Autumn Willmott

• Athletic
• Dedicated
• Humorous
• Caring
• Adventurous

Whether playing on a large team or with just a partner on the beach I think the first priority is communication between players and my coaches. Openness and directness can help solve challenges right away and not let them linger to affect performance. I do this by asking a lot of questions, being supportive regardless of the situation and to encourage my teammates on a regular basis.

Ensuring everyone is included and not letting any of the players feel that they are outside the team circle – we win as a team and lose as a team. An example of this is when one of the players on my team had to run extra lines at practice for being “slow”, I volunteered to do the drill with them, even though I had just finished mine. The rest of my team followed my lead and we were all in it together.

High performance sport is challenging and hard work, but it has to be fun and enjoyable to sustain this level. I try and keep things light with my teammates by developing relationships where we can laugh and enjoy the time we spend together on and off the court.

National Beach Champion Winner – I was very proud of myself and for my partner as we had gone through some highs and lows during the tournament, but we came out on top because of our teamwork and determination to win. The significance of winning a Canadian national title didn’t sink in at first, but when I look back I realize that it is a great accomplishment that not many can say they achieved.

Triathlon – I placed in the top ten numerous times, but I took Gold in one particular event needing to give everything I had sprinting to the finish to hold off a boy who pushed me to the limit. That was a thrilling and electric feeling – realized after I nearly collapsed in exhaustion with the medal around my neck!

Highland Dance Competition Overall Trophy Winner – One of my first sports was highland dancing which combines athleticism, strength, mental focus and a LOT of practice. Winning the overall trophy means having the highest point average in all the dances during the day. It made me feel all my hard work paid off.

I love to bake! It is a relaxing hobby that allows me to be creative and spread a little joy to my family and friends. Cookies and cakes are my favourite treats to make!

While I tried my hand at playing the piano, my interests are more aligned with listening and dancing to music. I enjoy many different genres including Country, Pop and Alternative. Music relaxes me and takes my mind off more demanding parts of my daily schedule.

I was given a DSLR camera for Christmas last year and I have taken an interest in photography. It is a relatively new interest but it is fun and I like the challenge of trying to capture fun photos of people and the beauty of nature.

Arielle Palermo (Canadian National Indoor Team, Queens University and former Halton Hurricane) is my inspiration and role model. As an undersized Outside Hitter like me, Arielle has proven she can compete against the highest level players by playing solid defence and being a crafty hitter.
Arielle is also gracious and took time out of her busy schedule to coach me one on one working on my defence and hitting.
“Play great defence and make it hard for the coach to take you off the court” was advice Arielle instilled in me. And she is super nice!

Hayley Armstrong (Libero at Indiana University and former Hurricane where she was an OH and Libero) is another role model of mine, While I don’t know her personally, she spoke at our club banquet in her final year with the Hurricanes – I had just completed my first year of club volleyball. Hayley is my stature too and I will always remember her speech citing her motto “heart over height” which carried her on to great achievements.

Lastly, on the sandy side, I have been fortunate to train with beach coach Becky Zeeman, a former pro tour beach player and now mother of 2. I consider her a role model because of her tireless work ethic and supportive coaching style. She is a strong ambitious woman and someone I definitely look up to.

I play Field Hockey and Soccer for my high school and I like to play them to expand my athletic experiences and to contribute to my high school athletics. And, they are fun to play!

I also enjoy swimming and have achieved my Bronze Medallion (Summer 2021) and Bronze Cross (Summer 2022), with a goal of gaining my National Lifeguard Society certification in the future. It is important to me to be able to be not only safe in the water, but to be in a position to become a Lifeguard in the future.

Spirit Award, EJ James Elementary School Grade 8, 2020
I was honoured to receive this award because it was recognition of the commitment and enthusiasm I demonstrated during my 8 years at the same school.

I have quite a few interests at the moment, but have been leaning towards Environmental Science/Engineering and Sustainability or possibly Medical Sciences.

I expect my university career to be very busy balancing the life of a varsity athlete while maintaining high marks in my studies. Playing on a school team would be an ideal way to meet like-minded friends, develop a structured schedule and maintain the athletic lifestyle I have grown to love. It would be an honour to play volleyball and experience travelling to different parts of the country.