Lydia Adam: A childhood dream that came true
1. What inspired you to come to the United States and play volleyball? Why USA?
The truth is that coming to the United States to play volleyball and study was a dream of mine since I was a child. In high school I was constantly watching teams’ highlights from different universities and that was my first contact with college volleyball in the USA. I believe that the USA is one of the few countries, if not the only one, which has many facilities available for the athlete and can help one combine education and sports at a high level.
2. What were some of your concerns and expectations regarding college sports in the USA? What criteria determined the choice of your university?
Some of the worries I had were related to the different language, food and lifestyle, worries that I believe anyone who has gone to a new country and a foreign environment has. Regarding volleyball, I knew that the competition would be great and that was something that worried me but at the same time excited me. The expectations that I had and still have are to improve as a player by getting new stimuli but also to strengthen both physically and mentally. The most important criteria that determined the choice of university were the combination of a qualitative academic and volleyball program as well as the environment and the people in and around the team.
3. When did you start the university search process, are you happy with your decision, do you have any stories to share that scared you from this experience, something that you will remember forever?
I made the decision that I want to play and study in the US relatively late. I started the university search process in December of 12th grade and left for the US in June immediately after the national exams. I can say that I am happy that I chose this particular university and I am very happy with both the team and my studies.As I mentioned before, everything happened very quickly, so I did not have time to fully realize what was happening. However, something that definitely marked me in the process was my trip and my visit to the university in January for a few days, something that contributed significantly to my final decision.
4. What advice would you give to athletes who are thinking of following a path similar to yours? What do you have to say to parents and athletes who are considering starting this journey?
I would say that if it is something they think about and really want to do, they should pursue it. It is an indisputable fact there are many difficulties, but nothing in life comes easy and I believe that the positive things and the lessons learned from this experience outweigh the difficulties.
5. Your thoughts on the project and the services provided by Nomos?
My experience with nomos was very good and the support offered to me by the nomos team and mr Tassos helped significantly in the realization of my dream. As everything had to be done in a very short amount of time, I knew I could count somewhere for guidance and the solution to every problem of mine.
6. The conference in which you play had competitive activity in the fall and you made great appearances. What are the team's goals for the future?
The team’s goals, as soon as we start our preseason and training, is to keep everyone healthy so that everything works properly. Beyond that, I believe that our main goals are to improve individually and as a team and prepare to the best of our ability for the regional games that start again in March.