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My year in a nutshell Well, once again, I apologize for not writing any updates lately. My schedule has been unusually busy. I will try to briefly explain what has gone on in my life since the last entry. Last season I played my fourth season in Italy for Lines Ecocapitanata Altamura. Altamura is a smaller city in the south of Italy. It is a suburb of Bari, for those of you who are geographically educated on the country of Italy. I had a relatively positive experience in southern Italy, despite some small bumps in the road. I can truly say, however, that my team was great. We had a very unique, special group of girls and, had it not been for our solid team unity, we probably would not have done as well as we did. We finished the season 9th in the league and just missed the playoffs by one spot. We accomplished the major goals of the club, though, because it was Altamura’s first year in A1. They were just thrilled that we saved ourselves from being demoted. After my volleyball season I started training immediately on the track, in order to make the 2007 US World Championship Team. I started my season out great, which came to no surprise -- I seem to always jump so well off my volleyball season. I immediately jumped 1.92m (6’3.5”), which ended up being my saving grace, since I had the worst US National Championship performance of my career. I finished 7th at USAs, but I made the US World Championship Team, because I had the World B Standard. I was not too thrilled to make a World Championship Team that way, but it is what it is, right? After the US Championships, I decided to go jump in three meets in Europe. I planted badly at take-off in my second meet in Reims, France, and I got injured. I thought it would be a quick recovery and it would be nothing serious, however it ended up being more serious than I had thought. I was out for about a month and a half and didn’t get to jump over a bar until the preliminary round at The World Championships in Osaka, Japan. I was devastated that it had turned into such a terrible injury. I never get injured (knock on wood)! At Worlds I put it all on the line, and I really did feel like I gave it everything I had under the circumstances. I jumped 1.88m (6’2”), which was more than I expected, however I didn’t qualify for the finals. While in Japan, I signed a contract to play volleyball this 2007-2008 season for The NEC Red Rockets in Kawasaki (Tokyo), Japan. I am very excited to experience a new country and culture. Everyone I know who has played in Japan says it is a wonderful experience and the Japanese are very hospitable people. Currently, I am studying hard for my GMATs, the entrance exam into business school. I will take the test in less than a week and start the application process to enter business school following the 2008 Olympics. I am really looking forward to this important transition in my life, which will occur in the next couple years! I hope you are all well and thanks for visiting! Until next time... Erin |