ: This season is definitely something we have been anticipating since last year’s NCAA tournament. We have a really good freshman class that just got here and we also have a bunch of starters returning. Every day since the first day of school, we have been working towards our ultimate goal—winning a National Championship in Gulf Shores, Alabama in May. We worked extremely hard for the entire fall semester, and now that season is here, words can’t describe how stoked we are to flip the switch and turn all of our preparation into execution. Our season goes by super-fast, but we are determined to keep working harder and harder each day so we can end this semester with a National Champion trophy.
HC: Your first tournament of the season was here, at FSU. How did you guys do and how confident do you feel about the rest of the season?
JJ: Our season opener on our home courts was definitely a good weekend for us. We played 7 matches from Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon, which is the most matches played in one weekend in NCAA history. We had a really good weekend with the Noles winning all 7 of our matches. The opener weekend was a great start to our season and we can’t wait to see what the future holds. We feel confident about the rest of the season and we know that we will keep working to get better each and every day.
If you would like to stay updated on the team’s upcoming season, check out their official Instagram (@fsubeachvolleyball), Twitter (@FSU_BeachVB) and website for more information.
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