In 2013, Kaylon Cruickshank came across a couple of volleyball players training at her high school. Little did she know during that same year she would find out volleyball came natural to her. In addition, it would provide her a free opportunity to leave her country Sangre Grande, Trinidad, and attend college in the United States.
One day as a freshman at Bishop Anstey High School, Cruickshank ran into Glamorgan V. C’s youth volleyball club head coach Macsood Ali. Amazed by her 6-foot body frame, Ali asked Cruickshank to join his team. She declined. Although she told him no he was persistent, 3 weeks later Ali came to her high school looking for her, and Cruickshank hid.
“Another 3 weeks after, he came looking for me and I hid every single time because I was so scared”, said Cruickshank as she laughed.
However, with fate on his side, Ali ran into a swimming instructor at an arena. The instructor was Cruickshank’s mother, Roseanna Gomez. They spoke about her daughter, and Gomez agreed to bring her to Ali’s practice.
According to Cruickshank, “In three months I made the national junior and youth team, and went to NORCECA in Mexico, and Nicaragua.” After making the national junior team, Cruickshank’s coach told her “volleyball is for you, volleyball will take you places, volleyball is going to be your life.”
Three years later, she decided to come to the U.S to play volleyball. According to the Sangre Grande native, “Universities in the country of Trinidad do not have volleyball programs because they do not take collegiate sports seriously. For Cruickshank, playing volleyball at the collegiate level is a necessity. She uses the sport as an outlet to relieve herself from stress that she gets from school.
Although Cruickshank loves volleyball, and plans to play for Florida Atlantic University after she graduates from Miami Dade College. She is not sure if playing volleyball is something she wants to do for a living.
Cruickshank is taking advantage of an opportunity to receive a free education. She is the oldest of five daughters, and wants to help reduce any financial burden her parents might face when it comes to paying for her sisters’ college tuition.
“Even though my parents were willing to pay for my school tuition; I have four younger sisters. That’s going to be a lot for them. I just work hard to get a scholarship, so they don’t have this strain to withhold”, said Cruickshank.