Champions' TriBUne Archive
By
: Marieke van der MarkChampions' TriBUne is a special feature through Baylor Athletics that gives you the student-athlete's perspective and the chance for them to share their own story. Marieke van der Mark, a fourth-year junior from the Netherlands, is graduating this month with a degree in health, kinesiology and leisure studies. Part of volleyball's first Big 12 championship and NCAA Final Four team in 2019, Marieke started 30 matches at opposite in a breakout sophomore season with 193 kills, 86 blocks and 54 digs. A preseason All-Big 12 pick, she was third on the team this fall with 2.10 kills and 0.83 blocks per set and had six service aces:
As a little girl, I already had big dreams: playing for the Dutch National team and winning at the Olympics – nothing more and nothing less. I was working towards this dream every day, playing up in my age group against better teams and training with a "talent team" that would ultimately prepare me for a shot with the national team. I was having tons of fun. I was doing well in my schoolwork and was about to graduate from high school. I was getting ready to make some big decisions in life, including where I wanted to go to college. I always knew that I wanted volleyball to be a part of my life, but I was also realistic and knew that I couldn't play volleyball forever.
A couple weeks before I had to make my decision, my parents, Harm and Cindy, came to me and my brother, Bart, with concerned faces. Bart and I instantly knew that they were going to tell us something that would probably change our lives forever.
My dad told us that he got a great job offer, unlike anything he had ever had – he was offered a job in the United States of America! My parents said this was something that we needed to decide and talk about as a family. They made it clear that if even one person didn't want to go to the States, we would all stay back and keep our lives the way it was in the Netherlands. I was 16 at the time and never thought twice about it. Without even considering my dream of playing volleyball at the highest level or all the things that I had been working so hard for, I decided that my family was way more important than volleyball. I was ready to go!
Bart had a tougher time with the decision but, as all the plans and details started to line up, we decided as a family that we would move to Connecticut. In March of 2015, we traveled as a family to scope out potential schools and learn how everything works in the U.S. We found out that so many things were different than back home, like having to live in the same town as where you go to school, and that sports are organized through schools, not the year-round clubs.
One thing I recognized right away is that most Americans are not used to tall people. Everywhere we went, people always asked us how tall we were. When I first got here, I only knew my height in centimeters, not in inches. That was one of the things I remember looking up when I got to the States, just so I could finally answer everyone's questions (in case you're wondering, I'm 6 feet, 6 inches).
In August 2015, we got on the plane to begin the adventure of a lifetime. My brother and I already had a close relationship, but this move made us even closer, because we were the only two that understood what was going on in our lives. With everything changing seemingly by the minute, we grew closer together as a family, too. From that moment, we knew that our family would always stick together.
Even though I had already graduated back home in the Netherlands, I still had to go back to my junior year of high school when we moved to the U.S. On the volleyball side of things, I went down in levels as well. To that point, I had never played with girls my own age, so I made a ton of friends. Playing here in the U.S. definitely helped me gain confidence, knowing that I was able to compete, but also knowing that I could be a leader on the court, having all that experience at higher levels back home. I learned to truly love the sport of volleyball and put all of my energy into playing every day.
Once the end of my junior year hit, I realized volleyball didn't have to be over for me after high school. I remember after one of my games, a Division III college coach came up to me and asked if I wanted to come play with him and his team. Of course, not knowing anything about how college volleyball works in the States, all I knew was that I wanted to keep playing. Thank god, my high school coach stepped in before I verbally committed to that D-III school. He explained to me how college athletics worked and how I would be able to play at a much higher level than I would have ever expected. Since I was so late to the recruiting process, he helped me create a recruiting account where I could upload my video highlights and hopefully get noticed by some major programs.
The entire process was interesting. Baylor was one of the first schools to notice me, and Coach Ryan McGuyre emailed me directly wanting to talk. I had no idea where Baylor was or why they had any interest in me. Early on, with the help of my high school coach, I had decided that I wanted to play at the Division I level. I just didn't know where. Honestly, I was so thankful that any coach wanted to talk to me, I sent handwritten notes to every coach that showed interest in me. Each and every coach that I ever talked to, I would send a personal email to, just to thank them for their time and consideration. After visiting a couple schools, my final decision came down to Baylor and Hawai'i. While it was a tough decision, I knew that Baylor was the best place for me to grow, not only as a volleyball player but also as a student and person overall.
