University of Georgia Athletics
Quick Chat: Alexa Fortin
October 23, 2019 | Volleyball, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Alexa Fortin is waiting and learning and improving. The Georgia volleyball freshman is a setter, redshirting this season and taking in everything she can from senior setter and four-year starter Meghan Donovan.
Football has been the Fortin family sport for many years: Fortin's her brother Cade is a college quarterback, her cousin Turner Fortin was a scout team player at Georgia a few years ago and her uncle Roman Fortin was an offensive lineman in the NFL for about a decade.
During a Quick Chat after practice Tuesday, Fortin, from Johns Creek, Ga., talked about everything she's learning, growing up in a football family, arriving at Georgia with her best friend and teammate Meghan Froemming and much more.
Here's some of what she had to say:
Frierson: What is it like going through the first few months of your freshman year, with so much new stuff being thrown at you on and off the court? How are you handling all of that and do you feel yourself getting better because of it?
Fortin: Oh, definitely, I definitely feel like I'm getting better. It was a big chance and jump from what I was doing before, but I've definitely learned a lot in volleyball and school. I've learned a lot in volleyball and I'm seeing myself get better, so that's good.
Frierson: What is like learning under Meghan Donovan who has been here forever and been a starter and a leader for four years now? She seems like the perfect person to learn under.
Fortin: Yeah, it's awesome being under her. She's really encouraging, she helps me if I need anything — I couldn't picture a better person to have above me to learn from my freshman year.
Frierson: I know you come from a football-heavy family, so what is it like being surrounded by not just football players but accomplished football players?
Fortin: I think our whole family's just really competitive and I guess that's where I got my love for playing sports. Just growing up with two brothers and a bunch of cousins that all played football and stuff, it's like everything's a competition. It was good.
Frierson: How does that competitive nature manifest itself at family gatherings? Are there tough basketball games in the driveway or intense card games at the dinner table?
Fortin: We definitely have had really competitive card games; we have pool basketball and basically anything you can think of. Our big one is definitely White Elephant at Christmas. Everyone's really competitive and they team up with their families and steal presents from the little kids and stuff.
Frierson: What is White Elephant?
Fortin: It's like everyone who's playing brings a gift and then you all pick a number, and then you can go through and steal gifts and do all that kind of stuff.
Frierson: What's something you could eat every day and never get tired of it?
Fortin: Probably pasta, if it wasn't so bad for me I would eat it every day. I love alfredo pasta or just pasta with salt.
Frierson: Just noodles and salt?
Fortin: Butter and salt, yep. I'm a really basic eater.
Frierson: I remember when I went off to college and suddenly you're in charge of your own diet and eating habits, and out of nowhere lording a pizza at midnight is an option. What has it been like for you making your own decisions these past few months?
Fortin: It's definitely harder when you're on your own and I think there was a little time where I didn't pay attention to it that much, but then I was like, OK, you can't eat like that every meal or else you're not going to be able to play your sport well and you're not going to be able to perform.
Frierson: If you could go anywhere in the world on somebody else's dime, where would you like to go?
Fortin: I would probably go to Bora Bora or the Maldives, and I would probably take my brothers and my sister with me. Bora Bora just looks so pretty and I've never really been anywhere like that, so I think it would be really cool.
Frierson: Who is the funniest person on the team?
Fortin: Well, I'm really close with (fellow freshman) Meghan Froemming because we've been together since we were like 11, so we pretty much laugh at every single thing throughout the day. She would be the funniest for me just because we're so close and we get each other.
Frierson: Going through everything that a college freshman goes through, particularly a freshman student-athlete, how nice has it been to have her here going through everything right beside you?
Fortin: It's really fun, we're basically like sisters and we're always together. It's really fun to get to start your college experience off with someone that you're really familiar with and go through that change with someone.
We had our first class together over the summer and we didn't know how to work the bus system or anything, so it was a little stress reliever that we had each other to get through that. [Laughs.]
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
