The Other Side of Failure

Becky Murdy
Assistant, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: 719-228-6800
E-Mail: becky.murdy@usav.org

TUCSON, Ariz. (July 26, 2011) -  Some people say that being cut from a team is a failure, but how do you call the NCAA hitting percentage record holder, a two-time First-Team All-Big 12 honoree, NCAA Championships All-Tournament team member and the first women’s volleyball player to go straight from high school to the U.S. women’s volleyball national team in the National Development Program a failure?

Easy… you don’t.

Tracy Stalls spoke in front of all USA Volleyball (USAV) High Performance (HP) athletes at the USAV HP Championships in Tucson, Ariz. about this exact topic, in her words, “the other side of failure.”

In the middle of May of 2011 Stalls was cut from the U.S. Women’s National Team roster for the second time, an experience that does not define her, but one that gave her the opportunities of a lifetime.

“I know I gave it everything I had,” Stalls said. “Of course, I made mistakes in the process, but I learned from those mistakes throughout, and I believe I honored those three letters on my back every single time I wore them. I have no regrets.”

She spoke - rather bounced back and forth like the energizer bunny - in front of 75 USA Volleyball boys’ youth players in one of her five presentations of the weekend, successfully inspiring and motivating the athletes to really take a look at what they are being given through the HP pipeline.

She used a quote from Women’s National Team Head Coach, Hugh McCutcheon to explain it, “You don’t know until you go.”

“First, apply that to volleyball,” Stalls said. “You don’t know if you can reach that ball or if you can get there in time until you go all-out after it with everything you’ve got. You may not even get it if you do, but at least, then, you really know.”

Stalls spoke eloquently and passionately about what USA volleyball has done for her through the impact of traveling, teammates, coaching, and trials. The fact that she can wake up every morning and know that she did everything she could, invested all she had and jumped in with both feet, makes her being cut from the team a year before the Olympics, twice, sting a little less.

“You don’t know until you go,” Stalls repeated. “Now take volleyball out of that saying, take it out and apply it to your life. You are creating habits in your life, defining your character by how you relate with people, how you set your goals and how you choose to pursue them.”

Stalls’ attitude and hunger for the opportunities the young players have was contagious. The athletes had their chins in their hands and elbows on their knees, fixed on the realization that if they give their all then the outcome doesn’t always have to define them.

“It was really inspirational to hear her story,” said Trevor Novotny a member of the Boys’ Youth A2 White team. “She was great. It really proves that we can come to these tournaments, play with the best and strive to become the best.”

Stalls has hit every rung on the USA Volleyball ladder beginning in 2000 on the U.S. Girls’ Youth team at the NORCECA Zonal Championships. She then competed on the U.S. Women’s Junior National Team in 2001 at the World Championships and during the 2002 season at the NORCECA Zonal Championships. She played club volleyball at Front Range under Jim Miret and served as co-captain, leading her team to the 2002 18-Open division national title.

Immediately after graduating valedictorian of Lakewood High School she joined the USA Volleyball Development Program and joined the national team, forgoing numerous scholarships for the opportunity that few get asked to do. After a year with the national team, Stalls enrolled to the University of Nebraska and became a standout Husker, earning honors and awards that would make for a good novel.

Upon graduating Stalls re-joined the national team in January 2008 where she was cut from the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games roster, earning a spot on the alternate list. The Denver native then rostered for the team from 2009- May of 2011 and competed in the FIVB World Grand Prix, the Tour of China and the Pan American Cup before being cut, once again, just a year away from her life-long goal.

“I look at these kids and they are in a place where I was and if I have learned anything on my journey I want to tell them and just spit it out,” Stalls sad, “They might resonate with something I’ve been through and take hold of it. I want to encourage them to risk failure in order to wholeheartedly pursue their dreams. Each and every one of them has such incredible purpose and value and I want to honor them and this unique platform USAV has given me.”

Stalls did not always have the best stats, wasn’t the fastest and didn’t jump the highest, but she never let that stop her from trying.

“Heart, work and discipline were what kept me in the National Team gym all these years,” Stalls said. “Ask any of the coaches here, I was not the fastest, couldn’t jump the highest but I made up for that in dedication and intangibles. I say that to encourage young players to shut down the voices that say they are too short or too slow to pursue the top.”

Stalls changed gears to share a life-changing experience that had happened just two weeks prior, in Haiti on a USA Volleyball trip.

“I decided to share about Haiti to open up their minds to how volleyball is bigger than them,” Stalls said. “I believe sports are a microcosm of life. You are making choices, building character and I want these kids to know that and to consider that with every decision they make on the court.”

USA Volleyball had partnered with Child in Hand, an organization that was put into action to help the orphans in Haiti get back on their feet after the 2010 7.0 magnitude earthquake. The program has a sports branch that aids in the psychosocial aspect of the children’s lives.

“I saw how volleyball changed, for even just a minute, the way these Haitian children felt about life,” Stalls said. “Before we knew it we were dancing to no music and the fact that they had little food and no shoes suddenly all faded for a minute as they become fully engaged in volleyball.”

After listening to Stalls speak, watching her engage and understanding both her volleyball and life accomplishments, failure is the last thing that comes to mind.

“There are no words to express how special USA Volleyball has been for me,” Stalls said. “Every single minute on this pipeline has been an honor.

“I want people to know that the pursuit of being an Olympian is worth everything it asks of you,” Stalls said. “I don’t want them to be afraid of the numbers or the opinions or the failure. I want them to go, because they wont know unless they go.”

Tags: High Performance, High Performance Championships, Indoor, mobile, Tracy Stalls