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University of North Carolina Athletics
Golden: Cox’s Experience with USA Junior National Team
July 3, 2018 | Volleyball
CHAPEL HILL – One week after returning from Carolina Volleyball's foreign tour on May 31, incoming freshman Destiny Cox was officially announced as a member of USA Volleyball's Junior Women's National Team. Three weeks later, Cox began her first class at North Carolina with a gold medal from the NORCECA Women's U20 Continental Championship.
"It was exciting, but also a whirlwind," Cox said. "It was stressful to get my classes and exams done. I knew that spending time with my friends and family would be minimal. But it worked out and was a really cool experience."
The Tar Heels left for their 2018 Foreign Tour on May 16 which meant Carolina's class of incoming freshmen would have to finish high school before heading overseas. However, for Cox this meant she would be away from home for nearly six weeks between May and June with the Tar Heels and the Junior National Team.
"I had to graduate early to go to Europe with UNC," Cox said. "From there, knowing that if I made the national team, I'd be going to Colorado shortly after" – which she did.
Cox graduated from Carrboro High School in a small ceremony on June 3 before heading to the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado on June 8.
"We were in Colorado Springs for a week and a half, training at the Olympic Training Center so we had time to get to know each other," Cox said. "It was super cool just seeing all these Olympians and future Olympians there. I saw a few swimmers: Nathan Adrian, Allison Schmitt and a few others. It was just so cool to see where they go to train. It was a really good experience."
After training in Colorado Springs, Cox and the Junior National Team embarked for Aguascalientes, Mexico – the host city for the 2018 NORCECA U20 Continental Championship. Team USA won every match, losing only three sets en route to the 2018 NORCECA Championship and a bid to the 2019 World Championships.
"We had two days of practice in Mexico before played Guatemala on June 18 for the first match," Cox said. "The competition was good. We played Cuba on one of the days and it went to five sets so that was really fun. Mexico definitely had a home-court advantage with the crowd. It was really fun experience and I learned a lot."
One of those things Cox learned was the differences between how other countries played volleyball.
"It was really cool to see what other teams did before games like their dances or how they came on the court," Cox said. "Seeing other countries how they play volleyball was neat too. It was very different than how we play volleyball.
Despite differences in volleyball or language barriers, dancing was universal among the teams at the NORCECA Championship.
"In Mexico, there were several rain delays throughout the tournament," Cox said. "So there was one match going on in the arena but there was a rain delay of two hours. We decided to invite the other teams to dance and got in a big circle. Girls from Cuba and the Dominican Republic joined us. That was a really cool moment to have a big group of us come together."
Looking back on her first experience with the Junior National Team, Cox was able to develop her skills further before her first season in Carolina Blue.
"I learned that the role that you're given isn't always what you want it to be," Cox said. "But you have to make the most of what you're given and seize every opportunity you can. I was a newcomer on the team this year so I didn't have the experience on the team like the other girls did. I kind of had to take a backseat and learn and develop more as a player, learning from girls who had been there before me. I got better and I'm excited to back with all the knowledge to share with the team and continue to improve."
Next year, Cox will have an opportunity to try out for the Junior National Team again and compete in the 2019 World Championship. But for now, Cox is back in her hometown of Chapel Hill to begin her freshman year.
"I had my first day last week," Cox said, "So that was really cool to be here because I committed to UNC early in high school. Finally being here as a college student and a student-athlete, it's surreal."
Stay up to date with Carolina Volleyball by following the Tar Heels on Twitter and Instagram.
"It was exciting, but also a whirlwind," Cox said. "It was stressful to get my classes and exams done. I knew that spending time with my friends and family would be minimal. But it worked out and was a really cool experience."
The Tar Heels left for their 2018 Foreign Tour on May 16 which meant Carolina's class of incoming freshmen would have to finish high school before heading overseas. However, for Cox this meant she would be away from home for nearly six weeks between May and June with the Tar Heels and the Junior National Team.
"I had to graduate early to go to Europe with UNC," Cox said. "From there, knowing that if I made the national team, I'd be going to Colorado shortly after" – which she did.
Cox graduated from Carrboro High School in a small ceremony on June 3 before heading to the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado on June 8.
"We were in Colorado Springs for a week and a half, training at the Olympic Training Center so we had time to get to know each other," Cox said. "It was super cool just seeing all these Olympians and future Olympians there. I saw a few swimmers: Nathan Adrian, Allison Schmitt and a few others. It was just so cool to see where they go to train. It was a really good experience."
After training in Colorado Springs, Cox and the Junior National Team embarked for Aguascalientes, Mexico – the host city for the 2018 NORCECA U20 Continental Championship. Team USA won every match, losing only three sets en route to the 2018 NORCECA Championship and a bid to the 2019 World Championships.
"We had two days of practice in Mexico before played Guatemala on June 18 for the first match," Cox said. "The competition was good. We played Cuba on one of the days and it went to five sets so that was really fun. Mexico definitely had a home-court advantage with the crowd. It was really fun experience and I learned a lot."
One of those things Cox learned was the differences between how other countries played volleyball.
"It was really cool to see what other teams did before games like their dances or how they came on the court," Cox said. "Seeing other countries how they play volleyball was neat too. It was very different than how we play volleyball.
Despite differences in volleyball or language barriers, dancing was universal among the teams at the NORCECA Championship.
"In Mexico, there were several rain delays throughout the tournament," Cox said. "So there was one match going on in the arena but there was a rain delay of two hours. We decided to invite the other teams to dance and got in a big circle. Girls from Cuba and the Dominican Republic joined us. That was a really cool moment to have a big group of us come together."
Looking back on her first experience with the Junior National Team, Cox was able to develop her skills further before her first season in Carolina Blue.
"I learned that the role that you're given isn't always what you want it to be," Cox said. "But you have to make the most of what you're given and seize every opportunity you can. I was a newcomer on the team this year so I didn't have the experience on the team like the other girls did. I kind of had to take a backseat and learn and develop more as a player, learning from girls who had been there before me. I got better and I'm excited to back with all the knowledge to share with the team and continue to improve."
Next year, Cox will have an opportunity to try out for the Junior National Team again and compete in the 2019 World Championship. But for now, Cox is back in her hometown of Chapel Hill to begin her freshman year.
"I had my first day last week," Cox said, "So that was really cool to be here because I committed to UNC early in high school. Finally being here as a college student and a student-athlete, it's surreal."
Stay up to date with Carolina Volleyball by following the Tar Heels on Twitter and Instagram.
Players Mentioned
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