Once I got to Waco and started classes at Baylor, I learned that combining volleyball and school wasn't as easy as I thought it was going to be. Thankfully, I had some amazing people around me who were always ready to help, and that is truly the biggest blessing. I had always been fascinated by Christianity, but never really explored it until I got here. Being at Baylor has helped me explore these parts of myself and become a Christ-loving woman, surrounded by sisters that love me no matter what.
Last summer, the dreams that I had as a little girl actually got a little closer to reality. I received an invitation to try out for the Dutch National team with the hopes of making the roster for the 2022 World Championships. Unfortunately, with the COVID pandemic still around, I won't be able to go train with them as soon as I had hoped. But, whenever that great opportunity comes, I am eager to get out there and make my Baylor family proud.
Without getting the chance to play for Baylor, I would never have met my fiancé, Trevor (we just got engaged on Nov. 25), nor would I have owned a pair of cowboy boots or even been able to locate Texas on the map. I am truly thankful for the community here at Baylor and the commitment that everyone has for us, not just as an athlete, but more importantly as a person.
Baylor has had such an amazing influence on me. I cannot wait to look back on this time one day and be like, "Dang, I miss that awesome little town of Waco!" This place will forever have a piece of my heart.
Previous Champions' TriBUne Features
Football - Raleigh Texada (Nov. 12, 2020)
Men's Cross Country - Ryan Hodge (Oct. 29, 2020)
Women's Cross Country - Sarah Antrich (Oct. 15, 2020)
Volleyball - Hannah Sedwick (Oct. 1, 2020)
Soccer - Maddie Algya (Sept. 10, 2020)
Men's Basketball - Freddie Gillespie (March 26, 2020)
Women's Track & Field - Tuesdi Tidwell (March 20, 2020)
Women's Basketball - Moon Ursin (March 5, 2020)
Men's Track & Field - Cole Hardan (Feb. 27, 2020)
Volleyball - Shelly Stafford (Jan. 30, 2020)
Men's Golf - Mike McGraw (Jan. 3, 2020)
Volleyball - Yossiana Pressley (Dec. 5, 2019)
Baseball - Nick Loftin (Nov. 21, 2019)
Men's Cross Country - Ryan Day (Nov. 1, 2019)
Women's Cross Country - Lindsay Walton (Oct. 15, 2019)
Men's Basketball - Obim Okeke (Oct. 1, 2019)
Volleyball - Gia Milana (Sept. 17, 2019)
Soccer - Raegan Padgett (Sept. 5, 2019)
Football - Sam Tecklenburg (Aug. 29, 2019)
Men's Golf - Cooper Dossey (July 11, 2019)
Baseball - Richard Cunningham (June 27, 2019)
Men's Tennis - Jimmy Bendeck (June 14, 2019)
Baseball - Shea Langeliers (May 30, 2019)
Women's Track & Field - Kiana Horton (May 22, 2019)
Men's Golf - Garrett May (May 9, 2019)
Women's Golf - Maria Vesga (May 2, 2019)
Acrobatics & Tumbling - Camryn Bryant (April 25, 2019)
Equestrian - Shannon Hogue (April 16, 2019)
Women's Tennis - Angelina Shakhraichuk (April 9, 2019)
Women's Basketball - Lauren Cox (March 22, 2019)
Men's Track & Field - Wil London (March 7, 2019)
Men's Basketball - Jake Lindsey (March 4, 2019)
Softball - Nicky Dawson (Feb. 21, 2019)
Baseball - Josh Bissonette (Feb. 14, 2019)
Men's Tennis - Will Little (Jan. 31, 2019)
Men's Basketball - King McClure (Jan. 17, 2019)
Women's Basketball - Chloe Jackson (Jan. 3, 2019)
Football - Blake Blackmar (Dec. 13, 2018)
Volleyball - Braya Hunt (Nov. 29, 2018)
Soccer - Jackie Crowther (Nov. 16, 2018)
Women's Cross Country - Alison Andrews-Paul (Nov. 8, 2018)
Football- Ira Lewis (Nov. 6, 2018)
December 03, 2020 at 11:46PM
https://baylorbears.com/news/2020/12/3/champions-tribune-a-little-girl-with-big-dreams.aspx
A LITTLE GIRL WITH BIG DREAMS - BaylorBears.com
https://news.google.com/search?q=little&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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