Tweet
How Natalie Foster found her confidence and became Wichita State volleyball star
Taylor Eldridge looks at the development of Natalie Foster.
Read more at: https://www.kansas.com/sports/colleg...#storylink=cpy
When Natalie Foster joined the Wichita State volleyball team, she felt like coach Chris Lamb believed in her potential more than she did. In Lamb’s mind, the 6-foot-4 middle blocker from Mattawan, Mich., had nearly the identical disposition as Jen Ray and Abbie Lehman, two middles who came to WSU as raw talent and developed into all-conference hitters.
In Foster’s mind, she didn’t think she had the talent. Her confidence had been shot by a bad experience with her club team in Michigan, which she said effectively benched her for playing high school basketball rather than commit to club volleyball year-round.
Even when Foster earned a starting role for the Shockers as a freshman, she still battled self-doubt. She said the encouragement from the WSU coaching staff and Lamb’s ability to back up what he was saying to her through the advanced statistics he religiously tracks in practices helped her gain confidence.
“You don’t want to drift too far away from their strengths,” Lamb said. “That’s something they do feel good about, and then you’re sprinkling in the other aspects of the game that they’re going to have to figure out. For Natalie, it was about keeping the offense simple. She had the arm talent and she could play high, so we wanted to make sure we dialed up offensive plays for her that she could do well at. Meanwhile, the speed of the game, transition volleyball, the speed of the game for blocking, we’ve just tried to get better and better every semester. She’s been great.”
“When I first came here, I didn’t have any confidence in myself but the coaches knew that I had a high ceiling,” Foster said. “I just had to trust the process and go with it and trust that they were going to get me to where I needed to be. It was rough there for the first year, but when I look back on it now, I’m very proud of the work that I’ve put in and knowing there is more to come. And I’m excited for it.”
Taylor Eldridge looks at the development of Natalie Foster.
Read more at: https://www.kansas.com/sports/colleg...#storylink=cpy
When Natalie Foster joined the Wichita State volleyball team, she felt like coach Chris Lamb believed in her potential more than she did. In Lamb’s mind, the 6-foot-4 middle blocker from Mattawan, Mich., had nearly the identical disposition as Jen Ray and Abbie Lehman, two middles who came to WSU as raw talent and developed into all-conference hitters.
In Foster’s mind, she didn’t think she had the talent. Her confidence had been shot by a bad experience with her club team in Michigan, which she said effectively benched her for playing high school basketball rather than commit to club volleyball year-round.
Even when Foster earned a starting role for the Shockers as a freshman, she still battled self-doubt. She said the encouragement from the WSU coaching staff and Lamb’s ability to back up what he was saying to her through the advanced statistics he religiously tracks in practices helped her gain confidence.
“You don’t want to drift too far away from their strengths,” Lamb said. “That’s something they do feel good about, and then you’re sprinkling in the other aspects of the game that they’re going to have to figure out. For Natalie, it was about keeping the offense simple. She had the arm talent and she could play high, so we wanted to make sure we dialed up offensive plays for her that she could do well at. Meanwhile, the speed of the game, transition volleyball, the speed of the game for blocking, we’ve just tried to get better and better every semester. She’s been great.”
“When I first came here, I didn’t have any confidence in myself but the coaches knew that I had a high ceiling,” Foster said. “I just had to trust the process and go with it and trust that they were going to get me to where I needed to be. It was rough there for the first year, but when I look back on it now, I’m very proud of the work that I’ve put in and knowing there is more to come. And I’m excited for it.”
Comment