Bookemdanosports Press Release
Adyson Barker -- A footprint in the sand
Adyson Barker is 16 years old. With her future in front of her, Adyson is already leaving her footprint in the sand. Her arena: the sand volleyball court.
Adyson, the daughter of Dani and Kevin Barker, has set her sights far away from her hometown of Arlington, Texas. Instead, she yearns for the beaches of California and a chance to become a professional volleyball player.
There are a few things against her. Her size for one. At 5-foot-3, she'll be in among the "giants" at the net. But don't count out Adyson Barker. She has already displayed the heart of a lion and has shown to her family, her friends and her teammates that she will rise up from the sand and make a name for herself in a sport which requires speed, agility and toughness -- three of the requirements for a sport which has taken the country by storm -- all the way to the Summer Olympics.
The Olympic stars in the sport, Misty May-Treanor and Kerry Walsh Jennings (gold medalists in the 2012 Summer Olympics), have certainly made a name for themselves over the years in the popular sport, which adds a new meaning to "fun in the sun."
But to get there, to the pinnacle of the sport, takes a lot of talent, a lot of hard work and the need to succeed. Dani Barker says her daughter has all those attributes.
"Adyson starting playing beach volleyball just two years ago and qualified for the junior Olympics in Hermosa Beach, California," Dani says. "This is very uncommon. Most girls have been playing beach for several years and if they are not playing beach then they are playing indoor. She has a great mind set for the game."
According to Dani, her daughter has been told that she is too short. She has been told to come back to reality. But hearing those words just makes her work and train harder. It's that "fighter mentality" inside her -- a trait she inherited as a baby. Just getting started in life wasn't easy for Adyson.
When Adyson was a baby she suffered with aspiration pneumonia where the food she ate ended up in her lungs instead of her stomach.
"She learned sign language as an infant and was always signing that she was hungry," said Dani. "We didn't understand (in the beginning). At 18 months old she weighed a frightening 18 pounds. To say the least, she had a rough start, but I believe this gave her that fighting spirit."
Adyson has come a long way in her short time on this earth and her mother predicts those footprints in the sand will get bigger and bigger.
"It takes more than just being athletic to be an athlete," Adyson's mother adds. "It takes heart and dedication. It takes sacrificing time with friends, missing out on high school football games, being dog tired after training in the gym 3-4 times a week to improve your vertical and it takes traveling to California, to Florida, to Alabama, to Arizona and Texas."
Adyson still has her junior and senior year of high school to look forward to. And plenty of beach volleyball ahead for the summer. She has already qualified for the Nationals to be held in Hermosa Beach in mid July where she will team up with an 18-year-old partner.
Like the sand in an hourglass, only time will tell just how far Adyson will go in the sport she loves. One thing is for sure, Dani and Kevin Barker...and Adyson, will enjoy the journey -- one footprint at a time.
Photos: (top) Adyson Barker at a recent sand volleyball camp, held at the University of Arizona, (bottom) Adyson practicing on the sand in Hermosa Beach, California.
thanks Dan, I had to read to the end to see where the connection was. Dave needs to talk more about her.
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