By: Promise Davis
Growing up in an athletic family is not always easy. What does it take to make a name for yourself when surrounded by the legacy of your family?
Melissa “Missy” Meyer grew up playing multiple sports, from the day she could walk she was playing volleyball. But before secondary school, she started playing soccer and t-ball, which at the time were played by boys. So there was a young Missy the only girl on the field fighting for her spot.
As high school came around, she also started playing basketball and softball. At the same time, maintained her primary sport of volleyball. When she wasn’t actively at a practice her family would find time to work out or play a game together because “Sports is part of what [they] do”, says Meyer.
During high school, Missy was playing sports year-round, but she maintained that volleyball was always her favorite. It might be because her mother and her aunt were her coaches.
Missy then chose to pursue a college career in volleyball because it was not only her favorite sport, but it was also the one getting her the most money. She ended up following her aunt’s footsteps, even playing for the same coach. She played all four years at Florida Southern College and her freshman year. They ended up going to the final four. FSC, she received a high level of expectation which she was used to from her high school days. She described Florida Southern College volleyball as a space filled with very successful and well-respected women.
After she left college, she went back to her former high school and coached both boys and girls volleyball. Not only was she their coach, but she had the opportunity to coach with her mother and her aunt for 10 years.
Missy Meyer has gained an abundance of achievements coming from being a player a coach, and as a whole team at her high school.
As a coach, Missy realized that one thing that it changed in the realm of sports was the fact that athletes were missing practice and that’s just not something that she was used to because they didn’t do that. Not only did she notice differences in athletes overall, but in the sport as well.
The game had evolved to become a lot more fast paced and now athletes have to play pretty much year-round. Meaning they’d have to play on a club volleyball team. She’s used to people playing 2 to 3 sports because of the athleticism of high schoolers, but because of the commitment athletes are more forced to pick a singular sport.
While there are a lot of differences she noticed that the atmosphere of the game is the same but it takes a lot more to stay in the sport. She also outlined burnout as a big factor and the game being so much more intense and physically challenging. When she was in high school, she was switching from sport to sport so she didn’t have to dive into a specific sport and stay there leading to more mental strain.
With all of this being said, Missy feels that sports are imperative to helping athletes to learn life skills, specifically when you’re playing on a team because a team dynamic shows that if you’re having a bad day, it affects the people around you. Not only does it help you learn life skills. It’s also a release of energy and an outlet.
Missy Meyer is one of those people who are humble and don’t talk trash and don’t speak about their achievements but she has so much to offer the world of sports.