Hannah Stair wasn’t sure what to think when she received an e-mail in June inviting her to play volleyball with America’s Team in Spain next summer.
The Columbus Christian junior setter has been starting for the Crusaders since she was in middle school, but being at a small, non-IHSAA school, she hasn’t received the statewide exposure that players from big-time programs typically receive.
"I just got an e-mail one day saying that I was offered a place on a team to go to Barcelona," Stair said. "We kind of thought it was fake at first, but the more we looked into it, we kind of realized it was a real thing. So we called and talked to a lady from America’s Team, and she told us all the details about it, and then I signed up."
Stair has played for The Academy club team out of Indianapolis the past two years. Her mother Sarah, who is the Columbus Christian coac, also has coached teams at The Academy.
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Ashlee Pritchard, a former libero and defensive specialist at Taylor University and now the coach at Marian, will coach America’s Team on its Barcelona trip. She saw Hannah Stair, who plays libero for her club team, in action and Hannah was one of 10 girls from Indiana that Pritchard asked to be on the team.
"Thankfully, I guy that I know well that was a staff member at the club where I coached and where my girls played, knew Ashlee," Sarah Stair said. "He said Ashlee is a great coach, is a defensive coach, and he really vouched for her. We did some research on the organization, and they appear to want girls that are D-III or NAIA skill level. They don’t want a bunch of 6-foot Division I girls because that wouldn’t be fun for anyone."
America’s Team is part of the American Council for International Studies (ACIS), which was founded by Brigham Joy. Joy played baseball in Germany and the Czech Republic while in college at Washburn University and wanted give athletes a similar experience. So he has been taking teams to the Dominican Republic and different parts of Europe to play baseball, softball and volleyball.
Since the eight-day, seven-night trip that will take place next July costs nearly $5,000, Hannah Stair currently is fundraising.
"I’m super excited," Hannah Stair said. "I think it’s going to be really cool just to learn about a different culture and meet the girls from the teams from Spain. I think it will teach me a lot about volleyball, about Spain, about a bunch of different stuff so I can come back a better player."
During her time in Barcelona, Hannah will play in a tournament against other teams from Spain. She likely will be able to have some meals with some of the actual Spanish players.
"It’s a real honor," Sarah Stair said. "It was quite a blessing to get this opportunity, and she is very excited about going. She has this dream to travel the world, so as a parent, for her to be able to not only reach her dream of traveling the world, but also being able to play a sport that she loves and combine the two is a really exciting thing."
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Name: Hannah Stair
School: Columbus Christian
Year: Junior
Height: 5-foot-4
Position: Setter
Key stats: Led Crusaders with 699 assists and 160 aces last season, while adding 188 digs, 39 kills and 15 blocks
Other sports: Softball
Link to fundraising page: https://www.acis.com/fundraising/public?key=04BEF0C3-5056-AC05-A6970DB2D44F21C3
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