April sporting her POM Tattoo during the '07 Seaside Finals
During the
AVP summer tour, we asked AVP fans to submit questions for POM
Enthusiast / Volleyball superstar April Ross. We selected a hand full of your questions, along with a few we were dying to ask about her Diet and POM Wonderful of course!
She was cool enough to take time out of her busy travel / train / play / travel-and-train-some-more schedule to answer them all!
POM
WONDERFUL: When
did you get into playing volleyball?
APRIL ROSS: I started playing volleyball...
POM
WONDERFUL: When
did you first get into playing volleyball?
APRIL ROSS: I started playing volleyball in
7th grade, just because I was the sporty type and it was one of the sports they
offered. I was really bad and barely made the team, even then I never played.
In 8th grade my friends started doing club volleyball and I wanted to be apart
of the fun so I decided to join as well. That's when I started to really love
volleyball and get some real instruction, enabling me to improve my game
significantly.
PW: What made you decide to pursue a
professional career in volleyball?
AR: I knew after college volleyball I
wanted to play a couple years of professional indoor volleyball in order to make
enough money to pay for law school. I did this, but couldn't imagine giving up
a job where I get to play a sport for a living. My body couldn't take anymore
indoor, nor did I want it to, so I decided to try the beach. Once I got out
onto the sand I fell in love and found a renewed motivation to work hard and
continue to improve.
PW: Which do you prefer? Since you've played both indoor and beach volleyball.
AR: I loved playing indoor in college,
my team had the most amazing chemistry and we experienced a lot of success, and
as a result some of my most cherished memories are from that time. However,
now, I can't imagine ever placing indoor volleyball above the beach. I may play
one or two more seasons indoor, but beach volleyball will from now on be my
professional priority. To be able to come out to the beach everyday for
practice and control your own hours and pick your own partners is all unique to
beach volleyball and part of the reason why I love it so much.
PW: How did your unexpected win at the Grand Slam event in
AR: Wow. I was so happy and speechless
when we won, I didn't know what to do so I just kept jumping up and down and
hugging Jen. My goal is always to get 1st place in a tournament, but to win the
second Grand Slam I'd ever played in was definitely unexpected. Standing on top
of the podium was very surreal; especially to have Kerri Walsh and Misty May
next to me, but on the next level down. It made me realize that accomplishing
my goals, which I set pretty high, is more realistic than I had previously
thought.
PW: How did you celebrate your Norwegian FIVB win with Jen Boss?
AR: After
winning the gold in Norway we went back to our hotel and had to pack!
Our flight left the next morning and we didn't get done with all the
media hoopla until around 6 pm. After packing I was so tired I
contemplated just going to sleep so my flight wouldn't be too brutal
the next day. However, hard as I tried, the other players made sure Jen
and I went out to the player party on the harbor to celebrate a little
bit. We got there around 10:30 pm and the sun was just beginning to set
so it was really beautiful, there were a ton of people at the party,
but luckily we got right in. After dancing, a few POMtini's
and some celebratory toasts, Jen and I called it a night and flew home
the next day, still in awe of what we had done. It was a perfect
ending.
PW:
You qualified for the season ending "Goddesses of the Beach" event in Las Vegas. Who would you have picked to partner with since you aren't allowed to play with your usual partner Jen Boss?
AR: That's a tough question. I still
can't believe I got to play with Kerri Walsh in the finals this year. If I had
the chance to pick a partner myself I don't know if I'd be able to decide. Of
course I would want to pick Jen, but since I'm not allowed I would probably
pick Kerri or Misty. I liked playing with Kerri because I played mainly
defense, but if I had to block in transition it wasn't a big deal, and as I
want to one day be considered a defensive player I thought that was good
preparation. But you can't argue with Misty's record, she the winning women's
player on the tour and one of the best, if not the best, player in the world,
so it'd definitely have to be a game time decision just based on how either
player was feeling and how they'd been playing. That would be absolutely
awesome, though, to be put in that position of having to choose between Misty
and Kerri!! PW: How will you prepare for 2008
Summer Olympics, if you qualify? AR: Well the race for the 2008
Olympics could come down to the last tournament so I look at the whole 1 1/2
year process that began in June 2007 as preparation. The more we play internationally
the more prepared we will be for the Olympics. This off season I also plan on
working really hard to get in the best shape possible and to fine tune my
skills so that I can do my best in the second half of the qualifying period
and, hopefully, in the end, the Olympics. PW: Eating healthy and having a
balanced diet is vital for pro athletes. How has your diet contributed to your
success? AR: My first year playing beach
volleyball I had come directly from indoor volleyball and compared to all the
pro athletes on the beach I was overweight. After that first season I really
buckled down and ate a lot healthier and worked out more to drop 20 pounds. It
has made a much more profound difference than I had anticipated, for example, I
was finishing in toward the bottom in the main draw last year and this year we
consistently finished in the top five. Of course, not all of this success can
be attributed to my diet and losing weight, but it is a large part of it. I
focused on eating fruit and vegetables, raw nuts and lean meats, cutting down
on carbs, and drank more water and teas (such as POM tea!), giving up coffee
and alcohol. PW: How does POM Wonderful fit into
your daily health routine? Do you drink POM Wonderful primarily for its health
benefits or its taste? AR: I originally drank POM Wonderful
for the way it tastes, once I found out all the health benefits, I was all too
happy to drink it everyday, or as often as I can get my hands on it. Like I
mentioned before I drink a lot of tea and if I drink it cold I turn to POM
first because of its added health benefits given by the pomegranate juice and
because it tastes good. I'll drink different types of POM Wonderful in the
morning instead of orange juice or in the afternoon as a sweet and tarty treat.
PW: Do you prefer POM Wonderful juice
or tea? AR: I like them both, but I am
addicted to the juice, I love the tartness. POM tea is a great alternative to
hot tea and in my opinion has a much better taste than plain or other fruit
flavored iced teas, but still, I have to go with the juice as my favorite. PW: What are your favorite flavors? AR: I honestly like them all, but my
favorite one is POM Tangerine. I've mentioned it a couple of times already, but
the tartness in the Tangerine flavor is unparalleled. I also really enjoy POM
Mango because it's a little sweeter and sometimes that's just what I'm in the
mood for. PW: Is there anything else you would
like the readers to know about yourself? AR: I feel very blessed to be able to
play this sport for a living and it's not lost on me how lucky I am. I do my
best not to take any of it for granted and I try to do everything I can to stay
healthy so that I can enjoy it and keep playing this sport that I love. I am
very happy to be apart of the POM team because I fully support the healthy
lifestyle they try to encourage in their consumers, me being one of them.
What a great partnership -- Pom and Ross. April looks as fresh at the end of a tournament as she does at the beginning. Always wondered, 'What keeps that girl going?'.
Posted by: David Fischer | 10/28/2007 at 12:36 PM