Athlete Feature – Macy Capen Gilson

How old were you when you first started playing volleyball?
I started playing volleyball when I was 14! 14-4’s team baby. 

How old were you when you started playing club volleyball?
14! I had never played volleyball when I signed up to play club volleyball.

Who had the biggest impact on your life/who did you look up to when you were younger and why?
I was the first person in my family to ever play volleyball, but I come from a family of really amazing soccer players. My uncles were both professional goalkeepers, and usually, goalies wear #1. I looked up to my uncles because of how they conducted themselves both on and off the field. Their love of the sport was always the driving factor behind their actions and I really respect that. I wore #1 throughout my entire career in honor of them. 

I also looked up to a lot of the varsity volleyball players from my high school, because I could only dream about being at their level one day. I also really admired the 17s and 18s teams at my club and loved to stay late after my practice ended to watch them play! Because I didn’t have any volleyball players that I had a personal relationship with, I found myself trying to imitate the older girls in every way I could. I think that is so important to remember as your career progresses because a little girl is always, always watching.

What was your favorite club volleyball season and why?
I loved 16s because of the high level of competition, as well as it being a huge recruiting year! I was recruited during my 16s year, along with a lot of my teammates and I remember it being so fun playing on a court completely surrounded by college coaches. 

What is your favorite part about volleyball? 
I love that you can’t play volleyball by yourself. In soccer, in basketball, in baseball, in football, you can score all by yourself. In volleyball, you can’t. You can’t play defense, and set, and get the kill to score a point. You NEED your team. And that’s what makes this game so great. I think it is the ultimate team sport. 

Where did you go to college and why did you choose that university?
I went to TCU! GO FROGS! From the moment I stepped foot on campus, I knew it was the right choice for me. I love that TCU is a private school but has big time D1 athletics. I also think Fort Worth is one of the greatest, loyalist, best fan bases in the country. 


What position did you play in college?
I was an outside hitter! 


What was your most memorable collegiate match and why?
My senior year (2015), we swept Texas on our home court. I waited my entire career for that moment… and it was worth it. 


What was your favorite part of playing volleyball in college?
MY TEAMMATES! Those girls are my ride or dies, to this day. There really isn’t any relationship or bond like the one between teammates, especially teammates who have faced adversity. Together we had everything we needed. 


What was your major and why did you choose it?
I majored in Speech Language Pathology and minored in Child Development. It’s the perfect mix between the medical and educational fields. In high school, one of my teammates was born to parents who were deaf. She taught us sign language before and after practice, and in between games at tournaments. When I got to TCU, I had the option to take sign language as an elective, and from there began taking classes in the College of Communication Disorders, which eventually led me to Speech Language Pathology. 


Throughout your career, how did you handle adversity? Whether that be an injury, playing time, a bad day, or an argument with a teammate?
In the spring before my senior year I began to face some serious back pain. After being diagnosed with herniated disks, I was told I could finish out my senior season, as long as I could handle the pain. After a few more months of playing, I knew something more was wrong. An MRI revealed that I would need to undergo immediate surgery. Five days before my team started double days, I underwent a spinal fusion and double laminectomy. My life flipped on a dime. I went from diving for balls to using a walker. I went from running sprints with my team to riding around in a golf cart to get from class to class. I went from a teammate to a cheerleader. The months following my surgery were some of the hardest of my life; both physically and mentally. Thank God my injury happened during my senior year, because any sooner, I would have crumbled. I am so thankful for the years of mental toughness I built before I faced this adversity. I am thankful for my teammates for pulling me through when I couldn’t pull myself. And most of all, I am thankful for my mind, because it is stronger than any other part of my body. 


What role did your mind play in getting you through the tough times that collegiate sports throw at you?
My mind was EVERYTHING. There were times when it was all I had. My body could fail me, my teammates could let me down, my coaches could be all over me, but I always had my mind. Your mind has the power to make or break you. And in all honesty, there were days when I let it break me. However, those days were always followed by better, stronger days. Mental toughness doesn’t require you to be perfect, it requires you to be real. Being real means being honest with yourself. Answering the hard questions. Being accountable. Letting your actions speak when your words can’t. Mental toughness isn’t about getting to the summit. It’s about braving the climb. 


What are you doing now?
I am proud to say I still live in Fort Worth with my husband and Labrador puppy. I am a practicing pediatric speech language pathologist and run a website and blog devoted to disability awareness, inclusion, and support for parents of children with disabilities. 


How did playing volleyball prepare you for life after sports?
Competing at the Division I level completely shaped the person I am today. While my family values and outlook on the world did not change, my mentality did. I thought I was mentally tough before I went to college, but it’s easy to be tough when you’re the best. In college, everyone is the best. Every girl on my team was the best on her club team, the best on her high school team. And when you put 15 of those girls on a brand-new team, everyone can’t be the best. You have to fight to be the best. And my mind was the most powerful tool in that fight. I am proud to say that I am one hundred times mentally stronger than I would be without sports. That mentality helps me in my career, in my relationships, and in my life choices. I undoubtedly owe my mental strength to my college career and my TCU teammates. 


If you could give advice to your younger self, what would it be?
Life is so much bigger than sports. Life is not, nor will ever be, about sports. Life is about loving people. Life is about being the best human being you can be. Life is about helping those less fortunate than you. And life is about showing up every single day. 

I believe sports teach us how to do these things. Sports teach us how to love something so much, that you would do anything for it. Sports teach us how to be the strongest, best version of ourselves. Sports teach us how to help others, how to be on a team. And, most importantly, sports teach us how to show up. Whether there are two outs in the bottom of the ninth or it’s down to the last penalty kick in the World Cup, athletes. show. up. They step up to the plate, the penalty box, the service line, the one-yard line, and they fight. Be that kind of athlete. Be that kind of person.

Collegiate Accomplishments: Academic
Academic All Big 12 Rookie Team
Academic All Big 12 1st Team
Graduated Magna Cum Laude
Dean’s List – 7 semesters (graduated in 3.5 years)

Collegiate Accomplishments: Athletic
All Big 12 Rookie Team
Spartan Spiketacular All-Tournament Team