The killer instinct

Aurymar Rodriguez adjusts to life in the U.S. and becomes a UF volleyball weapon

BY MARY MONROE

Droplets of perspiration formed on Aurymar Rodriguez’s forehead as she tried to stay focused on playing her first game as a member of the  UF  volleyball team. Thoughts of the family and friends  she had left in Puerto Rico flooded her mind, causing her to feel homesick.

Suddenly, the volleyball sailed over the net, heading toward Rodriguez. Her 6-foot-1-inch frame leaped into the air as she killed the ball. Her honey-brown eyes glanced nervously at the cheering audience. Audiences for her volleyball team in Puerto Rico had never been this large.

Little did she know that from the unfamiliar American audience, the friendly eyes of the Montiel family were watching her.

“I call them my family in Gainesville,” Rodriguez says. “They came to my first game with a bag of Puerto Rican food for me and have been at every game since then.”

In the summer of 1994, at age 18, Rodriguez broke the Puerto Rican tradition of women living with their parents until marriage by coming to UF to study tourism and to play on the UF volleyball team. She chose UF for its weather, proximity to home and support for athletic programs.

Three years later, the 21-year-old holds the position of senior outside hitter for the highly ranked UF volleyball team. Known for leading the team in kills, she  helped the Gators triumph over the Florida State Seminoles, finishing with 22 kills.

Playing volleyball in the U.S. took some adjustment. Rodriguez says volleyball here is faster and more organized than it is in Puerto Rico. Here, she says, athletes receive more support. She also likes yearlong volleyball.

“This way you keep practicing in and off season and keep improving as a result,” she says.

When not practicing, she runs, performs agility drills, practices jump training and lifts free weights. She also monitors her diet.

“I don’t eat too much sugar, candy or desserts,” she says, “but I do try to get as much water, protein and carbohydrates as I can.”

Rodriguez has played volleyball since she was 9.“When I was little, I tried gymnastics, judo and swimming, but my dad, who had played volleyball in his younger days, inspired me to learn how to play,” she says. “My dad was my first coach.”

Rodriguez describes her father as a hard worker who is loving, caring and intelligent. He cultivated her interest in volleyball by devoting much of his time to attending her practices. Eventually, Rodriguez played on the national volleyball team in high school.

Her father also taught her responsibility by always being on time and by never procrastinating. This lesson enabled her to learn how to juggle her school studies with volleyball practice.

Her father knows the English language well and became her teacher at home, building the foundation Rodriguez would need to help her adjust to the English language while at UF.

“The first year was the hardest because I was afraid I would say things wrong. In Puerto Rico, we are required to learn English since the first grade, but we really only use it in English class. I could understand it, but I was afraid to speak it,” she says.

Rodriguez is entering her fourth year in the US and will graduate from UF in May 1998. Now she has less trouble speaking English, because she has been immersed in an English-speaking culture.

“My teammates do not speak fluent Spanish,” Rodriguez says, “and neither does my roommate. Being around them has helped me to speak English better.  For example, my teammates make fun of how I say and spell some words. My roommate’s name is Jay Jay, and I pronounce it ‘yay yay.’ My teammates think this is funny, and it doesn’t bother me anymore.”

Adjusting to the English language was not Rodriguez’s only hard transition to life in the United States.

“My first two years here, the transition was hard because I missed my family and Puerto Rico a lot, but now I’m used to it. I love it here.” She pauses. “Sometimes, I miss my family though.”

The tallest in her family, Rodriguez was born in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, on Feb. 20, 1976. Her father is an administrator, and her mother is a homemaker.

Although she misses her family, Rodriguez is not sure if she wants to return to Puerto Rico after she graduates. She wants to continue to play volleyball on the professional level, perhaps overseas in either Spain or Brazil. She would even like to try playing beach volleyball.

Rodriguez also wants a career in hotel management. With the stamina and independence she has used to adapt to a new life here, and the persistence and killer instinct she has displayed in her volleyball games, she will no doubt be one super volleyball-playing hotel manager.