Senior leading young Hoosier team on and off court

Every collegiate coach wants an upperclassman on her team whose etiquette and demeanor on the court rub off onto younger players getting accustomed to the college game. Very few coaches get a player whose actions in the community combine with this knowledge of the sport to set an example for how to make the most out of college life. IU women's volleyball coach Katie Weismiller has exactly that player in senior middle blocker Katie Pollom.\nPollom, a fifth-year senior, is the president of the Student Athletic Advisory Committee at IU. Soon after forming SAAC's for Divison I, II and III, in an effort to allow student athletes to review legislation and activities that would affect them, the NCAA mandated that every member school have an on-campus chapter. \n"The Committee tries to have one representative from each varsity sport," Pollom said. "In addition to helping out with the community, we act as a liaison between student athletes and the administration." \nOne of the activities the student athletes hold is the SAAC cookout. Each year, the group promotes a bonding event with food and fun for the children of Bloomington's Boys and Girls Club and Girls Inc. The event allows the kids who rely on these groups to meet with and spend quality time with some varsity Hoosier athletes. \nEven with all the time spent in the gym and in the community, Pollom has been able to excel in biology and has received Academic All-Big Ten honors twice in her three seasons on the team. But, Pollom said, immediately starting a career or going on to graduate school may have to wait.\n"After the spring, I'm considering joining Teach for America, a group which sends recent college graduates into urban communities to give all kids equal learning opportunities," she said. \nThose who join Teach For America commit two years to teaching in low-income or urban areas in an effort to erase the inequalities that poverty and location place on the learning process of some children. According to www.teachforamerica.com, more than 12,000 individuals have signed up for the program since 1990. \nDespite all these activities, Pollom said she still feels no pressure in leading a young team in her final season at IU. \n"I'm looking forward to having the opportunity to guide some of the younger players," Pollom said. "We have our goals set extremely high, and I know everyone is going to work as hard as they can to achieve them." \nPollom is one of only three players remaining on the squad who knows what it is like to reach the next level. \nIn 2002, senior Christina Archibald, junior Mandy Eberle and Pollom helped the Hoosiers reach the NCAA tournament, but they were defeated, in the first round, by the University of Texas. \n"Making it into the tournament was an awesome feeling," Eberle said. \nThough they placed second in the IU Credit Union Invitational this weekend, the team resolve remains high. \n"We're still learning," Weismiller said. "We have learned a lot about ourselves as a team this weekend." \n-- Contact staff writer Kevin Dwire at kdwire@indiana.edu.