University of Georgia Athletics
Quick Chat: Londyn Gray
October 03, 2019 | Volleyball, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
If you see Georgia volleyball's Londyn Gray playing her ukulele, you can ask her to perform one of the all-time classic rock songs. Among the many tunes she can play, the 6-foot-1 freshman said, is Led Zeppelin's anthem "Stairway to Heaven."
A middle blocker and right-side hitter from Weatherford, Texas, about 25 miles from Fort Worth, Gray sat down for a Quick Chat before practice this week and talked about her musical abilities, among many other things. She also discussed the two things her hometown is known for, how she likes her burger and much more.
Here's some of what she had to say:Â
Frierson: When you think of your home or hometown, what comes to mind?
Gray: Definitely family, we're a very close-knit family and a lot of people on my mom's side and my dad's side all live in the same general area, so I definitely see family a lot. That's home for me.
Frierson: Looking up Weatherford on Wikipedia, I saw that it was known as the Peach Capital of Texas and the Cutting Horse Capital of the World. What can you tell me about either of those things?
Gray: [Laughs.] I don't like peaches and I don't do anything with horses, so I'm very removed from that aspect of it. [Laughs.] The Cutting Horse Capital of the World thing blows my mind — there's the "city folk" and the "country folk" and I'm more of the "city folk" with that.Â
As far as the peaches go, we have a peach festival every year which is really cool even if you don't like peaches like me. There are all these markets and they set up all these stands, with peach ice creams and peach cobblers and stuff. They definitely play that into bringing the community together, which is cool.
Frierson: Do you have a creative side? Is there something creative you do or wish you could do?
Gray: I don't know if this would be considered creative but I play the ukulele, that's a little artsy I suppose, and I play a little bit of guitar. I'm definitely a big music gal.
I used to really be into art and drawing and stuff, but I never really pursued it. I kind of wish I'd pursued more of that area.
Frierson: The ukulele is not your typical instrument that people pick up, so what drew you to it?
Gray: What drew me to the ukulele was, the guitar was big and it didn't really feel comfortable having it just sitting in my lap. So I was like, we'll try something smaller and see how it goes.
It was totally random, I bought a ukulele that was like $30, literally the trashiest thing, like the one you give your children to play with. And I just fell in love with it. I think it's a very simple instrument to play but it's very beautiful and it has that very Hawaiian tone to it.
I have a really nice one now and it's a tenor so it's a little bit bigger. It was kind of like on a whim, I'm going to buy a ukulele and I'm going to learn something new today. Then I taught myself and here we are.
Frierson: What's the most unusual song that you play on the ukulele?
Gray: Oh, probably "Stairway to Heaven." [Laughs.] That's probably the most interesting.
Frierson: If you could go anywhere in the world on somebody else's dime, where would you like to go and who would you take with you?
Gray: I've always been really interested in going to New Zealand; I know that's kind of random but that's just a culture I'm very interested in and I know that the landscape is beautiful. And I'd probably take my parents.
Frierson: What's something you could eat every day and never get tired of it?
Gray: Burgers, oh yeah. Hamburgers, cheeseburgers, all burgers. [Laughs.]
Frierson: Your ideal burger, what's on it?
Gray: It's going to be simple, cheddar cheese, lettuce, a burger cooked to perfection and probably mustard and ketchup.
Frierson: When did volleyball go from something you did with your friends to something you did really well, took seriously and had a future in beyond high school and club ball?
Gray: I was originally signed up for volleyball by force — my mom was like, you're going to do this and get out of the house and try it. Volleyball wasn't that big of a passion of mine for a couple of years and then it finally started kicking in that this is kind of fun.
I played with one smaller club around my hometown and we had these meetings, this is probably my 13s year or 14s year, and we had all these meetings about where our coach thought we could go and how far this volleyball career would take us. And she told me that I probably never would go to a big D-I school. And me not really knowing anything was like, OK, if that's my future then that's my future.
Another club had contacted me and we kind of talked about that and they talked about how they thought I had a lot of potential. It was hearing that that was the first time I was like, if I want to go big D-I, I can go big D-I. I can go here if I want to go here, if I put in the work and effort.
That club had a very different environment, higher standards — I would say that when I made that jump, that's when things got really rolling.
Frierson: Did you play any other sports growing up?
Gray: I went to basketball tryouts one day, walked out and said, "never again." I did gymnastics when I was younger, also awful at it. [Laughs.] I was a very unathletic child, I'm not going to lie.Â
Frierson: My hunch would be that given your size, your high school basketball coach probably expressed more than a little interest in someone your size on the team.
Gray: Oh yeah, I had to shoo him away quite often.
Frierson: When did the growth spurt happen, or were you always tall for your age?
Gray: I remember I grew 6 inches one summer, I think before sixth grade. I've been a taller person but I was that awkwardly lanky kid at that point. And the people caught up, so that was nice. [Laughs.]
Frierson: If you could play any other sport for Georgia what would it be?
Gray: I think it would be so cool to be a track athlete. I don't know why but just to be super-fast like that would be so cool.
Frierson: When you said track I thought you were going to mention the high jump because a lot of the jumpers are your height.
Gray: I actually did the high jump one time — I got second at one meet. [Laughs.] Then I hurt my back, so that was the end of that.
(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.
