IUN News
Thu, Nov 5, 2009 - [Volleyball]

Kelsey Barrick (freshman, no. 11) and Malory Rokosz (freshman, no. 8) have become good friends this year. Barrick is a Defensive Specialist majoring in Sports Medicine. Rokosz is an Outside Hitter majoring in Business Administration with a concentration in marketing. They sat down with me for a discussion about volleyball, academics and movies.

What sports did you play in high school?

 
Kelsey Barrick: Volleyball, swimming, and tennis
 
Malory Rokosz: I played volleyball and softball.
 
What made you stick with volleyball?
 
KB: Well, they don't have tennis here so I chose volleyball. My mom wanted me to play.
 
MR: I've been playing volleyball for thirteen years. It's my favorite sport, and I just wasn't ready to give it up yet.
 
What made you come to IU Northwest?
 
MR: I came from a small high school, and this is a small college. They offered me full tuition on an academic scholarship, so that was convenient.
 
KB: I wanted to start small before going to a big school. I'll be going to IU next year.
 
Have any members of your families been involved in sports?
 
MR: Oh, yeah. I have three older sisters, and they've all been involved in sports.
 
KB: My mom says she played basketball, but I don't really believe her. She's not very athletic, but my dad was involved in everything.
 
What are your strengths on the court? What are your weaknesses?
 
KB: My defense is my strength. My weakness is that I can't jump. I can get maybe an inch off the ground.
 
MR: I guess I'm quick on the court with diving and getting digs. And my weakness is blocking.
 
How do you prepare for a game mentally?
 
KB: I listen to music before and talk to everyone.
 
What do you listen to?
 
MR: Country
 
KB: Country music, actually. The rap music they play on the court before the game helps, but I prefer country.
 
What makes a winning volleyball team?
 
MR: Communication
 
KB: Drive to win
 
MR: Yeah, desire to win
 
What do you guys think the team could do to improve for next year?
 
KB: I don't know, I think we've tried everything this year.
 
MR: It's basically people's mental attitude. If they don't have the right attitude, there's nothing you can do physically to improve the team.
 
How do you balance academics and sports?
 
MR: I have a nice break in between my classes, so I can do homework then. I also work for the office of student life, and I can do my homework during downtime.
 
KB: I have breaks too. I think it's harder in college to balance academics and sports than it was in high school because we're gone every single weekend and no one wants to study on the bus.
 
Do you like Omar's coaching style?
 
KB: I think every coach has a different way of coaching.
 
MR: Yeah, and you just have to get used to it.
 
Well, what is his style?
 
KB: His style is laidback I think.
 
MR: In high school it wasn't as laidback as it is now. I think that's a tough transition for both of us to make.
 
Is that the biggest different between high school and college volleyball?
 
MR: Well, the competition is a bit faster paced now.
 
So, Mallory, you're a marketing major. What made you want to go into marketing?
 
MR: I actually didn't decide on that until last year. I was always going to go into something with science. My oldest sister was a finance major and she told me I have a good personality for that. I researched and learned more about the field, and I do like knowing what attracts people to different things and what appeals to them.
 
What kind of personality makes a good marketing person?
 
MR: You have to be friendly and outgoing. I love talking to people and finding out their interests. And if I'm interested in something and I show it, it really excites people, and they'll want to share more information with me.
 
What do you hope to do with your degree?
 
MR: Be a marketing director for not so much a huge company or corporation, but a decent sized one.
 
MR: Does IU Northwest accommodate?
 
MR: They don't have a specific marketing major, but they have business administration. I'll have a concentration in marketing, which manes that I've taken a lot more marketing classes than someone who's not interested in marketing. I was talking to some of my academic advisors and they explained that to me really well.
 
What are your professors telling you the job market looks like?
 
MR: There will always be a demand for marketers. Someone will always need to put a company's ideas out there and to get new and exciting ideas.
 
Are you planning to relocate or find something in the region?
 
MR: If I do stay around here, the closest I would stay is Chicago or the suburbs of Chicago. I would like to move to the west coast, but I don't know if that will happen.
 
Kelsey, you switched from a Secondary Education major to Sports Medicine major. Why the switch?
 
KB: I always wanted to do something with athletics, and I wanted to be a physical trainer or therapist. When I researched sports medicine, I decided that that's what I wanted to do.
 
Tell me about sports medicine.
 
KB: It's the study of kinesiology. I have to take an anatomy class, but I could be an athletic trainer, a physical trainer, or a physical therapist.
 
Has Herman [Miller, IUN athletic trainer] been giving you advice?
 
KB: Yeah, I was talking to him and that's what made me change it.
 
What did he say to inspire you?
 
KB: I just always liked what he did.
 
Will you be relocating?
 
KB: Yeah, I don't plan on coming back here. I've lived here all my life and I just want to get away.
 
Do you have any hobbies?
 
MR: Sports
 
KB: Sports
 
Well, you can't play sports all weekend. What do you do for a night out?
 
MR: Sometimes we'll just have a girl's night.
 
KB: Yeah, with the team
 
MR: It's just watching movies and being silly.
 
KB: When volleyball is over we'll have more time. We're gone every weekend during the season.
 
How do you handle traveling all the time?
 
MR: I like traveling on the bus if it's not too long of a trip. When you get past a three hour bus ride…
 
KB: I don't mind traveling now that we have the navigation system that Ashley [Howard] brought; otherwise bus trips would take five or six hours.
 
Name some of your favorite movies for our audience.
 
KB: Twilight! I'm so excited for the new one to come out.
 
MR: I like a lot of comedy movies. "Stepbrothers" is definitely up there.
 
KB: Pretty much the whole team agrees with that.
 
Do you have a favorite TV show?
 
MR: I don't really watch TV much, but when I did I was obsessed with the OC.
 
KB: My favorite TV show was Gilmore Girls. I have all of the seasons at home and I always watch them. Right now, I like Friday Night Lights.
 
MR: I always wanted to watch Nip/Tuck but we would always have a game or practice.
 
What about food?
 
MR: Any Italian food. I love Italian food.
 
KB: Yes, I love pasta.
 
MR: That and Mexican food.
 
What about a favorite city?
 
MR: I actually like Mesa, Arizona. We went there my freshman year over Christmas break. It was such a pretty little town. It was so quaint. I fell in love with it.
 
KB: We have a house in Bloomington. I also like Colorado. We went everywhere in Colorado during spring break.
 
Any words of advice for future RedHawk volleyball players?
 
KB: Play hard all the time.
 
MR: And I would say you should evaluate yourself before this season because if you really don't love the game, don't play it. Because you're just hurting the other players. If you don't have the desire to win each game no matter what's going on in your life, then you shouldn't play.
 
KB: I agree.