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Photo by: Brad Rempel
Gopher Spotlight: Claire Sheehan
11/1/2019 10:36:00 AM | Volleyball
Junior Claire Sheehan feels right at home playing for the Gopher volleyball team and attending the University of Minnesota.
Sheehan started her collegiate career at the University of Iowa, where she ranked third on the team in kills. After realizing it wasn't the best fit, she decided to transfer to her home state of Minnesota for her sophomore year. A big factor that went into her decision was wanting to be closer to her family. Sheehan has four siblings, and says her family is a big part of her.
Sheehan knew the University of Minnesota would be a comfortable fit for her, as she had already known Coach McCutcheon and several of the players on the team from club volleyball.
"Everyone here was so welcoming so I felt comfortable right away."
Now in her second year with the Golden Gophers, Sheehan has adjusted nicely. Being from Isanti, Minn., the outside hitter had come to Gopher volleyball games growing up.
"I didn't really come to that many, but when I did come it was so fun."
As a child, she imagined playing in maroon and gold one day and now she is seeing that fulfilled playing for her home state at Maturi Pavilion.
"It's honestly amazing. People from my hometown are like 'Oh my gosh, you play for the Gophers!'. It's so heartwarming. I'm proud to be representing my home state."
Since coming to Minnesota, Sheehan has learned a lot of skills that have allowed her to improve as a player.
"Here, I've learned a lot of technical pieces like passing. I've got to get the form right before anything else comes."
Sheehan also says Minnesota has taught her to focus on fundamentals in order to achieve the end result. Learning those key pieces have allowed her grow and become a better overall player.
In her first year with the Gophers, Sheehan says her best memory was winning the Big Ten. This year, she's looking forward to another season of playing with her teammates. She's also hoping to accomplish some of the things that they didn't get the chance to last season.
"There are lot of new players on the team so I'm excited to compete with them and I guess hoping to win the Big Ten, go to the Final Four and championship."
In order to prepare for the current season, the team worked on fundamental volleyball skills such as serving and passing.
"During preseason we focused on the main skills—passing, serving, first contact—so I think just focusing on that helps us to prepare for the Big Ten."
Preparation and execution in the Big Ten season is key. Sheehan believes one of the ways in which they've been able to be effective in their games is through the scouting reports.
"We need to scout our teams very well and then follow the scouting reports. I think from there it will go good. We just got to play every point our best."
Feature written by Emma Henzi, Athletic Communications Student Assistant
Sheehan started her collegiate career at the University of Iowa, where she ranked third on the team in kills. After realizing it wasn't the best fit, she decided to transfer to her home state of Minnesota for her sophomore year. A big factor that went into her decision was wanting to be closer to her family. Sheehan has four siblings, and says her family is a big part of her.
Sheehan knew the University of Minnesota would be a comfortable fit for her, as she had already known Coach McCutcheon and several of the players on the team from club volleyball.
"Everyone here was so welcoming so I felt comfortable right away."
Now in her second year with the Golden Gophers, Sheehan has adjusted nicely. Being from Isanti, Minn., the outside hitter had come to Gopher volleyball games growing up.
"I didn't really come to that many, but when I did come it was so fun."
As a child, she imagined playing in maroon and gold one day and now she is seeing that fulfilled playing for her home state at Maturi Pavilion.
"It's honestly amazing. People from my hometown are like 'Oh my gosh, you play for the Gophers!'. It's so heartwarming. I'm proud to be representing my home state."
Since coming to Minnesota, Sheehan has learned a lot of skills that have allowed her to improve as a player.
"Here, I've learned a lot of technical pieces like passing. I've got to get the form right before anything else comes."
Sheehan also says Minnesota has taught her to focus on fundamentals in order to achieve the end result. Learning those key pieces have allowed her grow and become a better overall player.
In her first year with the Gophers, Sheehan says her best memory was winning the Big Ten. This year, she's looking forward to another season of playing with her teammates. She's also hoping to accomplish some of the things that they didn't get the chance to last season.
"There are lot of new players on the team so I'm excited to compete with them and I guess hoping to win the Big Ten, go to the Final Four and championship."
In order to prepare for the current season, the team worked on fundamental volleyball skills such as serving and passing.
"During preseason we focused on the main skills—passing, serving, first contact—so I think just focusing on that helps us to prepare for the Big Ten."
Preparation and execution in the Big Ten season is key. Sheehan believes one of the ways in which they've been able to be effective in their games is through the scouting reports.
"We need to scout our teams very well and then follow the scouting reports. I think from there it will go good. We just got to play every point our best."
Feature written by Emma Henzi, Athletic Communications Student Assistant
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