University of Georgia Athletics
Photo by: Lauren Tolbert
Quick Chat: Kendall Glover
August 15, 2019 | Volleyball, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
It seems a safe guess that not too many Georgia student-athletes have arrived in Athens with a handful of film and television credits to their name. Kendall Glover did and the junior volleyball player has the IMDB page to prove it.
Before she turned her focus to volleyball, the libero from Phoenix, who has led the Bulldogs in digs the past two seasons, was a dancer and actress. She appeared on some Nickelodeon series, was briefly in the "Glee" pilot and was a contestant on the Paula Abdul reality show "Live to Dance."
Her experiences in show business are a world apart from playing in the SEC, but the clips live on thanks to YouTube. And her teammates have been known to play them from time to time in the locker room.
During a Quick Chat before practice Wednesday, Glover talked about her Hollywood days, playing a variety of sports, snorkeling and much more. Here's some of what she had to say:
Frierson: What was the best or most interesting part of your summer?
Glover: Well, I went to the Bahamas for fun with my friend's family and I got to go in a boat and do some island hopping. That was super cool because I'd never been before. That was probably my favorite part of my summer, just getting to relax and hang out on the beach.
Frierson: Did you go snorkeling and do that king of thing?
Glover: I did go snorkeling — a very big fear of mine because I'm not a huge nature person. I was definitely nervous about being eaten by a shark or stung by something, but it was actually really cool. It was super pretty and to just go swim by all the coral reefs and things like that was a lot of fun.
Snorkeling was definitely a fear of mine but I overcame it and it was great.
Frierson: So was that the first or the last time you went snorkeling?
Glover: I definitely want to do it again. I kind of got past my fear of nature, not completely but overall I absolutely loved it and I definitely want to try it again another time.
Frierson: When did volleyball become for you, not just a sport you played and enjoyed, but something that was a real passion and something that you could keep playing beyond high school?
Glover: I would say probably my sophomore year of high school. I was playing with my older sister on the varsity team and I just realized how much fun it was, not only playing with my older sister but also being close to my teammates and how fun the sport was in general.
I think that was when it really hit home for me and I just loved going to practice every day, I loved going to weights to get better for practice, so that was definitely the turning point for me and I knew that I wanted to really stay focused on getting to college and doing the same thing there.
Frierson: How are you a better player today than you were at this point a year ago?
Glover: I would just say that I know the system and technique better than I did at this time last year. Just because of the more reps I get every day in practice, the more time I can watch video and things like that, (my technique is) just a huge part that's really hit home and I've stayed focused on this entire year.
Frierson: Do you have a creative side? Is there something creative you do or wish you could do?
Glover: I love interior design and fashion, so that's something. I always watch the shows on HGTV and things like that; of course I don't have time to do anything like that, but any time there's a fun activity I can do or something I can put together for my room, like a fun thing to put on the wall, that's something I love to do.
Frierson: What other sports did you play growing up? What were you good at and what were you maybe not so good at?
Glover: I ran track and field all throughout high school, I was also a dancer — I started when I was 3 years old and did it until I was 14 or 15 and then took off for volleyball.
I also did softball, soccer — probably the one sport I'm terrible at is golf (laughs). I know my grandma's not very happy about that because we'd always go on the golf course. That would be the one thing I would need to perfect, especially when I go to Topgolf or something like that. I did multiple sports but golf was not one of my special talents.
Frierson: Well, speaking of dancing, I've seen YouTube videos this week of a young Kendall Glover dancing on TV, on some Paula Abdul dancing show.
Glover: Oh, no (laughs)! Oh, no.
Frierson: There are videos of you dancing and acting — it's like you had a whole life as a performer when you were a kid. What was it like doing all that at such a young age?
Glover: It was definitely an amazing experience that I will always keep with me for the rest of my life. My teammates always joke around, they'll pull up the videos randomly while I'm getting ready for practice (laughs).
It was a great experience to have and I loved to dance. I grew up dancing with my older sister and younger sister; those were amazing experiences to have in California and to do jobs there. It was something that not a lot of kids get the chance to do, but then I just fell more in love with volleyball.
Luckily, coming to Georgia was an opportunity that I got to have. It's definitely crazy, I feel like I've had two different lives, from dance to here, but it's really cool to look back on those experiences.
Frierson: I don't know anything about dancing but the one clip of you performing on the Paula Abdul show, that was amazing. Can you still do any of that stuff?
Glover: I think I still have a little bit, dancing comes out sometimes even on the court. My flexibility has gone down, I would say (laughs), from my dancing times, but I would say that a lot of times dancing helped me with volleyball in that sense of being able to move fluidly and things like that.
It's kind of cool to still have that dancing side that I try to implement.
Frierson: And you're the only person the team, I assume, with an IMDB page.
