Photo by Jeff Li
As a force to be reckoned with on the court, Olivia Fromm ’17 has been one of the leaders the volleyball team for the past three seasons. The S&B’s Sam Curry sat down with Fromm to discuss the past, present and future of her volleyball career.
The S&B: When did you start playing volleyball and why do you continue to play?
Fromm: I started in eighth grade. I had a friend drag me to this clinic thing. I was really scared of it at first, with the balling coming at me. I didn’t like it at all at first, but my friends were doing it so I stuck with it. And then I really started to enjoy it in high school. One of the reasons it was really nice in college is there’s a built-in set of friends, so there’s no fear walking into the D-Hall on the first day. … Now, I just love it because it’s really competitive and fun.
What has your experience playing volleyball been like, and is it different than how you’ve played before?
It’s definitely very different. I think that might be part of our coach [Jackie Hutchinson] and the school here. Our coach is very into meditative tactics. We do things were we stare into each other’s eyes for a minute. … We’ve also had a lot of emphasis on inclusivity and building a team culture, so that’s also very different.
How have those different characteristics impacted how you’ve played the game at Grinnell?
Because my coach is so focused on teambuilding and trust-building exercises, sometimes we don’t do enough actual scrimmaging or intensive playing. We didn’t do really well the first few years I’ve been here, but I’m not sure if that’s part of it or not.
What are you going to do to prepare for next season to turn the tides around?
I don’t think we have anything particularly new that we’re going to do other than get our act together. We don’t have any specific strategies of ways to turn that around yet.
What are your hopes for next year in the season, and just in life in general?
It would be awesome to win next season, maybe a 50 percent winning percentage. It would be great to win on Senior Night, that’s a big one. For life as a whole, it would be nice to have a relaxed senior year for me. I’m only taking three classes next semester so I think that’ll be helpful. But fun and relaxed is what I’m going for next year.
