by Brooke Hall
Leah Thompson is leading the inaugural Crimson Pride volleyball team from an unlikely place… the sidelines. Suffering from a back injury that began this summer, she didn’t know what her role would be on the team or how she’d be received by her new coach and teammates.
As a dual-sport collegiate athlete, Thompson played two seasons at Marian University’s Ancilla College on both the volleyball and basketball teams. She started getting recruited by colleges in northern Indiana, but Thompson comes from Jeffersonville (just on the Kentucky border) and wanted to move closer to home, not further away. When she heard about the brand-new program at IU Columbus, she liked the location and size. With just 24 people in her high school graduating class, she prefers a campus with a smaller, community feel. When she reached out to head coach Jose Olivo, he immediately set up a zoom call and welcomed her with open arms, jumping at the chance to add a more seasoned, confident player to his roster.
In fact, Leah is the only non-freshman on the volleyball team! As such, she’s stepped into a captain, almost assistant coach role. “The girls have a lot of respect for me and want to hear what I have to say,” Leah says. “Coach will ask for my feedback and trusts my decisions, we have a really good bond.”
She’s enjoyed spending time with her teammates outside of practice, too. One of her favorite outings is going to high school volleyball games as group. “I think of how cool it would be as a high school player to look up in the stands and see a whole college team up there supporting you and cheering you on!”
Though she’s been unable to play all season and is in a lot of pain, she’s worked hard to keep her spirits up and focus on the positive. It helps that Thompson has the insight of someone majoring in psychology; she’s in her junior year and exploring graduate school options to study behavioral health in children, possibly through the IU Columbus mental health counseling program.
She’s also found a new passion for coaching. Thompson came in with some experience coaching a club team for 13-year-olds, but she’s recently noticed that—unable to play—she’s seeing things from the sidelines that she would have missed if she was still playing.
I’ve learned to appreciate volleyball more than I did. With this injury, I’ve matured in a lot of ways, and I don’t take anything for granted. Stepping back, I can see volleyball as a true source of happiness, and that’s what I want to instill in my teammates.
Leah Thompson, Volleyball team captain
While other teams sometimes bicker and give each other dirty looks, she says there’s none of that with the Crimson Pride. In fact, they focus on having fun, and Leah loves seeing her teammates out there enjoying themselves, regardless of if they’re winning or losing.
She’s noted how much her team has bonded and grown in a short time, and she’s thrilled with their performance as an underestimated, unknown team of freshmen. She adds that in a year or two, after gaining more experience, this team is really going to be a force, and she’s proud to be a part of it.
While she’s still exploring treatment options, including possible surgery, she doesn’t know if she’ll be on the court or the sidelines for the 2024 season. However—while Leah initially questioned her role—her coach and teammates have made it clear that she’s a leader on the Crimson Pride volleyball team, no matter where she’s standing.