{"id":8330,"date":"2015-11-05T04:30:00","date_gmt":"2015-11-05T10:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/?p=8330"},"modified":"2015-11-03T12:35:10","modified_gmt":"2015-11-03T18:35:10","slug":"chavezs-long-volleyball-journey-leads-to-nsr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/chavezs-long-volleyball-journey-leads-to-nsr\/","title":{"rendered":"Chavez’s long volleyball journey leads to NSR"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Kari<\/a>
Kari Chavez, flashing her ever-present smile, was one of the top high school volleyball setters in America.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kari Chavez is synonymous with winning and excellence.\u00a0 Eastern Washington’s Area Director\u00a0for National Scouting Report, she was a top-tier volleyball player at Eisenhower High School in Yakima, Wash., in 1997.<\/p>\n

Recruited by more than 80 colleges, Chavez knows first-hand the\u00a0demands associated with recruiting at the highest level.<\/p>\n

“I was recruited by schools from the PAC-10 (now PAC-12),\u00a0West Coast, Big Sky, Big-10 and Mountain West conferences along with lots of D-IIs,”\u00a0said Chavez, 38.\u00a0 “I enjoyed the attention I got. When coaches were at our court, I tried to show off as much as possible. I loved the recruiting process. I had no pressure.<\/p>\n

“Playing volleyball gave me self-confidence. I was shy and not confident about myself unless I was on the court. \u00a0As I started getting recruited, my confidence got better. All of my teammates were also getting recruited. We had great high school and club teams.\u00a0 I received packets in the mail and hand-written letters all the time. \u00a0But because my family didn’t know anything about the [recruiting] process, I just filled out the questionnaires and didn’t do anything else. \u00a0I remember thinking, ‘Where’s Pepperdine? \u00a0Who’d want to go to a school with that name?’\u00a0 I was clueless.<\/p>\n

“In the end, I chose New Mexico State.\u00a0 I loved the campus and the beautiful desert scenery.”<\/p>\n

However, a serious back injury curtailed her ability to compete and\u00a0started her down an arduous journey which included transferring to three other schools\u00a0as she worked her way back onto the volleyball court.<\/p>\n

“Doctors left and right told me I’d never play again, so I went to Yakima Valley [Wash.] Community College and was a student for a year,” said Chavez, then known as Kari St. Martin.<\/p>\n

But her desire to play again was stronger than her doctors’ opinions.\u00a0 Time away from the sport had\u00a0stirred her competitive juices and her need to return to the court.<\/p>\n

“I asked the coach if I could play, so I did for a year,” she said. “The [competition] level wasn’t strenuous on my back.”<\/p>\n

\"Chavez<\/a>
Chavez plays professionally today after recovering from two back surgeries.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Her exceptional skills as a setter brought her lots of attention. Named to the 1996 National Junior College Athletic Association’s All-America team, as well as Female Athlete of the Year at her school, Chavez started hearing from college coaches again.<\/p>\n

“I had a number of choices,” Chavez said. “I chose Portland State.”<\/p>\n

However, her back didn’t cooperate.\u00a0 “After a couple weeks of training, I wasn’t able to move or even open a door,” she said. “Doctors again told me I was done, so I transferred to Central Washington to just go to school.”<\/p>\n

That year off helped her ailing back. Once at\u00a0Central Washington, she approached head volleyball coach Mario Andaya and told him about her situation.\u00a0 She told him she believed she could play, but the added strain of daily practices was the tipping point for her.\u00a0 After a number of discussions, the coach offered Chavez a scholarship and agreed to limit her off-day activities.<\/p>\n

It was a great decision for Chavez and the team. Chavez made the All-Great Northwest Athletic Conference team and was named team MVP following the 1999 and 2000 seasons.\u00a0\u00a0Not bad for someone who was twice told by specialists she would never play volleyball again.<\/p>\n

Following college, Chavez became a student assistant coach at Central Washington before accepting a full-time assistant coaching job at Gonzaga University in 2002.\u00a0 She held that job for six years before choosing to be a stay-at-home mom.\u00a0 She also took time off to have much needed back surgeries.\u00a0 Today, Chavez is fully healed, still coaches club volleyball and plays the sport she loves as a member of\u00a0Team Evergreen in\u00a0the Premier Volleyball League.\u00a0 In 2007, she married David Chavez.\u00a0 The couple live in Spokane, Wash., with their 6-year-old son, Tyler.<\/p>\n

“My injury took me on a really long path, but I’m happy I had so many opportunities and had the pleasure of playing at CWU for awesome teammates and\u00a0coaches,” Chavez said.\u00a0 “Then, being hired at Gonzaga led to the family I have here, friends I met after college, and a professional playing experience.”<\/p>\n

\"Kari<\/a>
Chavez with husband, David, and son, Tyler, at their Spokane, Wash., home.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That journey eventually took her to National Scouting Report.<\/p>\n

“I’m doing something for a career that I’m passionate about,” Chavez said. “I’ve seen too many athletes not get recruited that should have. I was recruited.\u00a0 I’ve coached club [volleyball] for 20 years and now help my NSR prospects get recruited. \u00a0I was a college coach that did the recruiting. \u00a0I’ve been on all sides of recruiting. \u00a0My experiences help guide athletes. I’m lucky to have the life I have and to continue to help these young athletes in every sport.”<\/p>\n

What does she advise NSR prospects who have a chance to be recruited by big-time colleges?<\/p>\n

“I tell top-level recruits and anyone being recruited to enjoy the ride,” she said. “It’s a roller-coaster ride with ups and downs. There will be excitements and disappointments, but at least it’s a ride. Enjoy!”<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kari Chavez is synonymous with winning and excellence.\u00a0 Eastern Washington’s Area Director\u00a0for National Scouting Report, she was a top-tier volleyball player at Eisenhower High School in Yakima, Wash., in 1997. Recruited by more than 80 colleges, Chavez knows first-hand the\u00a0demands associated with recruiting at the highest level. “I was recruited by schools from the PAC-10 … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[324,31,322,320,321,222,325,323,327,326],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8330"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8330"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8330\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8353,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8330\/revisions\/8353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}