Alyssa Armada

About Me:

I am 23 years old and the three words that most describe me are bubbly, energetic, and resilient. I love eating and trying all types of food, traveling, and going to concerts. My childhood was filled with living in different states such as California, Michigan and Illinois. If I could change the way I grew up, I would not whatsoever.

Volleyball was a way for me to branch out and make friends in every place that I moved to and made me the out-going person that I am today. The sport requires high energy and teamwork which are both skills that correlate to the real world.

I was determined to find a college that I could settle in for four years and call home. I had a very unordinary recruiting experience which resulted in me committing to a school just so I could play Division I. During my first year at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), I was the starting setter and suffered a wrist injury.

My coach believed the pain was all mental, and continued to play me while I was in pain. The following year my coach lost faith in me, and decided to start another freshmen. Instead of moping around I worked twice as hard as the rest of the girls and adapted to become a utility player.

The utility player is a person who is ready to play any position the team needs. By the end of my collegiate career I played every position, and was team captain for two years. The past year I decided to pursue my masters while also playing at the University of Nottingham.

Through my years playing I have realized that sports are for supporting women and not to tear others down. I hope my knowledge and passion for the game and my experiences can help all the awesome women out there. I am so excited to be able to help, support, and give love to all the female athletes who signed up for this program! 

Inhale Confidence, Exhale Doubt.

During my junior year of high school, I thought I was on top of the world. I was verbally committed to my dream Division I school and I thought no one could tear me down. However, three months after I verbally committed, my dream school had to drop me in order to reshuffle their recruiting class. I was heart-broken and devastated which drastically affected my performance.

I had to restart the recruiting process April of my junior year. By that time, most of the Division I schools had finished the 2014 recruiting class and they were not looking for anyone else. With my Division I dream seeming to diminish, so did my confidence. I played terrible for one tournament and kept doubting the ability I had. I could have just given up right there and then.

However, with my amazing coaches, family, and friends they began to tell me to not give up on my dreams. My coaches ran extra drills with me and told me that I can and that I will be able to find a school. My family and friends gave me the emotional support that I needed.  

I put everything I had into working hard and slowly regained my confidence and swagger. By the end of July, I officially committed to New Jersey Institute of Technology on a scholarship. It was everything I desired and dreamed of.

When an athlete feels confident, she feels more readily able to turn her energy into superior performance. Subsequently, when she feels unsure of herself, the slightest setback or smallest hurdle can have an inordinate effect on her performance. My experiences have taught me that confidence is really the key to success. Many things in your life are controllable as long as you are willing to put in the work.