In this episode of The 9INE POINT Started With A Dream Podcast, Jacolby Gilliam welcomes Julie Lengweiler, a professional volleyball player playing in Spain. Volleyball has been in Julie’s life for as long as she can remember. This propelled Julie to go pro at the young age of 16 in Switzerland. Julie is duly represented by Athletes Abroad Management and today, she shared with us the challenges and wins she has faced as a pro athlete and advises young athletes to dream big so they can live their dream.
Julie begins with her dream as a younger athlete: to play in the big leagues. She shares with us how that dream became a reality and how she began playing volleyball professionally at 16. This also came with struggles, having been the youngest on the team. However, she was determined never to quit. Her resilience carried her further as she later played in Finland and now in Spain. Julie’s story inspires us that we can achieve much if only we dare to dream.
Key Points:
- Julie’s dream when she was a younger athlete
- Making the dream a reality
- Julie talks about being a role model
- Falling in love with volleyball
- Playing pro at 16
- Why Julie refused to quit
- Figuring who you are outside of the sport you play
- Navigating agents when trying to go pro
- Playing in Finland
- Advice to younger athletes
- What’s next for Julie?
Quotes:
“I want to inspire more kids to dream big, because I also felt that with my dreams, I was very lonely.”
“It's a very weird feeling. It was something I worked for. And it was something I wanted. But when it happened, I did feel like wow, this is maybe a little bit too much.”
“It's so much more than being ready for that level. It's being ready for loads of practice and pressure and games and expectations.”
“Who am I without the sport?”
Connect with 9INE POINT:
Connect with Julie:
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!