The future of volleyball is now — and Emily Ehman has been at the forefront of it! Emily grew up in Bloomington, Indiana as a multi-sport athlete playing both volleyball and track at a high level. She played club at Circle City in Indianapolis, driving over an hour each way. At 5'8" she could touch 10 feet — a direct result of her cross-training as a jumper and sprinter. She committed to Northwestern in the spring of her junior year, where she walked on as a libero after playing six-rotation outside her entire life and balanced playing in the Big Ten with one of the most rigorous journalism programs in the country. When COVID shut the world down right as she graduated, Emily took matters into her own hands. She built a volleyball web show from her parents' basement, pitched herself to volleyball publications and networks, and essentially created the digital host role in volleyball media. She covered the NCAA tournament for Big Ten Network, worked with Athletes Unlimited, and has since become a fixture on ESPN, ABC, Big Ten Network, Fox, and CBS. She was in the booth for volleyball day in Nebraska — the world record 92,003 attendance event — and has been at the forefront of pushing for better coverage, better visibility, and better treatment of the sport at every level. In this episode, Emily and I talk about being a multi-sport athlete, choosing a two's team over a one's team to keep doing track, walking on at Northwestern and the mindset shift of going from being the best on your team in high school to playing with other elite athletes in college, role acceptance and finding your value when you're not getting playing time, navigating student athlete life, graduating into a pandemic with no reel and no job, building a career from scratch by identifying gaps and pitching herself, what it was like to call volleyball day in Nebraska, the future of professional volleyball in the US, and her advice for anyone looking to keep the sport in their life beyond playing. Whether you're an athlete figuring out what's next, a parent supporting your kid through sports, or someone who just loves volleyball and wants to understand where this sport is headed — this episode is for you! Follow Emily Ehman: @EmilyEhman
