Bowling Green State University Athletics
Caty Rommeck Competes With US National Training Team
January 29, 2002 | Volleyball
Jan. 29, 2002
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -
By Nick Hurm, The BG News
Caty Rommeck could be playing for the USA volleyball team in the 2004 Olympics. It's an idea that the former Bowling Green spiker hasn't really grasped yet though.
"Well, it's not that easy," Rommeck said. "I'm playing with some of the best players in the country. Yeah, I guess I got a shot. Oh God, that is absolutely crazy to think about."
All Rommeck ever wanted to accomplish when she came out of high school was to play volleyball in the Mid-American Conference. So maybe the idea that someday she could be playing in front of a world-wide audience might take a little longer to swallow.
"This dream is going way overboard from playing in the MAC," Rommeck said. "I used to see some of these girls in high school play in college and I thought they were amazing. I don't think I'm amazing by any means, but I'm one of them now."
Rommeck is currently in Colorado Springs, Colo., as a member of the USA National Training Team. The 12 members are competing for spots on a squad that will tour Japan at the end of May.
The Sterling Heights, Mich., native is teamed with 11 other players considered as the cream of the crop in college volleyball. They include All-Americans and National Champions. There's players like Tayyiba Haneef, a 6-foot 7-inch All-American from Long Beach State. Also Lizzy Fitzgerald from Wisconsin, nationally renowned as one of the best setters in the country.
Then there is Rommeck, most likely going into the training camp as the underdog from a school some other players didn't even know existed. Rommeck said she sometimes had these crazy dreams that no one could stop her while she was playing. The truth is that she wasn't always dreaming. In some matches, Rommeck couldn't be stopped.
She captained BG to three consecutive 21-win seasons and became only the fourth Falcon in school history to earn all-region honors. It was her high-intensity and in-your-face style of play that she was known for. Rommeck sometimes brought down the house after a big kill or block. Her raspy yell usually followed, which reached every crevasse of Anderson Arena as she glared at her opponent. In a game like volleyball where teams live and die by momentum, Rommeck was a master a building it.
"All these players are vying for spots on the national team," BG volleyball coach Denise Van De Walle said. "Right now, our Olympic team is spread out around the world. Some our playing in the pro leagues and some are playing overseas. The core is not in Colorado. Toshi (Toshiaka Yoshida), the USA head coach, decided to have a training team to see if there is anyone out there he should be looking at for the actual National Team."
How did Rommeck get this opportunity in the first place? The former Falcon middle-hitter saw her collegiate career come to an end in November in the MAC Tournament Semifinals. BG suffered a heartbreaking five-game loss to Ball State. The All-MAC First Team selection didn't have the heart to cast away volleyball as a thing of the past.
Rommeck found out the information about the try-outs through the Internet. The thought of flying out to San Diego and trying out seemed like a longshot, but it loomed in her head. With the support of BG assistant coach Sean Huiet, Rommeck formulated a new dream to go out to San Diego in a blaze of glory and just give it all she had. She flew out with Huiet in December and competed against 150 other players for a spot.
"Being from Bowling Green, I went in with a 'here's my school, you've never heard of it and I'm going to show you what it's all about' attitude," Rommeck said. "There were girls there from big schools. I had my Bowling Green stuff on and they were kind of looking at me. I just wanted to show them that I could do it.
"I didn't think I played my best at all, but I did okay," Rommeck continued. "I thought that it was the end of the story and I'd go back to school. Then I got a call on New Year's Eve and they told me I could come out if I wanted to. I didn't even know what to say. I told them that I would get back to them."
It didn't take her long to decide that she had the opportunity of a lifetime in the palm of her hand and she had to grab it. She told her Van De Walle, her family and friends who all agreed Rommeck couldn't pass up the opportunity.
"We all wished her luck and know that she will represent us well," former teammate Nadia Bedricky said. "A lot of volleyball players have a dream to do what she is doing. It's definitely a great opportunity for her."
Rommeck's roommate and Falcon another former teammate, Laura Twyman, put it in even simpler terms.
"My roommate is on the USA training team," Twyman said. "That's pretty cool."
Rommeck is currently going through an intense training regimen six days a week. The squad starts at 8:30 a.m. and practices until noon. Another hour-and-a-half practice follows at 3:00 p.m. Then they have weight training and SAQ (speed, agility, and quickness) drills each night.
"It's more exciting for me to think what she could look like by May being trained six days a week," Van De Walle said. "Her personality and her fire are going to be some of the intangibles that are going to help her. She has the attitude it takes to get even better."
The path leads two ways for Rommeck by spring time. She could be headed to China where international recognition and an Olympic shot could follow her or she could end up back at school. Rommeck said she is going to chase her opportunity, but even if she doesn't make it, she won't be too disappointed. Rommeck is living a dream she even she didn't know existed.
"I told my mom that if I come back and don't make the team then I will probably be a little disappointed," Rommeck said. "Give me two weeks and I'll be over it, though. I'll go back to school and get my education. I'll look back on it and know that I had the opportunity of a lifetime."
