John Baylor Blog: May 30

Train traveling with Tracy
So much for the rematch with the Bayi Pro Team, which instead had to secure traveling visas today.  Thus, we were left to train by ourselves-- definitely not as exciting as a match with this Chinese Army Team, Bayi.  A debate arose last night at dinner: which team among the four we've played here is the best.  Most believe that the JT Pro Team is stronger than Bayi, though I and about three players feel it is Bayi.

Tracy Stalls is quite a story.  She and her older brother, now a Christian youth minister in Ireland, led nomadic childhoods, living briefly in California, Tennessee, Wisconsin, West Virginia, and finally Colorado.  Her Dad, Dave, played in three Super Bowls: two with Dallas and one with the Raiders.  So few football players get to the NFL, and so few NFL players get to the Super Bowl; University of Northern Colorado alumnus Dave Stalls played in three.  Dad now is head of Colorado's Big Brother Big Sister program.  Tracy's mom is a manager for Curves in Tennessee.

On the Front Range Club Team coached by Jim Miret, one of the many great coaches Tracy has had, Tracy played among the future elite of college volleyball: Jen Harvey, Jane Collymore, Jill Collymore, Ashley Nu'u and many more.  She chose a different path after high school, training in Japan with a college team for three months followed by more than a year with the US National program under Toshi Yoshida.  As a mere high school grad, Tracy hung in with the nation's national team players in six-hours-a-day of training.  She played in the Pan Am Games and Yeltsin Cup competitions, among others.  After two years away from school, she decided it was time to return, choosing Nebraska over Stanford, Penn State, Texas, and USC.

Tracy is ready to star as the M1, the primary middle at Nebraska.  This is a season she has been preparing for for a long time.

We take the overnight train to Shanghai Tuesday night.