9ine Point Started With A Dream Podcast W/ Jacolby Gilliam

In this episode of The 9INE POINT Started With A Dream Podcast, Jacolby Gilliam welcomes Leah Edmond, a University of Kentucky volleyball alum. Leah is a pro volleyball player at Athletes United (AU). Today, Leah shares her story of going from a young dreamer to a pro athlete while facing racial stigma when it came to others describing her game and injuries. Despite it all, Leah continues to be a strong force in the world of pro volleyball.Leah begins by sharing her dream as a young athlete. She talks about wanting to play at the University of Kentucky and going for it. She shares with us the expectations required from her as a freshman and a black athlete. She also discusses the stigma black volleyball players face and why volleyball should be made accessible to different communities. The episode comes to a close with Leah giving valuable advice on how to love what you do but, at the same time, not play through the pain.Key Points:Leah's dream as a young athleteStarting the college huntQuestions to ask colle

In this episode of The 9INE POINT Started With A Dream Podcast, Jacolby Gilliam welcomes Jaimeson Lee, a professional volleyball player, playing in Portugal and represented by Athletes Abroad. Jaimeson shares today her inspiring story of how she found her love for volleyball.Growing up with athletic parents, Jaimeson has always been surrounded by sports. She shares that her dream as a younger athlete was to play in D1 and how that dream has evolved over time. She discusses how she decided to attend George Washington University and the struggles she faced while trying to balance volleyball, school, and social life. She talks about going pro and how she has found friendship and not just team bonding with her teammates. The episode comes to a close as Jaimeson offers advice to younger athletes on how to stop comparing themselves to others and to never give up. Key Points:Jaimeson’s dream when she was a younger athleteGrowing up with athletic parents and how that influenced JaimesonTransitioning into a sette

In this episode of The 9INE POINT Started With A Dream Podcast, Jacolby Gilliam welcomes Lauren Page, a pro volleyball athlete playing in France and represented by https://9inepointmag.com/the-started-with-a-dream-podcast/111charlotteharris (Athlete Abroad Management). Before her professional career, Lauren played at the University of Oregon, helping her team finish 9th in the NCAA. Today, she shares her story with us, starting with a young girl who loved volleyball for the fun of it and transitioning into a pro athlete. Lauren begins with how she fell in love with volleyball despite being an introvert. She explains that volleyball was easy to love because she was surrounded by love, her team and her family. Lauren explains the difference between playing in high school and college and how to quickly adapted to new rules and plays. Later, Lauren describes the moment she decided to go pro and how her pro career has proceeded thus far. Key Points:Lauren’s goal when she was a young athlete Falling in love with vo

In this episode of The 9INE POINT Started With A Dream Podcast, Jacolby Gilliam welcomes Julie Lengweiler, a professional volleyball player playing in Spain. Volleyball has been in Julie’s life for as long as she can remember. This propelled Julie to go pro at the young age of 16 in Switzerland. Julie is duly represented by Athletes Abroad Management and today, she shared with us the challenges and wins she has faced as a pro athlete and advises young athletes to dream big so they can live their dream. Julie begins with her dream as a younger athlete: to play in the big leagues. She shares with us how that dream became a reality and how she began playing volleyball professionally at 16. This also came with struggles, having been the youngest on the team. However, she was determined never to quit. Her resilience carried her further as she later played in Finland and now in Spain. Julie’s story inspires us that we can achieve much if only we dare to dream. Key Points: Julie’s dream when she was a younger athlet

Pursuing Your Passion at All Costs In this episode of The 9INE POINT Started With A Dream Podcast, Jacolby Gilliam welcomes Charlotte Harris. Charlotte is the first female American licensed FIVB agent and founder of Athletes Abroad. After playing in college and pro volleyball in Sweden, Charlotte realized her passion for coaching and worked with an agency before founding Athletes Abroad, a company that helps athletes enrich their lives and succeed in their chosen sports. Today, Charlotte shares with us her dreams as a younger athlete, her determination, and how she continues to pursue her passion despite being faced with many odds. Charlotte starts with how she began playing the sport of volleyball. She shares that her dream as a young athlete was to play in Division One. She also discusses how she had to learn to be a team player and work hard for her dream. Having survived an ACL tear, Charlotte became unstoppable, starting her pro career in Sweden and later working with an agency. She talks about founding

