The Midway is featuring athletes, selected at random, from school teams for informal interviews about their sports. Kylie Carter is a junior on the volleyball team. Kylie’s responses have been lightly edited for clarity, style and length.
What’s one thing in your gear bag you can’t live without and why?
“I can’t live without my KT tape because I’m always injured and my teammates are always injured.”
Who is the one artist you have to listen to as you get ready for a game, and why?
“I really like showtunes and music from musicals because I love a good story and I feel like musicals always have a good story. I also like Kali Uchis because her voice is very calming.”
If you could design your own jersey, what would it look like?
“I would do a sleeveless jersey with the attachable sleeves that would be pink and white and have cool designs on the sides and the sleeves. My team name would be team Kylie with my number 25 on it and last name on the back.”
What’s your favorite pregame snack or drink?
“My favorite pregame drink is a pink drink from Starbucks with vanilla cold foam, which probably isn’t that healthy, but I don’t care. My favorite snack is probably the Made Good granola bars or GoGo squeeZ.”
If you could meet one professional athlete, who would it be and why?
“Definitely Madisen Skinner, who’s a volleyball player on Austin’s professional volleyball team, because she makes little to no errors and also because her mental game is so impressive and inspiring.”
What is your favorite Gatorade flavor?
“Orange Gatorade 100%, but it’s second to the pink drink”
What’s one piece of advice you always remember before a game?
“Be aggressive, and it’s OK if you make a mistake, just don’t make the same one twice.”
What’s the weirdest or funniest game superstition you’ve seen someone do?
“A team that barked — I had never seen anything like that. They would bark before each serve, and I just thought that was wild.”
What’s a skill you learned off the court that has actually helped you on the court?
“I think staying emotionally even and not letting my emotions get the best of me on the court. I learned how to stay calm in the classroom, and that’s transferred to when I’m playing volleyball.”
If you could have any sports brand sponsor you, which one would it be and why?
“Nike because all of the Nike gear is so cool, and probably Under Armour for the same reason. I just love the style of those two brands.”
Who is your favorite volleyball or sports player of all time and why?
“Harper Murray in Nebraska just because she is such an aggressive and thoughtful player.”
What number do you wear and is there a story behind it?
“I’m number 25 because, first, I felt like it was my lucky number and, second, I saw a documentary on this really talented basketball player who unfortunately lost his life to gun violence. He grew up in Chicago and was predicted to go to the NBA and stuff like that. His number was 25, and I saw that after I chose my number and I saw it like it was a sign.”
If you could give advice to someone just starting out playing volleyball, what would you say?
“Practice constantly because volleyball is an easy sport to learn but a hard sport to perfect. So if you’re aiming to be really good at it, you have to work every day and don’t get complacent.”
What has been your biggest setback in your volleyball career?
“Last year I had this really big mental block. I wanted to be so good at everything and I would become so frustrated with myself when I would make a mistake. Only after I had realized that ‘You know, this is hard, but it’s OK to make a mistake,’ I calmed myself down and became less emotional on the court. After that I started to become better and give myself grace.”
