Talon Talk Ep. 29: "Take the Open Door" -- Kim Hildreth
4/16/2020 12:54:00 PM | General, Beach Volleyball
In this edition of Talon Talk, former UNF beach volleyball player Kim Hildreth joins for an inside look at her life and career since her year of beach action in Jacksonville back in 2014. Hildreth came to North Florida as a graduate transfer after an indoor career at Eastern Michigan University. The Novi, Mich., native turned pro following her year with the Ospreys.Â
Taking into account the developments around COVID-19, Hildreth's year has changed dramatically with travel, practice and competition restrictions placed around amateur and professional sports alike. We also look at what her life and training entails now.
Â
"I don't think I could have told you that five years ago I could make an AVP (Association of Volleyball Professionals) Final, and then I did," Kim Hildreth said.Â
Kim Hildreth, a native of Novi, Mich., went to Eastern Michigan University as a setter, playing in Ypsilanti, Mich., where she competed in 61 matches, 32 her redshirt-junior year.Â
While at EMU, the passion for beach volleyball began to brew, particularly after a trip to Muskegon, Mich., where she watched a former EMU player competing on the AVP tour. During her indoor collegiate career, Hildreth started playing beach volleyball in the summer.
"That's kind of where I got started," Hildreth said. "I always thought to myself how cool it would be to play an AVP Qualifier when I was at Eastern Michigan. I never had this huge dream that I'm going to be this professional beach volleyball player that plays in the Olympics, but I've always been that person that takes things one step at a time and looks at things that are right in front of me rather than 10 steps in front of me."
After her final fall ended at EMU, it was time for Hildreth to think about what the next step would look like.Â
"So, the thing that was right in front of me was collegiate beach volleyball.", Hildreth said. "I thought, I'm going to graduate and then play. I actually had one more year of indoor eligibility because I had knee surgery my freshman year."
Hildreth had spent one of her undergraduate summers playing in Manhattan Beach, Calif., arguably the epicenter of beach volleyball in the United States, making California seem like the likely destination. Despite not having much in the way of highlight tapes, opportunities started to open and North Florida emerged into the picture.
"UNF turned out to be the magic number for me," Hildreth said. "It had a program I was interested in, that I got accepted to, the campus is beautiful and I've never lived that close to the beach. I think that California at the time was going to be so expensive and far away from my family."
In her lone year at UNF, Hildreth immediately inserted herself into the lineup, eclipsing the 20-win mark while making the AVCA Sand Nationals "Best of the Rest" pool with Dagnija Medina. The pair would pick up a pair of wins at the national tournament, downing Tulane and Grand Canyon.
She would go on to earn her master's in educational leadership from North Florida in August of 2015, the same year that she would be named Rookie of the Year of the National Volleyball League. During that campaign she reached the winner's bracket in six tournaments, but that year wasn't the smoothest or the most clear.
"That [year] was a tough one," Hildreth said. "I moved home because I was broke and I played in Michigan that summer and applied for jobs. I almost moved to Santa Cruz, Calif., to be the assistant coach at UC Santa Cruz."
But, an opportunity to move to Tampa presented itself, and again Hildreth found a door to walk through and she edged her way into the professional beach volleyball world.
Since then she's played the mainstay locations in Florida from Cocoa Beach, Clearwater Beach, Fort Lauderdale and more, although the sport has taken her far from the Sunshine State. Hildreth has played in Seattle, Austin, Chicago, at a water park in Cincinnati, Guam and most recently Cambodia before COVID-19 put a halt to travel and the season.
Hildreth was on her way back from Cambodia with playing partner Sarah Schermerhorn when the news of COVID-19's impact was first coming out. For a beach volleyball professional, March is in the midst of or at the beginning of the heat of their year, pushing Hildreth to an impromptu offseason.
"We're still lifting and working out," Hildreth said. "Thankfully I have a nice garage gym, so that's helpful. I'm just focusing on whole body maintenance and health, while at the same time not trying to burn myself out if this does go on for a long time."
