BENNINGTON, Vt. – Most collegiate student-athletes can only hope and dream that they are ever able to play the sport they love competitively following their senior season. Occasionally, however, this becomes a reality and does so in such a way that the players themselves never would have imagined.
Recently, two former Southern Vermont College women’s volleyball players were selected to travel to the Netherlands to represent the United States on a tour for the USA Athletes International. Standout Mountaineers Danielle Healis (Escondido, Calif.) and Jessica Alvarez (Los Angeles, Calif.), who expended their NCAA eligibility in November with a second trip to the NCAA Regional Tournament, spent just over a week brandishing their American skills against European talent while also being able to soak up the sights and sounds of a countryside quite unlike that of Southern Vermont, and something vastly different from their native Southern California.
“Playing over there was an experience of a lifetime,” commented Healis. “We not only got to be submerged in the exciting Dutch culture, but had to learn the different style of the European game as well as our own team’s chemistry within a few short days.”
Healis and Alvarez helped their USAAI team come together and eventually take first place in the tournament.
USAAI has been participating in international competition since 1992. Originally called the Midwest All-Stars, the organization provided overseas playing opportunities to baseball players. The success of that program eventually prompted requests from abroad for other sporting teams to participate. In 1998 the organization incorporated and received its 501(c)(3) nonprofit status, changing its name to USA Athletes International. It now supports a total of 15 different sports that compete in 25 different countries throughout the world.
“It was an amazing trip, and I made lifelong friends along the way who will never be forgotten,” added Healis.
USAAI invites high school and college athletes to participate in our program based solely on recommendations from coaches, athletes and athletics professionals. The organization asks them to make their recommendations based not only on athletic ability, but also on depth of character, leadership ability, and scholastic efforts.