Glover: (Laughs) Yep, I think so. It's definitely a cool experience to have those things that will randomly be brought up sometimes. ... I'm very happy with the choices I've made and I never would have had this experience at Georgia, with this school or program, if I hadn't decided to focus on volleyball instead.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
Staff Writer
It seems a safe guess that not too many Georgia student-athletes have arrived in Athens with a handful of film and television credits to their name. Kendall Glover did and the junior volleyball player has the IMDB page to prove it.
Before she turned her focus to volleyball, the libero from Phoenix, who has led the Bulldogs in digs the past two seasons, was a dancer and actress. She appeared on some Nickelodeon series, was briefly in the "Glee" pilot and was a contestant on the Paula Abdul reality show "Live to Dance."
Her experiences in show business are a world apart from playing in the SEC, but the clips live on thanks to YouTube. And her teammates have been known to play them from time to time in the locker room.
During a Quick Chat before practice Wednesday, Glover talked about her Hollywood days, playing a variety of sports, snorkeling and much more. Here's some of what she had to say:
Frierson: What was the best or most interesting part of your summer?
Glover: Well, I went to the Bahamas for fun with my friend's family and I got to go in a boat and do some island hopping. That was super cool because I'd never been before. That was probably my favorite part of my summer, just getting to relax and hang out on the beach.
Frierson: Did you go snorkeling and do that king of thing?
Glover: I did go snorkeling — a very big fear of mine because I'm not a huge nature person. I was definitely nervous about being eaten by a shark or stung by something, but it was actually really cool. It was super pretty and to just go swim by all the coral reefs and things like that was a lot of fun.
Snorkeling was definitely a fear of mine but I overcame it and it was great.
Frierson: So was that the first or the last time you went snorkeling?
Glover: I definitely want to do it again. I kind of got past my fear of nature, not completely but overall I absolutely loved it and I definitely want to try it again another time.
Frierson: When did volleyball become for you, not just a sport you played and enjoyed, but something that was a real passion and something that you could keep playing beyond high school?
Glover: I would say probably my sophomore year of high school. I was playing with my older sister on the varsity team and I just realized how much fun it was, not only playing with my older sister but also being close to my teammates and how fun the sport was in general.
I think that was when it really hit home for me and I just loved going to practice every day, I loved going to weights to get better for practice, so that was definitely the turning point for me and I knew that I wanted to really stay focused on getting to college and doing the same thing there.
Frierson: How are you a better player today than you were at this point a year ago?
Glover: I would just say that I know the system and technique better than I did at this time last year. Just because of the more reps I get every day in practice, the more time I can watch video and things like that, (my technique is) just a huge part that's really hit home and I've stayed focused on this entire year.
Frierson: Do you have a creative side? Is there something creative you do or wish you could do?
Glover: I love interior design and fashion, so that's something. I always watch the shows on HGTV and things like that; of course I don't have time to do anything like that, but any time there's a fun activity I can do or something I can put together for my room, like a fun thing to put on the wall, that's something I love to do.
Frierson: What other sports did you play growing up? What were you good at and what were you maybe not so good at?
Glover: I ran track and field all throughout high school, I was also a dancer — I started when I was 3 years old and did it until I was 14 or 15 and then took off for volleyball.
I also did softball, soccer — probably the one sport I'm terrible at is golf (laughs). I know my grandma's not very happy about that because we'd always go on the golf course. That would be the one thing I would need to perfect, especially when I go to Topgolf or something like that. I did multiple sports but golf was not one of my special talents.
Frierson: Well, speaking of dancing, I've seen YouTube videos this week of a young Kendall Glover dancing on TV, on some Paula Abdul dancing show.
Glover: Oh, no (laughs)! Oh, no.
Frierson: There are videos of you dancing and acting — it's like you had a whole life as a performer when you were a kid. What was it like doing all that at such a young age?
Glover: It was definitely an amazing experience that I will always keep with me for the rest of my life. My teammates always joke around, they'll pull up the videos randomly while I'm getting ready for practice (laughs).
It was a great experience to have and I loved to dance. I grew up dancing with my older sister and younger sister; those were amazing experiences to have in California and to do jobs there. It was something that not a lot of kids get the chance to do, but then I just fell more in love with volleyball.
Luckily, coming to Georgia was an opportunity that I got to have. It's definitely crazy, I feel like I've had two different lives, from dance to here, but it's really cool to look back on those experiences.
Frierson: I don't know anything about dancing but the one clip of you performing on the Paula Abdul show, that was amazing. Can you still do any of that stuff?
Glover: I think I still have a little bit, dancing comes out sometimes even on the court. My flexibility has gone down, I would say (laughs), from my dancing times, but I would say that a lot of times dancing helped me with volleyball in that sense of being able to move fluidly and things like that.
It's kind of cool to still have that dancing side that I try to implement.
Frierson: And you're the only person the team, I assume, with an IMDB page.
Glover: (Laughs) Yep, I think so. It's definitely a cool experience to have those things that will randomly be brought up sometimes. ... I'm very happy with the choices I've made and I never would have had this experience at Georgia, with this school or program, if I hadn't decided to focus on volleyball instead.
(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.
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