This week on Patriot Profiles, George Mason Women's Volleyball will profile the team's newcomers. Today, Emily Konchan talks about her thought process of choosing to come to George Mason, her interest in environmental science and her vision for the volleyball program's future.
Previous entries include Emily Haak, Pihla Jarvenpaa.
Though it was a long, six-hour drive from Charlotte, N.C., the transition to Mason was fairly smooth. After we moved in, we started practice the very next day. Our encouraging coaches and friendly and goofy teammates have filled our rigorous three-a-days with smiles and laughs. I'm quickly getting used to navigating campus before classes start, which is a perk.
As soon as news of the coaching change was announced, I was anxious to see what the next four years would hold. After my first phone call with Coach Aylene, however, my mind was at ease. I gained confidence that this team and program would only propel forward under her guidance. At my short time at Mason thus far, she has set about the task of coaching this team with such vigor, combining her effort, energy, and enthusiasm all into one cohesive coaching style. With the aid of the rest of the coaching staff, Aylene has demonstrated efforts to watch and critique all players on the court, making sure that each of us receives the necessary instruction to get better every day. With three-a-days in full swing, it is obvious that the coaches are putting their full energy forth in helping this team for hours upon hours in the gym, watching film, and generating stats. Finally, their enthusiasm shines through with genuine smiles as they coach us through the bad habits we need to crack and the good habits we need to maintain in order to be successful this season and those to come.
Besides athletics, I chose to come to George Mason University because of its proximity to Washington D.C. The diversity of the school's population, and the future internship opportunities. Though I plan on majoring in business, my interest in environmental science and reversing the cataclysmic trend of our earth's climate change fueled my choice to attend Mason. I hope to have an internship at the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] while living here, and I plan to pursue work for sustainability-based businesses. George Mason will provide me with the proper tools I need to find success in my future endeavors.
I came to Mason with the generic goal any newcomer would have: to be the change that would help this team have a winning season. After practicing for about two weeks, I can already see that I need to dig a little deeper than that. A significant change usually won't occur after one practice, one game, or even one season. I hope to bring a change to the program as a whole over the next four years that I attend this school. In that time, my goal is to become a leader and someone my teammates will be able to look to for motivation and guidance on and off the court. When the team is in a rough patch, I will be the positive energy source that can lift my teammates up with words, a laugh, or my giddy smile.
It's not going to happen overnight, but with a newfound intensity from the coaching staff and players I'm optimistic that these next few years will reshape the George Mason Women's Volleyball program for the better. I am beyond thrilled to be a part of the change.
With preseason coming to a close, I am eager to start gameplay next week and beyond ecstatic for our season ahead.
