As athletics at Emory University get underway this fall, there are many new faces across the Eagles’ varsity teams, including first-year athletes preparing to kick off their college sports careers.
Malia Brooks (29C) has been playing volleyball since she was seven years old. She tried dance and gymnastics as a child, but was not nearly as motivated to attend practice as when she was playing volleyball. There were not any teams in the area available for her age group, but after some phone calls, Brooks found herself as the youngest on a team of 12 year olds.
“It was definitely scary because I had no clue what I was doing,” Brooks said. “I was in the little baggy spandex and all of these girls were obviously older, so they knew certain terminology that I didn’t know.”
Despite the age difference, the older girls on the team were quick to take Brooks under their wing. Brooks shared that her community was what grew her love for the sport. The sense of community on the Emory women’s volleyball is partially why Brooks chose the school.
“How much the girls encourage and support each other was super cool to witness,” Brooks said. “I saw that, and I was like, ‘I need to be a part of this.’”
Brooks continued to play volleyball throughout middle and high school, where her team won back-to-back state championships in her junior and senior years. However, perfect games like those state championships are not always easy to come by in volleyball, which Brooks calls “a game of mistakes.”
Brooks said she had to learn to accept mistakes as an athlete, both on and off the court, which was “very challenging.” Under the guidance of her new teammates at Emory, she sees that challenge becoming easier.
“They’ve helped guide me already so much,” Brooks said. “That’s going to keep occurring throughout the years, and I’m going to gain so much perspective and knowledge from them.”
Luke Hartman’s (29C) love for swimming began almost as soon as he could walk — rather, swim. Hartman started the sport at five years old, but did not truly enjoy swimming until he was 10 years old. He said seeing his hard work in the water pay off is what encouraged him to join the Emory swim team.
“I love pushing my body to the limit,” Hartman said. “[With] swimming, you get what you put in, and you gotta work hard to see results.”
Hartman knew that he wanted to continue competing at the collegiate level, but never imagined he would end up at Emory. After visiting campus on a whim, he said he knew the University and its athletic programs were what he was looking for.
“I had five visits before at different places, and on my last one I very last minute chose that I wanted to visit Emory,” Hartman said. “I was just blown away … and I knew that that’s where I wanted to go.
Hartman said he already met two of his Emory teammates as a high schooler and is looking forward to practicing with them side by side, pushing each other to overcome challenges.
“With the team dynamic, there’s a bunch of people there at practice pushing you to your limits,” Hartman said. “People want you to do the best you can, so they’re going to help you do that.”
Gabriela Oceguera (29C) was drawn to softball because of the team dynamic, having previously met many close friends through the sport.
“Softball has such a close, tight-knit community, and I’ve always made the best friends from softball,” Oceguera said. “The Emory team is like that a lot. They seem very close and tight-knit.”
For Oceguera, softball is as much of a mental game as it is a physical one. She said it has been crucial for her to recognize how to deal with failure, especially in a sport where only getting a hit 30% of the time is considered a success.
“Sometimes you’re not going to succeed, sometimes you’re not going to push the runs in,” Oceguera said. “Even the best people are failing seven out of 10 times.”
Oceguera hopes to maintain her high level of performance after joining the Eagles, both as an athlete and as a student with medical school aspirations.
“Being at the top academically and being in a sport where you’re going to be working hard all the time, I think that’s really going to push me to be better and prepare me for the future,” Oceguera said.
While she was once uncertain about whether she was good enough, Oceguera said that receiving college offers and coming to a supportive team at Emory has instilled confidence in her abilities.
“When you know that the people around you know that you’re good, and know that you can do the job, that really helps more than anything,” Oceguera said.
