Post by ladeda on Aug 4, 2008 14:22:31 GMT -5
Q & A with Kim Glass
The U.S. women's volleyball team is loaded with Olympic veterans. Kim Glass is not one such player. She joined the national team in 2007 and will make her Olympic debut in Beijing. A part-time starter at the 2007 World Cup and 2008 World Grand Prix, Glass spoke with NBCOlympics.com via e-mail about how her role on the team, her first experience witnessing her coach's Chinese legend, and which reality show she tried valiantly to appear on.
1) On the verge of your first Olympics, is this a place you expected you'd be at age 23?
Actually, this is a new adventure for me. I kept my options open. Honestly, I didn't know where I'd be at 23. But I'm glad I'm here.
2) You'll turn 24 during the Olympics. Are there any birthday traditions you'll have to try to carry out in China?
Naw, I'm thinking about ballin'! I don't have any family traditions, but the team always gets a cake and sings the traditional song, which is super cool. My birthday has always been during a pre-season, or a tournament since high school. So there's never much of a celebration. But I like to think that I celebrate my life everyday, so it's okay.
3) What do you see as your role on the team, being young with so many veterans who've been to multiple Olympics?
My role on the team is to be a straight baller! Be the biggest asset I can be to the team, in every way possible. I learn from the veterans, but also try to challenge them. They are great, and so inspiring and supportive. They make you feel right at home.
4) Do you consider the U.S. a medal contender, or was the bronze at the 2007 World Cup tough to judge because Russia and China weren't there?
This is America -- we're not in this for participation points. Yes, it's a tough road with or without Russia or China, two very good teams, but of course we're medal contenders. Everyone on this team is committed to winning.
5) What's it like to play for Jenny Lang Ping?
She's a cool coach. She's very calm, I like that. All coaches have different styles and you gotta learn to fit in with each of them.
6) She starred on the early '80s Chinese women's volleyball team that won Olympic gold in 1984. Were you aware of her legend in China before she started coaching here?
No I wasn't. But with our first trip overseas, I instantly became aware of her royal status in China. We had to form a wall around her in the airport. People were sending their kids to snake through our cracks. I can only imagine how celebrities out here feel. In a way it was exciting, and in a way it was like, "Leave the lady alone and let her eat a meal, geez." But she's a stud, she's humble, and absolutely great with her fans. I didn't see her turn one person down! We did use her name to our advantage in the airport, and they totally hooked us up on the seating. So boy I'm glad she's my coach!
7) You've played professionally in Turkey. Any idea why Turkey came to have an elite professional women's volleyball league?
I've been playing professionally for three years now. I've only played in Turkey one season. Why they developed the league, I'm not exactly sure. It wasn't the first thing I asked when I signed the contract, but I think it had something to do with mini spandex shorts paired with the whole long leg thing. I'm thinking that definitely could have been a deciding factor.
8) Any pre-game rituals you like to do?
Game day, I like to take bath and sit in the dark and just relax and meditate, and do visualization, and pray. Then I take a nap, wake up, and put on my pump-up CD. And it's game time!
9) What's one interesting thing about you that most people might not know?
In college, I tried out for America's Next Top Model five times. Tyra (Banks, the host) is a hater! Just kidding. But seriously I have a shoe fetish, and I absolutely love heels -- even though I'm 6-2 1/2. Now only if they made more in my size!
tinyurl.com/6c5p37
The U.S. women's volleyball team is loaded with Olympic veterans. Kim Glass is not one such player. She joined the national team in 2007 and will make her Olympic debut in Beijing. A part-time starter at the 2007 World Cup and 2008 World Grand Prix, Glass spoke with NBCOlympics.com via e-mail about how her role on the team, her first experience witnessing her coach's Chinese legend, and which reality show she tried valiantly to appear on.
1) On the verge of your first Olympics, is this a place you expected you'd be at age 23?
Actually, this is a new adventure for me. I kept my options open. Honestly, I didn't know where I'd be at 23. But I'm glad I'm here.
2) You'll turn 24 during the Olympics. Are there any birthday traditions you'll have to try to carry out in China?
Naw, I'm thinking about ballin'! I don't have any family traditions, but the team always gets a cake and sings the traditional song, which is super cool. My birthday has always been during a pre-season, or a tournament since high school. So there's never much of a celebration. But I like to think that I celebrate my life everyday, so it's okay.
3) What do you see as your role on the team, being young with so many veterans who've been to multiple Olympics?
My role on the team is to be a straight baller! Be the biggest asset I can be to the team, in every way possible. I learn from the veterans, but also try to challenge them. They are great, and so inspiring and supportive. They make you feel right at home.
4) Do you consider the U.S. a medal contender, or was the bronze at the 2007 World Cup tough to judge because Russia and China weren't there?
This is America -- we're not in this for participation points. Yes, it's a tough road with or without Russia or China, two very good teams, but of course we're medal contenders. Everyone on this team is committed to winning.
5) What's it like to play for Jenny Lang Ping?
She's a cool coach. She's very calm, I like that. All coaches have different styles and you gotta learn to fit in with each of them.
6) She starred on the early '80s Chinese women's volleyball team that won Olympic gold in 1984. Were you aware of her legend in China before she started coaching here?
No I wasn't. But with our first trip overseas, I instantly became aware of her royal status in China. We had to form a wall around her in the airport. People were sending their kids to snake through our cracks. I can only imagine how celebrities out here feel. In a way it was exciting, and in a way it was like, "Leave the lady alone and let her eat a meal, geez." But she's a stud, she's humble, and absolutely great with her fans. I didn't see her turn one person down! We did use her name to our advantage in the airport, and they totally hooked us up on the seating. So boy I'm glad she's my coach!
7) You've played professionally in Turkey. Any idea why Turkey came to have an elite professional women's volleyball league?
I've been playing professionally for three years now. I've only played in Turkey one season. Why they developed the league, I'm not exactly sure. It wasn't the first thing I asked when I signed the contract, but I think it had something to do with mini spandex shorts paired with the whole long leg thing. I'm thinking that definitely could have been a deciding factor.
8) Any pre-game rituals you like to do?
Game day, I like to take bath and sit in the dark and just relax and meditate, and do visualization, and pray. Then I take a nap, wake up, and put on my pump-up CD. And it's game time!
9) What's one interesting thing about you that most people might not know?
In college, I tried out for America's Next Top Model five times. Tyra (Banks, the host) is a hater! Just kidding. But seriously I have a shoe fetish, and I absolutely love heels -- even though I'm 6-2 1/2. Now only if they made more in my size!
tinyurl.com/6c5p37