University of Georgia Athletics
Quick Chat: Kaylah House
September 13, 2019 | Volleyball, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Sometimes during a Quick Chat, I will be conversing with a Georgia student-athlete (interviewing feels too formal a term for these silly chats) and we will get wonderfully sidetracked on a topic that may or may not interest anyone else. That's what makes it a conversation, a chat, not an interview.
On Wednesday, I sat down with volleyball's Kaylah House, a new addition to this season's squad whom I'd never met. Within five minutes of saying hello, we were doing a deep dive on art, DIY projects and YouTube and Netflix videos. It was pure joy.
A 6-foot-3 middle blocker/outside hitter from Atlanta, House arrived in Athens this summer after transferring from Coastal Carolina. In just a couple of days, the junior went from being a Chanticleer to a Bulldog, from living in Conway, S.C. to Athens.
During our wide-ranging chat, House talked about adjusting to a new school, pescetarianism, her creative side and so much more. Here's some of what she had to say:
Frierson: Do you have any pre-match or pre-practice routines or rituals, anything resembling a superstition?
House: No, I'm not very superstitious. The only superstitious thing I have is splitting the pole, in real life. Usually before a game, in the hotel, I'll take a nap and I'll listen to music, like a hype playlist, to get me in the mood and get ready to play. I don't really have a ritual or anything.
Frierson: What does splitting the pole mean?
House: Say me and you are walking down the street and there's a tree or a pole or anything, and I go on the right side of it. You have to come to the right side of it with me, you can't go on the left side or else we split the pole. And that's bad, bad luck, that's not good.
Frierson: I'm sort of that way with cracks on the sidewalk — cracks, lines or shadows that essentially make lines. I know nothing is going to happen to my mother's back if I step on a crack, but it's become like a game at this point.
House: I know what you're saying. Sometimes I'll walk across a crosswalk and I'll try to put one foot in each line, or if there are squares on the floor or something like that.
Frierson: What was the most fun or interesting part of your summer?
House: I just transferred from Coastal and I left Coastal on a Thursday and three days later I moved into UGA, and so I've been in school year-round. I did Maymester here and I took five classes over the summer,
The most fun thing was just being here, getting to spend time with the girls and getting to know the girls, whether that was going to the pool on the weekends or going out to eat to these new spots. Everybody on the team loves that place, Taq de Sol?
Frierson: Taqueria del Sol.
House: Yeah, I've been there like four times and I've only been here three or four months. Getting to know the team and the girls and getting to hang out outside of the volleyball environment, that was probably the best part of my summer.
Frierson: If you go to Taqueria, there's a very good chance you're going to see me there. I'm there at least once a week, usually twice.
House: I would just go there for the fried chicken tacos but I don't eat chicken anymore.
Frierson: I've heard you're a pescatarian now.
House: Yeah, I am. [Laughs.] In high school, I tried it out but one of our moms brought Chick-fil-A chicken nuggets for pregame, so I was like, nope, not going to happen anymore.
I gave up beef two years ago for a New Year's resolution, I haven't eaten beef for two years, and growing up, my mom's dad is Muslim so I didn't eat pork growing up. So red meat was already out of the picture and I was like, you know, I just want to try something different, maybe something healthier that will maybe make me feel better.
I decided to cut chicken out, too, and only eat seafood and like a vegetarian diet. I also feel like cutting out chicken really cut back on the fried foods that I was eating, like fried chicken and wings.
Frierson: What's something creative you do or wish you could do?
House: Sometimes I wish I could draw, like sometimes I'll be scrolling on Twitter or Instagram and I'll see these videos of people drawing things. I just bought this red jean skirt and I want to paint a black Bulldog on it to wear to a football game or basketball game, but I don't know how to do that.
I watch a lot of videos on YouTube, like DIY stuff — cutting shirts, that's easy, you just take scissors and cut, but I want to learn how to paint or just do some type of art.
I'm really into typography and Photoshop and stuff, I know how to do the stuff, but I want to be able to do something that doesn't involve a computer, that's more freehand type stuff.
Frierson: For the last two years or so I've been on a big YouTube DIY run. Even though I can't really make much of anything, I love watching videos of people making things, especially woodworking which I've never even attempted. I find so much of that stuff so relaxing to watch.
House: Yes, it's so interesting! At Coastal, I took an advertising class and that's what made me get into typography, and there's this show, it's a series on Netflix, it's called Abstract" ...
Frierson: I've seen that, the one about Nike was really cool.
House: Yes! The only about typography was really cool, about the lady who has made all of these logos, and in her house she's done so many different maps ... and she's been painting these things for I don't know how long but it really made me want to be more creative and to paint and draw.
[FYI: according to a Google search, the second season of "Abstract: The Art of Design" arrives on Sept. 25.]
Frierson: You're halfway through your collegiate playing career but you're brand new at Georgia, so do you feel like a freshman again?
House: It's learning almost everything all over again; it's a completely different coaching style, completely different techniques and the way they play. Coming into preseason I didn't really feel like a freshman ... but I realize that I have to be a lot more focused and attentive and a lot more open-minded about the fact that I'm new and I'm not going to know everything. Just focus on what you need to do and make that better.
Frierson: And you go from Coastal and what I'm figuring is a pretty small campus to Georgia and it's huge campus, and maybe you're having to figure out the bus system, as well.
House: The first day of school I got on the bus and I was scared, there were so many people. And I walk into my first lecture and I look up and it's maybe 300 kids in there. I'm like, oh, my goodness. ... It wasn't rough but it was very eye-opening, that I'm here at a bigger school with 30,000 kids compared to 10,000.
(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.