The Power of Intention with Lauren Schad In this episode of the Started With A Dream Podcast presented by 9INE POINT, Jacolby Gilliam interviews Lauren Schad, a former professional volleyball player and ambassador of the Red Ribbon Skirt Society. Lauren is a Nike N7 ambassador and a graduate of the University of San Diego. Today, Lauren shares her inspiring story of starting as a young athlete whose goal was to get a letterman jacket to becoming a pro athlete. helping younger athletes achieve exposure and reach their goals. Lauren starts by sharing her goal as a younger athlete and how being brought up in South Dakota encouraged her to be involved in multiple sports. She talks about exploring colleges and how her dreadful freshman year almost had her giving up on her dreams. She talks about the moment she decided to go pro, and ended up playing and settling in France. Lauren inspires the upcoming indigenous athletes through her community efforts and work with the Red Ribbon Skirt Society. Lauren is driven to

Taking The Chance Is Worth It with Pro Volleyball Player Maggie Speaks In this episode of the Started With A Dream Podcast presented by 9INE POINT, Jacolby Gilliam interviews Maggie Speaks, a Pro volleyball athlete, and North Carolina State University, graduate. Maggie is currently entering her fifth season as a pro volleyballer and is represented by Athletes Abroad Management. Today, Maggie shares her story from hating volleyball as a young athlete to falling in love with the sport and facing challenges along the way that almost made her give up. Maggie begins by sharing her dream of becoming an Olympian when she was just in kindergarten. Growing up with a family that was involved in sports drove Maggie to develop an interest in sports. She talks about taking a liking to soccer and basketball but was less interested in volleyball at first because it proved to be difficult. She discusses what drew her to volleyball and finally how she navigated the struggles of finding a college to play for. Despite not bei

The Power of Never Giving Up with Brian Bell In this episode of the Started With A Dream Podcast presented by 9INE POINT, Brian Bell joins our host Jacolby Gilliam as he recounts his story as a Paralympics gold medalist. Brian is a pro wheelchair basketball player and 2x Paralympic gold medalist. Brain shares with us today, his uplifting and inspiring story as a young athlete that lost a leg and his path to success despite all odds. Brian starts off by discussing his dream as a young athlete that wanted to play football and how this dream changed when he was involved in an accident that changed his life. He talks about how he never gave up and how he continues to enjoy sports with a prosthetic leg. He describes how he found interest in basketball and decided to go all in despite not being big enough. His motto “back-to-back cuts to back-to-back goals” motivated Brian to not only work hard to make the national team but also win gold at the Paralympics. Brian believes you can achieve anything you set your heart

In this episode of the Started With A Dream Podcast presented by 9INE POINT, Jacolby Gilliam interviews Bryce Cornet, a  Mazda MX-5 Cup Series driver sponsored by Hixon Motor Sports, Mazda motorsports and a scholarship recipient of the 2021 Mazda motorsports. He earned a master's at the University of Central Oklahoma while working and also pursuing a career in motorsports. Today, he shares with us his story of starting out in the world of racing, battling with heart abnormalities at a young age and bagging a sponsorship with Mazda.   Bryce begins by narrating the ordeal he faced at 15 just when he had begun to show interests in mortorsports. He talks about a documentary that was created to show how he battled with heart abnormalities and how he never gave up his dreams in spite of them. Turning his dream into reality required a shift in mindset and immense motivation to keep going. He shares with us how he pitches himself to sponsors and his experince as a Mazda sponsored driver. Bryce shares h

In this episode of the Started With A Dream Podcast presented by 9INE POINT, Jacolby Gilliam interviews Kathleen Gates, a former seven-year pro volleyball player who now works as a development manager at Athletes Abroad. Athletes Abroad Management, a company that helps athletes enrich their lives and succeed in their chosen sports. Kathleen sits with Jacolby today to share her inspiring story of starting as a 5 year-old dreamer in a small town with dreams of becoming an Olympian. She shares with us her journey of resilience from playing in high school to going pro. Following the end of your pro run, Kathleen is building the future of other athletes and inspiring younger female athletes to believe in their dreams. Kathleen starts the conversation by describing the dreams she had as a young child and how she found her grandfather as an inspiration. She shares with us the struggles she went through in building her volleyball career and the challenges she faced in college. She also shares her story of hitting a l

In episode 104 of the 9INE POINT Started With A dream podcast, Jacolby talks with pro volleyball playerJaidyn Blanchfield about her journey. Jaidyn story is on of perseverance and refusing to let hearing no stop her from achieving her dreams. Instagram - jayjay_b13

