Hayes' Dream Is Coming True

BOULDER - Near the end of July, former University of Colorado Buffalo Joslyn Hayes will embark on one of her biggest dreams, playing professional volleyball.

Hayes will play for a team in Brazil, but this opportunity did not happen overnight. Hayes put a lot of hard work into extending her career, which included a fifth-season for the Buffs in 2017 where she was a huge part of the team's NCAA Sweet 16 run. The team finished the season with an overall record of 24-10, the third most wins in a single season in program history.

"It was an amazing experience," Hayes said. "Looking back, of course the season was a huge deal but I don't think of it that way because I was just enjoying every moment that I could in my last season with my teammates. I was just trying to take in and enjoy this game, enjoy this play, enjoy this set. I was trying to take everything I could out of practice. I was trying to dive in to each individual moment.

"When I look back, I see what a huge accomplishment it was, but it was really just about enjoying every moment that I could in my last season."

After college, the Santa Monica, Calif. native knew she wanted to pursue a professional career in the sport she loved so dearly, but she was a little nervous about taking the plunge and really doing it.

So, after graduating this past December, Hayes returned to California to train and see if she could get any offers. She secured an agent, thanks to former teammate and current professional volleyball player Nicole Edelman, and started to get offers.

As the offers came in, nothing really sparked Hayes' interest, so she started to think about moving on. "My agent was finding me offers, but I wasn't interested in them," she said. "Financially it wasn't what I wanted; location wise, it wasn't what I wanted."

Then it happened.

Hayes' agent reached out to her with an offer she would not be able to turn down. "It was more what I wanted financially and it was in Brazil, so I jumped on it immediately. I wanted more information and I was interested. I ended up signing that contract two weeks later."

The leap of faith, as Hayes called it, will send her to Brazil in a couple of weeks to join a team whose season has already begun, since she still has to compete the Visa process.

This will be the biggest step for her out of her comfort zone. Not only will she be experiencing a completely new culture, but the right-side hitter will more than likely be required to play six-rotations, something she did not do in her time with the Buffs. "I am really looking forward to learning, gaining a new experience, and kind of broadening my athletic horizon," she said.

Since things are happening so fast, Hayes has not had a lot of time to think about what she will do during her down time, but after a moment, she realized there was one thing she wanted to discover. "Food is awesome," she said. "I am pretty excited to look into that and see what they have to offer as far as Brazilian cuisine."

But in all honestly, she is excited to dive into a new culture and has even started learning Portuguese.

Hayes will be one of two Americans on the team, the other being a setter from Texas A&M. "I think it is the best case scenario, because being able to communicate in English with your setter, and being on the same page is huge. I am very grateful for that," she said.

Hayes is will join a prestigious group of Buffs who have gone on to play professional. In fact two, Edelman and Taylor Simpson, signed contracts to play this upcoming season in France. Having those two, and others like Alexis Austin and Nikki Lindow, to talk to and navigate the professional scene was huge for Hayes.

"I dove in to all my resources that I could," she said. "Nicole was such a huge part of my decision making process. She was a huge part of my decision making process. I am very grateful to her."

Hayes finished her last two seasons playing for CU head coach Jesse Mahoney and he could not be more proud to see all of her hard work pay off.

"I'm very excited for Jos," he said. "It's going to be a great experience. I know she is going to represent herself and the University of Colorado very well. It's exciting to have another player continue their career into the professional arena after finishing up at CU. She is going to do a fantastic job."

An opportunity to play the sport one loves professionally does not happen to everyone and Hayes knows that. She is going to make the most out of this opportunity, both on and off the court.

"I am excited about being uncomfortable again," she said. "I have been home and have been in a very comfortable situation and I am excited to step out of that and hopefully grow as a human being."

Players Mentioned

Joslyn Hayes

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