AT H L E T I C S
Net Gains
Yang Deng has traveled far and wide, within the sport of volleyball and across the globe, to now “build a connection” at Stetson. BY JAMIE BATAILLE
B
efore Yang Deng ever stepped foot on a volleyball court in the United States, she was one of the brightest young stars in her homeland of China.
In elementary school, an early growth spurt helped Deng stand out from her classmates. Literally. As a fifth-grader, her height and athletic ability led to an invitation to play on a local volleyball team in Changzhou, a city on the southern bank of the Yangtze River in the highly developed Yangtze Delta region of China. For Deng at the time, the volleyball court meant a welcome break from the long hours of rigorous studying that Chinese students were accustomed to in the classroom. And it didn’t take long for coaches to take notice. In sixth grade, a sports-affiliated boarding school offered Deng an opportunity to play on a youth province team. If she chose to attend the government-run school, her tuition would be covered (unlike at public school), but she would have to move to the capital city of Nanjing and live on her own at age 13. Deng made the leap. “I remember my dad telling me, ‘It is your choice, but if you want to do that, then you have to do it the best you can.’ I liked playing volleyball, so I decided to go,” she recounted.
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STETSON | Summer 2018
Quickly, Deng climbed the ranks of the province team from youth and junior to the national level. From there, she was selected to play for the youth national team and then the Chinese junior national team. Deng was only 19 years old and getting to travel around the globe — staying at five-star resorts and receiving police escorts along with extra security. Her memory: “It was pretty fun, actually.” In 1995, Deng’s fast rise brought her to the highest level, an opportunity to train and compete with the Chinese National Team. At age 21, she was one of the youngest players on the squad. Then her journey took a turn. After one season with the national team, a back injury derailed Deng’s playing career. So, she enrolled at a university in Beijing and began working on a college degree. A return to the court, however, wasn’t far behind. It just turned out to be far away.