Indiana University Athletics
In Her Own Words: Kendall Beerman
7/11/2017 11:31:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Redshirt sophomore Kendall Beerman traveled to Europe as part of the Big Ten Foreign Tour team this summer. The group, with one student from each Big Ten School, spent time in the Czech Rupublic, Slovenia, Austria and Italy. The following is a written accont of the trip from Kendall.
Traveling to Europe was a new and exciting experience for me in more ways than one. I can't even count how many times I've been on a plane while being a Big Ten athlete, but nothing compared to the traveling on this trip. Finding my way around the Dulles airport looking for my shuttle was a struggle after already being awake for six hours traveling from Indianapolis. Luckily Audra Appold from Ohio State found me and we eventually found our way to Maryland's campus to have our first practice!
After breaking the ice a little with all of our Big Ten rivals for only one short practice in the states, we loaded up for the long eight hour flight to Paris, then two hour flight to Prague. This long day of traveling hit us hard and the jet lag was setting in but I was very impressed with not only myself but the rest of the team for how well we were able to practice as soon as we landed in Prague.
Speaking of Prague, Czech Republic, it was absolutely my favorite place to stay during the whole trip. From the old architecture, cobblestone back allies with hidden coffee shops, to the historic castles from hundreds of years ago when Prague ruled Europe, it was amazing. This was the first time we all played a game with each other and although you could tell it was weird for us to play together, we had a lot of upside and everyone was competing, knowing we had a lot more volleyball to play we felt good.
We then took a quick day trip to Vienna, Austria. This was a very wealthy city that felt like a European Upper East Side. It was so fun to walk around in groups and sit and chill at coffee places and drink some of the best cappuccinos in my life.
Next, we traveled to Maribor, Slovenia, which was a breathtaking ski lodge resort with views I will never forget. A highlight of this trip was visiting a local preschool and hanging out with some adorable little kids who didn't speak a word of english. Something we all learned quickly was that no matter where you are in the world, little kids are all the same! The volleyball here was really competitive and we started playing some really good ball now that we were all so acquainted and close. Our best game here was against a really good Croatian Junior National team that we beat in four.
After a quick three days in Maribor, we traveled to Venice, Italy for a day trip. Although it was nearly one hundred degrees that day, Venice was everything and more I could have expected. The fact that everyone travels by gondola was crazy to us. The best part was seeing all of the gorgeous buildings with flowers in the windows, it made me think to myself, "Who lives here??" The gelato and pizza here was authentic and delicious, nothing like Americanized Italian food.
Then we took off for our final three day stop in Milan, Italy. This was by far the biggest city we stayed in and it was so cool and modern. By this point in the trip we were all so close and couldn't go two seconds without laughing at our inside jokes we had created in such a short time. We played a really good Italian Junior National team and they killed us the first time, which really motivated us because we knew we were going to play them again in two days. The next time we played them we played our best volleyball, everyone contributing and doing their job like we were a real college team! We split that game 2-2 and were really pleased with how we ended things. That night we walked around downtown Milan and it was so modern and fun, with a lot of shopping and strolling.
The next day it was obvious we were all sad to be leaving, with a mix of being ready to return home to friends and family and not wanting this amazing experience with new friends to end.
Overall I was very pleased with how I handled the trip. I played solid and really focused on the role I was given. Something I told myself I was going to do was handle the ball well and be great in the back row and I'm proud that I did! Something I took away from this was that I am even more motivated than ever to keep improving my game for the remainder of my career here at Indiana.
This was such a confidence builder for me. I also am more excited about the possibility of played professionally one day. This was great exposure for me and it showed me what I need to improve on and what I am already doing really well. The girls I went with are people I will always consider friends. We were all shocked at how well we all got along and how quickly too. It'll be so fun to see each other in the fall and reminisce on the trip. I will be forever grateful to Coach Dunbar and the rest of the coaching staff for giving me this opportunity, and to the Big Ten for considering me in this role. It was such an honor and something I will never forget. I learned so much and can say I grew as a player in those short twelve days.
Traveling to Europe was a new and exciting experience for me in more ways than one. I can't even count how many times I've been on a plane while being a Big Ten athlete, but nothing compared to the traveling on this trip. Finding my way around the Dulles airport looking for my shuttle was a struggle after already being awake for six hours traveling from Indianapolis. Luckily Audra Appold from Ohio State found me and we eventually found our way to Maryland's campus to have our first practice!
After breaking the ice a little with all of our Big Ten rivals for only one short practice in the states, we loaded up for the long eight hour flight to Paris, then two hour flight to Prague. This long day of traveling hit us hard and the jet lag was setting in but I was very impressed with not only myself but the rest of the team for how well we were able to practice as soon as we landed in Prague.
Speaking of Prague, Czech Republic, it was absolutely my favorite place to stay during the whole trip. From the old architecture, cobblestone back allies with hidden coffee shops, to the historic castles from hundreds of years ago when Prague ruled Europe, it was amazing. This was the first time we all played a game with each other and although you could tell it was weird for us to play together, we had a lot of upside and everyone was competing, knowing we had a lot more volleyball to play we felt good.
We then took a quick day trip to Vienna, Austria. This was a very wealthy city that felt like a European Upper East Side. It was so fun to walk around in groups and sit and chill at coffee places and drink some of the best cappuccinos in my life.
Next, we traveled to Maribor, Slovenia, which was a breathtaking ski lodge resort with views I will never forget. A highlight of this trip was visiting a local preschool and hanging out with some adorable little kids who didn't speak a word of english. Something we all learned quickly was that no matter where you are in the world, little kids are all the same! The volleyball here was really competitive and we started playing some really good ball now that we were all so acquainted and close. Our best game here was against a really good Croatian Junior National team that we beat in four.
After a quick three days in Maribor, we traveled to Venice, Italy for a day trip. Although it was nearly one hundred degrees that day, Venice was everything and more I could have expected. The fact that everyone travels by gondola was crazy to us. The best part was seeing all of the gorgeous buildings with flowers in the windows, it made me think to myself, "Who lives here??" The gelato and pizza here was authentic and delicious, nothing like Americanized Italian food.
Then we took off for our final three day stop in Milan, Italy. This was by far the biggest city we stayed in and it was so cool and modern. By this point in the trip we were all so close and couldn't go two seconds without laughing at our inside jokes we had created in such a short time. We played a really good Italian Junior National team and they killed us the first time, which really motivated us because we knew we were going to play them again in two days. The next time we played them we played our best volleyball, everyone contributing and doing their job like we were a real college team! We split that game 2-2 and were really pleased with how we ended things. That night we walked around downtown Milan and it was so modern and fun, with a lot of shopping and strolling.
The next day it was obvious we were all sad to be leaving, with a mix of being ready to return home to friends and family and not wanting this amazing experience with new friends to end.
Overall I was very pleased with how I handled the trip. I played solid and really focused on the role I was given. Something I told myself I was going to do was handle the ball well and be great in the back row and I'm proud that I did! Something I took away from this was that I am even more motivated than ever to keep improving my game for the remainder of my career here at Indiana.
This was such a confidence builder for me. I also am more excited about the possibility of played professionally one day. This was great exposure for me and it showed me what I need to improve on and what I am already doing really well. The girls I went with are people I will always consider friends. We were all shocked at how well we all got along and how quickly too. It'll be so fun to see each other in the fall and reminisce on the trip. I will be forever grateful to Coach Dunbar and the rest of the coaching staff for giving me this opportunity, and to the Big Ten for considering me in this role. It was such an honor and something I will never forget. I learned so much and can say I grew as a player in those short twelve days.
Players Mentioned
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