The St. Petersburg, Fla., resident is using this time to also work towards online health coaching and continuing avid video gaming rapport.
For the whole interview click here >>Â https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tEfFGiSCCo
**This YouTube Interview will not feature video, only audio**
Â
Taking into account the developments around COVID-19, Hildreth's year has changed dramatically with travel, practice and competition restrictions placed around amateur and professional sports alike. We also look at what her life and training entails now.
Â
"I don't think I could have told you that five years ago I could make an AVP (Association of Volleyball Professionals) Final, and then I did," Kim Hildreth said.Â
Kim Hildreth, a native of Novi, Mich., went to Eastern Michigan University as a setter, playing in Ypsilanti, Mich., where she competed in 61 matches, 32 her redshirt-junior year.Â
While at EMU, the passion for beach volleyball began to brew, particularly after a trip to Muskegon, Mich., where she watched a former EMU player competing on the AVP tour. During her indoor collegiate career, Hildreth started playing beach volleyball in the summer.
"That's kind of where I got started," Hildreth said. "I always thought to myself how cool it would be to play an AVP Qualifier when I was at Eastern Michigan. I never had this huge dream that I'm going to be this professional beach volleyball player that plays in the Olympics, but I've always been that person that takes things one step at a time and looks at things that are right in front of me rather than 10 steps in front of me."
After her final fall ended at EMU, it was time for Hildreth to think about what the next step would look like.Â
"So, the thing that was right in front of me was collegiate beach volleyball.", Hildreth said. "I thought, I'm going to graduate and then play. I actually had one more year of indoor eligibility because I had knee surgery my freshman year."
Hildreth had spent one of her undergraduate summers playing in Manhattan Beach, Calif., arguably the epicenter of beach volleyball in the United States, making California seem like the likely destination. Despite not having much in the way of highlight tapes, opportunities started to open and North Florida emerged into the picture.
"UNF turned out to be the magic number for me," Hildreth said. "It had a program I was interested in, that I got accepted to, the campus is beautiful and I've never lived that close to the beach. I think that California at the time was going to be so expensive and far away from my family."
In her lone year at UNF, Hildreth immediately inserted herself into the lineup, eclipsing the 20-win mark while making the AVCA Sand Nationals "Best of the Rest" pool with Dagnija Medina. The pair would pick up a pair of wins at the national tournament, downing Tulane and Grand Canyon.
She would go on to earn her master's in educational leadership from North Florida in August of 2015, the same year that she would be named Rookie of the Year of the National Volleyball League. During that campaign she reached the winner's bracket in six tournaments, but that year wasn't the smoothest or the most clear.
"That [year] was a tough one," Hildreth said. "I moved home because I was broke and I played in Michigan that summer and applied for jobs. I almost moved to Santa Cruz, Calif., to be the assistant coach at UC Santa Cruz."
But, an opportunity to move to Tampa presented itself, and again Hildreth found a door to walk through and she edged her way into the professional beach volleyball world.
Since then she's played the mainstay locations in Florida from Cocoa Beach, Clearwater Beach, Fort Lauderdale and more, although the sport has taken her far from the Sunshine State. Hildreth has played in Seattle, Austin, Chicago, at a water park in Cincinnati, Guam and most recently Cambodia before COVID-19 put a halt to travel and the season.
Hildreth was on her way back from Cambodia with playing partner Sarah Schermerhorn when the news of COVID-19's impact was first coming out. For a beach volleyball professional, March is in the midst of or at the beginning of the heat of their year, pushing Hildreth to an impromptu offseason.
"We're still lifting and working out," Hildreth said. "Thankfully I have a nice garage gym, so that's helpful. I'm just focusing on whole body maintenance and health, while at the same time not trying to burn myself out if this does go on for a long time."
The St. Petersburg, Fla., resident is using this time to also work towards online health coaching and continuing avid video gaming rapport.
For the whole interview click here >>Â https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tEfFGiSCCo
**This YouTube Interview will not feature video, only audio**
Â
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