Q. Taylah was kind of a revelation last year. I don’t know if a lot of teams knew what to expect from her. How do you prepare her for the second go around now that teams are aware of her potential and what she can do?
LEAH JOHNSON: It’s not as much preparing Taylah any different than any player moving into their second season. I think the second year is the hardest year for anyone for athletes and I think it’s the hardest year as a coach. I’m glad it’s over. It was great. But Taylah is just more mature now. I think for her, it’s not like growing up in the U.S. where you see it and you hear it every day. The noise isn’t as loud. She’s just on a path, and we’re just going to keep her there, rather than focusing on what to expect. My job is to surround her with good pieces and make sure there’s more complements to her game so she can’t be the only known target. I’m excited, especially with these two women next to me, what they’re going to do to provide Taylah that support and multiple players in our gym doing just that.
Q. When growing up, what was your favorite sport before volleyball?
EVIE DOEZEMA: I started with basketball. My dad got me into basketball and I loved it and played all the way until my senior year of high school. I even had the opportunity to go on and play basketball in college, but I loved volleyball too much and I knew I could play at a bigger level and play more intense, so I chose that.
TAYLOR PRESTON: Mine growing up I actually used to do swimming, and then my sister started playing volleyball. I loved watching her play volleyball. I fell in love with the sport, so then I switched and started playing volleyball. But swimming was my childhood sport for sure.
Q. What do you believe to be your strength as an athlete?
TAYLOR PRESTON: Strengths as an athlete? I think one thing for sure is to — well, one, be resilient. Two, confidence. And three, just not worrying about your mistakes. I think trusting the process is a huge thing, especially as athletes. You have lots of ups and downs, lot of roller coasters throughout your journey, but I think you know your end goal. You know what you want to achieve. I think trusting yourself, trusting the people around you to make you better, I think those are three things that, at least for me, I strive to as strengths in my life.
EVIE DOEZEMA: I would say especially in our gym, we talk about our values, serve, grow, and honor. The strengths of…
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