In this episodes of the 9INE POINT Started with A Dream podcast, Jacolby talks with Team USA wheel chair basketball gold medalist Jorge Sanchez. Jorge's journey is one that is pure inspiration. Inspiration that is supported through is positive and never give up mindset. At the age of 8, Jorge was diagnosed with cancer. This moment started a journey for Jorge that no one could imagine. From battle cancer, waking up from a coma, finding wheelchair basketball, and to ultimately winning gold. Jorge Sanchez story is one that will inspire all listeners that no matter what obstacles they are facing, that they to can overcome them to achieve their version of greatness. Jorge Instagram - athlete_jorge_sanchez

When you are away from friends and family for nine months abroad, how do you create your home away from home? In this episode of The Started with A Dream Podcast, professional volleyball player Alli Cudworth shares her journey. Tune in to learn how to immerse yourself in the culture of the country you are playing in. In this journey, she shares a few things like how she overcame a knee injury in high school. How she figured out how to push herself as an athlete. Lastly, how to create her second home why she plays overseas in Cyprus.

Episode 101 of the 9INE POINT Started with a Dream Podcast features professional volleyball player Greg Petty. Greg talks about his first experience of playing abroad and how he got there. There were times in his journey when it all almost stopped. Greg talks about how he overcame some challenges that come with being an athlete by being self motivated and having a great support system. Follow Greg on Instagram @gregorypetty9

Flashback to 2020 and the year is almost over. COVID has made a huge impact on all industries including the world of sports. In this episode, Jacolby Gilliam interviews Taylor Milton about her journey to becoming a pro volleyball player to how she has continued to make positive opportunities during times of adversity. Taylor is an experienced professional volleyball player with a demonstrated history of working in the public relations and communications industry. And, when COVID caused her to stop before the season’s end there was definitely a mix of emotions, especially the feelings of uncertainty. In order to express these emotions among team members, friends and fans, Taylor and her friend, Courtney Felinski, created a space, MATCHPOINT COVID, to encourage athletes to virtually share their emotions so they can virtually experience what is going on and be there for each other. MPC gave these players an opportunity to view volleyball from its different perspective while keeping their dreams uniquely ali

In Episode 99, we chat with volleyball player Kristen Moncks about her journey and the progression of her career. Kristen's journey will inspire you to keep chasing your dreams. Knowing each year to aim to getting a little better than you were the year before. This mindset helped Kristen Moncks as she overcame obstacles and setbacks. Leading to her achieving several of her dream opportunities such as playing in University, professionally overseas and ultimately on the Canadian National Volleyball team. Instagram: @kristenmoncks

In Episode 98, we chat with Thays Deprati about her journey and the power of choice. Thays is a professional volleyball player in Switzerland and currently on the national team. Instagram: @thaysdeparti

We had the honor of sitting down with international professional volleyball player Malina Terrell to talk about her unique journey of becoming one of the top athletes in the European professional volleyball circuit.   We talk about how the line of chasing a goal in athletics may not always be a straight one.  For while we strive to succeed in one category of our life, we just might have to put in some work to the other parts of our being to get there.   Terrell shares the raw realities of her athletic journey where she was met with deep moments of self-reflection and confronted with adversity in paving her own way.  Yet through all the hurdles, the light of Terrell shined bright, leading her to a professional career with countless Top Scorer and Top Outside Hitter titles in respected leagues from Finland, Denmark, Germany, and recently France where she just finished her third season competing for one of the top teams in the league, participating in the highly renowned CEV Europea

In episode 96 of The 9INE POINT Started With A Dream Podcast, Jacolby talks with professional volleyball player Taylor Fricano about her journey. Taylor shares the story of the Olympian that inspired her to start her volleyball journey to what it was like during the recruiting process. Once after having success during her college career it was time for her and pup Peanut to head overseas. Tune in to hear more about mental health, patience while chasing your dreams, and remembering to have fun along the way.

In this episode of the Started With A Dream Podcast presented by 9INE POINT, Jacolby Gilliam has a conversation with volleyball Paralympian and owner of Zummo Collective, Bethany Zummo. Bethany shares her story on how she became a volleyball athlete, some of the significant challenges she faced along the way. Through this journey, Bethany has grown and developed a new level of self-confidence to be the best she can be at what she loves.  She believes that everyone has their own 'normal,' and you have to embrace your own normal instead of being afraid of not being someone else's normal. Bethany wants other adaptive athletes to know that they are more than able to not focus on the label this is out there as disabled. Because of COVID, her Paralympic title defense has been put on hold for a while in 20202. However, Bethany has spent her time trying to curb the spread of the COVID. By using her sewing skills with the help of her family, The Zummo Collective was started to create filtered masks as a way of